14
HR
West
7 Tools for Sparking
Creative Conversations
Keynote Speaker
T
oday’s busy professional must have
both an innovative and creative mindset.
Success hinges on expertly tackling
human resources challenges of all sizes, often on
a daily basis. Finding solutions to those problems
requires each of us to employ both a creative and
innovative mindset. But many professionals find it’s
not as fun or productive to be the only one in an
organization thinking outside of the box. By involving
other talented, forward-thinking staff members,
professionals usually find their jobs are made much
easier, with the ideas flowing more freely.
For those in leadership roles, this creative thinking
must also be passed on to an entire team, as
professionals come together to find solutions
to big challenges. By learning to spark creative
conversations in others, we can often arrive at more
innovative solutions and ideas much more quickly.
Here are seven tools professionals can use to spark
creative conversations at the office.
Tool #1: Add a stranger
If the same team has been regularly meeting on
the same issue, chances are progress has stalled.
We tend to rely on the same core group of team
members for projects, but it’s hard to get new ideas
by consistently looking at the same problem from the
same perspective.
A great way to add a new, fresh perspective is to
bring a stranger to the conversation. This stranger
may be a new hire to the company, an intern, or
someone from another team within the company,
such as sales or product development. Not only will
this enable the team to gain a fresh perspective, but
being asked to participate may also improve that
employee’s morale.
However, it’s important to limit meeting participants.
Bringing 15 or 20 people into the group won’t add
ideas to the discussion, it will water it down and
create too many opinions. Small, focused groups
will create better results. If information isn’t sensitive,
team members could be encouraged to convene
with their own associates to gather additional ideas
to bring back to the main meeting.
Tool #2: Ask Different Questions
Whether brainstorming or engaging in one-on-one
conversations around the office, many professionals
find it helps to ask questions that inspire a leap in
thought. Instead of merely answering the same
few questions the next time you’re speaking
to a fellow team member, here are three great
questions that can take both of you down a new,
unexpected path:
• What would happen if we didn’t solve the problem?
• What would it look like if we did the opposite of what
we just suggested?
• If the opposite situation were true, what would we do?
The opposite option may seem preposterous,
and you will likely not decide to go that route. But
By Keynote Speaker, Tamara Kleinberg
Daydreaming is an important first step of reaching an end goal. Through
imagination, a person can visualize an end goal and begin to determine which
steps are necessary to reach that destination. Reality can often handcuff a
team, causing them to limit their thinking. By engaging their imaginations,
professionals can come up with new ways to approach a problem.
