Creative Thinking: A Gift or a Skill? And Why It's So Important for an IT Project Manager
Let's look at why creative thinking is a key skill not only for conventionally creative professions, but also for a successful project manager in IT, and why creativity and management are much closer to each other than we think.
What is creative thinking and how does it relate to learning?
There is usually a huge gap between the scientific discovery itself and its practical application. Thousands of interesting discoveries have not yet found practical implementation. The reasons for this are not our frivolous attitude to new knowledge, but the fact that it appeared not so long ago.
For example, the hypothesis about the mechanics of the learning process in the brain was put forward only in 1949, when physiologist and neuropsychologist Donald Hebb formulated the idea of the formation of stable neural connections with repeated stimulation of the nervous system. And only in 1966, neurobiologist and psychiatrist Eric Kandel discovered biochemical changes in the brain associated with memorization, thereby proving the truth of Hebb's ideas.
Creative thinking is the ability to generate new ideas, consider problems from more than one perspective, and find unconventional solutions. And modern research confirms that creativity is not exactly an innate gift, but rather a skill that can be developed.
One of the most famous myths about the creative component of thinking is that it is “left-brained.” Harvard scientist Roger Beatty dispelled this myth by proving that creativity is born precisely when completely different parts of the brain are united by common processes.
To put it very simply (sorry, neurobiologists!), creativity is born where the brain cannot follow the “beaten path.” Imagine a game of associations – for example, write “milk” on the board and start writing down related concepts next to it: cow, sour cream, cereal, coffee. What the brain immediately gives is the “beaten path.” The more associations you come up with, the deeper and more interesting the ideas will be.
But imagine this process in a different design: what happens when concrete, a shark, a storm and cherry blossoms are placed next to the word “milk”? The brain does not have a “beaten path” between milk and these concepts – but it is designed in such a way that it is important for it to build connections and associations, so it will begin to fill the void between the concepts with completely unexpected ideas and images.
Why is creative thinking important for an IT project manager?
1. Generation of innovative ideas and solutions
Project managers very often face problems that require non-standard solutions: for example, when the technical specifications take up only two paragraphs, and the implementation request sounds something like “you are the experts – you know better what we want.”
2. Adaptation to changes
IT projects often require quick adaptation to changes. Creative thinking helps project managers quickly respond to new requirements and conditions, find effective ways to solve problems – everyone is familiar with changing the technical specifications or project input when it is almost ready.
3. Motivation and inspiration of the team
A creative manager is better able to inspire his team to achieve high results. Creating an atmosphere in which employees can express their ideas and experiment with new approaches helps to develop creativity in the team and increase its productivity.
Who is who?
The creative mode of the brain resembles the work of a project team, and here are the roles of its areas.
Frontal lobes the brain responsible for planning and decision making are similar in role project manager: it is he who develops the project implementation strategy, manages resources and makes key decisions.
Temporal lobesassociated with the processing of associative information and imagination, correspond to the role developers: these guys also use their technical knowledge and creative abilities to create new features and solutions in the project.
Parietal lobes brain regions involved in processing spatial and visual information are similar to designers: they develop user interfaces, create aesthetically pleasing designs and project visualizations.
The same parietal lobes are also responsible for analytical thinking, that is, they do the work analysts: “scan” data, identify trends and patterns, and develop strategies based on the information received.
The limbic system of the brainwhich is involved in the processing of emotions and motivational processes, can be considered as a project teams In general: the emotional component is important for maintaining motivation, cooperation and effective interaction between project participants.
Just as the brain can only function effectively when it communicates effectively with different areas during the creative process, a project team can only be effective when each part is integrated into the process.
So, returning to the question from the title, we can confidently say that creative thinking is not only a gift, but also a skill that can be developed and improved.
For an IT project manager, creative thinking is an essential success factor, as it allows one to find non-standard solutions and achieve set goals in a new, more valuable or optimal way.
This is why we love our clients so much, who put us in conditions where there is not a single “beaten path” in sight, and force us to generate new approaches and effective solutions to implement their ambitious tasks.
P.S. Finally, I will reveal one simple but very effective technique for developing creativity. Write down ideas, any and many – and not at all in order not to forget or return to them later. In fact, this way you will show the brain that its efforts to “invent” are not in vain, and encourage it to generate even more ideas. As they say, you just have to start…
