Instructor Resources
Denhardt, Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4th edition
SAGE Publications 2016
Chapter 3 – Fostering Creativity and Innovation
Slide 1 – Opening
Slide 2 – Chapter Objectives
• Understand the importance of creativity in public organizations
• Define the 5 perspectives of creativity
• Describe the creative process
Slide 3 – Creativity
•Creativity and innovation are among the hallmarks of leadership and are central components in
the science and, most particularly, the art of public administration.
Slide 4 – Creativity Defined
•Agencies need to be both creative and innovative; creativity by itself does not directly improve
performance.
Slide 5 – Creativity Process
•It is not necessary to be artistic, eccentric, or mentally unusual to be creative. We all have the
capacity to be creative, so in a sense we all are the creative type.
Slide 6 – Perspectives on Creativity
•Trait – Some people have traits that make them naturally creative; such people probably will be
creative wherever they are situated.
•Cognitive skills – Creativity can be enhanced by learning and improving certain cognitive skills.
•Behavior – The value of the creativity lies in what useful outcomes are produced
Slide 7 – As Conceptual Skills
Slide 8 – As Behavior
1
Instructor Resources
Denhardt, Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4th edition
SAGE Publications 2016
Slide 9 – As Process
Slide 10 – An Integrated Process
Slide 11 – An Integrated View
•This graph indicates the mutual influence of personal factors, environmental characteristics, and
the nature of the task. Some integrated perspectives, in particular, emphasize the intrinsic
motivation of an individual in a particular context.
Slide 12 – Need for Creativity
•Creativity allows public organizations to be responsive and to develop new and better ways of
serving citizens and using resources wisely. The opportunity to be creative can help to motivate
Slide 13 – The Creative Process
•Creativity is more than a flash of insight. Instead, creativity can be thought of as a process with
five identifiable steps or stages: (1) preparation, (2) concentration, (3) incubation, (4) illumination,
and (5) verification.
Slide 14 – The Creative Process
•Preparation is the first step in the creative process; in the preparation stage, a person not only
searches for facts but also searches for ideas and alternative perspectives.
Slide 15 – The Creative Process
•This stage is not so much a matter of mental activity as it is a matter of choice.
Slide 16 – The Creative Process
•The incubation stage is a largely unconscious phase of the creative process.
Slide 17 – The Creative Process
•The illumination stage when viewed as part of the creative process actually occur after the
Slide 18 – The Creative Process
Slide 19 – Characteristics
•Recognition of the steps in and characteristics of the creative process is important from several
perspectives. First, creativity does not just “happen.” It is a process that can be observed,
2
Instructor Resources
Denhardt, Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4th edition
SAGE Publications 2016
nurtured, and supported over time. Second, we do not all have to be highly skilled at all stages of
the creative process; some of us might be better at generating ideas, others might be skilled at
synthesizing concepts, some might be good information gatherers, and still others might be
Slide 20 – Roles In the Process
Slide 21 – Connections
•The people who have the greatest potential for creativity are those who occupy the “peripheral
network positions.” People in these positions have enough connections within the organizations
to stay informed and gain organizational knowledge, but their outside connections give them the
opportunity to hear something new.
Slide 22 – Impediments
•Incorrectly – Vertical thinking occurs when a problem is defined in a single way and there are no
deviations or alternative definitions considered until the solution is reached; language also can be
a barrier to problem definition.
•Quickly – People often reject ideas that are inconsistent with their current thinking.
•Stopping – Because people often are under pressure to come up with solutions to problems,
Slide 23 – How To Thwart
•The truth is that it is relatively easy to kill creativity.
Slide 24 – How To Foster
•The motivation to be creative resides in part within individuals, but people’s social environment
also influences creativity. A positive climate can create an atmosphere in which creativity and
innovation flourish, whereas a negative one can squash such efforts; taken together, job design,
supervision, organizational climate, and the allocation of adequate time and resources can have a
Slide 25 – Techniques
•A two-dimensional “idea box” is used to explore new ideas or alternatives (Miller, 1987). There are
four steps to generating an idea box: (1) specifying your purpose or what you are trying to
3
Instructor Resources
Denhardt, Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4th edition
SAGE Publications 2016
accomplish, (2) identifying the parameters of the problem, (3) listing variations, and (4) trying
different combinations.
Slide 26 – Techniques
•The word synectics means joining together different and apparently unconnected or irrelevant
elements..
Slide 27 – Techniques
•Mindmapping uses pictures and images to define a vision, a problem, or a situation. It can be a
simple representation intended to be used as a memory trigger or as a detailed representation of
a situation, process, or “territory.”
Slide 28 – Techniques
•This process, based on the process used in the physical design of objects (e.g., chairs,
Slide 29 – Enhancing
•Be aware. To be creative, it often is necessary to have an understanding of the current situation.
What are the facts? What information is available? In the public sector, this means not only being
well-versed in current practices in our own and other jurisdictions, but also being knowledgeable
about the legal parameters, community concerns, political considerations, and other factors that
might be important in our understanding of the issue.
•Be persistent in your vision and values. Applying consistent energy in a particular direction
increases the probability of realizing your goals. A vision, or purpose or goal, guides our efforts
and motivates us to be persistent.
•Consider all of your alternatives. Dream up as many ideas as you can. Do not rush to find a
solution. Avoid mental idea killers such as when we say to ourselves, “Oh, that will never work,”
“That’s dumb,” or “We already tried that and it didn’t work.”
•Entertain your intuition. Allow your intuition to give the answers that you are seeking. Relax and
allow your mind to work.
Slide 30 – Ways of Acting
•Debunk the myths
•Change vocabulary
•Use participatory management
•Make time and information available
•Analyze organizational climate
4
Instructor Resources
Denhardt, Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4th edition
SAGE Publications 2016
Slide 31 – Ways of Acting
•Relax; let your mind work
•Use tools to foster creativity
•Identify problems that need creative solutions
•Make work interesting; don’t over-supervise
5