Dahlén (2008) illustrates creative people as being distinguished by five paradoxes. These paradoxes states that: creative people are characterized by a large measure of conventionality and rebelliousness; creative people make extensive use of both divergent and convergent thinking; creative people are characterized by the fact that they have both abundant energy and a great need for relaxation; creative people is the combination of humility and pride; and creative people are to a great extent both introverted and extroverted (Dahlén, 2008). Change and the accompanying uncertainty throw off ones equilibrium, yet it is these fluctuations, disturbances, and imbalances that are the primary sources of creativity.
When considering the paradoxes presented by Dahlén (2008) this writer is a creative person. Creativity is an aspect of human personality and a component of human development. This writer is very interested in coming up with new ideas or enhancing processes that are no longer effective. For example, this writer was recently asked by a manager in the organization, to look at ways the reporting process for the division could be enhanced to reduce the amount of time a State has to wait for a final report after an audit has been conducted. The normal timeframes were taking up to 18 months to produce a final audit report. By being a divergent thinker, this writer was able to look at all the factors and individuals involved in the report writing process and connect them to the end product to reduce the timeframe to 184 days.
Dahlén (2008) considers only one half of creative thinking as changing one’s thought process, and the other half is trying to combine ideas into creative results (p. 98). Creativity is the driving force of innovation. Creativity in organizations should be directed at a specific problem or desired outcome. When you steps away from your comfort zone, it is a powerful way to develop a creative frame of mind.
Thinking outside the Box and Thinking inside the Box
A regimented life of doing things the same way over and over can kill your creativity (Kouzes and Posner, 2002). Creativity is thinking outside of the box, just as much as thinking inside the box (Dahlén, 2008). Too often people’s thinking is limited to their comfort zone and what they see inside their wall. Creative people’s thinking is confined by a wall around them, which acts as a criterion for achieving creative results (Dahlén, 2008).
The concept of thinking outside the box and thinking inside the box both has both advantages and disadvantages. Thinking inside of the box focuses thought activity (Dahlén, 2008). Without the box, one is at risk of becoming side-tracked and possibly unproductive. Thinking outside of...
