Insight Series: Curiosity and Creativity

Overview:

This course equips professionals with a practical understanding of creativity as a workplace skill. Rather than treating creativity as an abstract or innate talent, it reframes it as a learnable, developable competency applicable across all business functions and roles. You will explore how the unique features of the workplace shape the conditions under which creativity operates. 

The course traces the evolution of creativity research, from ancient notions of divine inspiration through to modern psychometric approaches, establishing that creativity can be measured, taught, and improved. Grounded in the creative problem-solving process, you will gain a shared vocabulary for recognizing creative behaviour in colleagues and yourself. 
The course culminates in a hands-on toolkit of twelve proven exercises designed to cultivate creativity individually and across teams, making this an immediately practical resource for professionals at any career stage.

Course Content:

The course includes five modules and covers the following:

• History of creativity models: the course opens by situating creativity historically: from its origins in divine attribution through Graham Wallas' four-stage unconscious process model and J.P. Guilford's psychometric movement, establishing that creativity is universal, measurable, and improvable.
• Defining creativity in the workplace: examination of the workplace as a distinctive creative context, exploring how pay, credentials, and hierarchy both challenge and shape creative output. It critically engages the tension between creativity and the SMART goal framework, while building the business case for why creativity both pays off and, when absent, carries real organizational cost.
• Identifying forms of creativity in the workplace: introduction to the creative problem-solving process in depth, distinguishing between problems and symptoms, and connecting specific workplace behaviours to each stage of the process. It also introduces the taxonomy of creativities (Big-C, Small-C, and Mini-C), giving participants a nuanced lens for recognizing creative contribution at all levels of an organization
• Developing and encouraging creativity as a workplace skill: exploring a practical toolkit of twelve workplace exercises, including Brainstorming, SCAMPER, Brainwriting, Assumption Reversal, and Real Room Role Play, organized by their suitability for groups or individuals and by their stage in the creative process. It also addresses creativity killers and the role of discipline and routine in sustaining creative culture.

Learning Objectives:

 Upon completing this course, you should be able to:

• Describe what makes the workplace a distinct environment for creative expression 
• Explain the three-stage creative problem-solving process: identifying problems, generating alternatives, and choosing from alternatives 
• Distinguish between Big-C, Small-C, and Mini-C creativity and identify each in professional contexts 
• Recognize and address common barriers and creativity killers in organizational settings 
• Apply structured creative exercises to real workplace challenges, both individually and in teams 
• Build routines and remove environmental, emotional, and perceptual blocks to sustain ongoing creative practice

Who Will Benefit: 

This course is designed for professionals at any career stage and across all industries and functional areas. It is especially valuable for team leaders and managers looking to foster creativity in others, early-career professionals building their problem-solving toolkit, and senior leaders tackling complex strategic challenges. It is highly adaptable for professionals in roles not traditionally associated with creativity who are ready to discover just how much structured creative thinking can transform their work. No prior experience with creativity or innovation training is required.