When working on your approach to an important project, there's nothing better than bold, original creative thinking. Yet as a manager, you understand that brainstorming with your team members can sometimes be a hit-or-miss prospect.
It's sometimes too easy for the more outgoing members of your staff to dominate the discussion, which means other people's valid ideas get overlooked. Also, there may be times when your group just doesn't feel as creative as they could be. Plus, brainstorming for too long or about topics your staff members just aren't that familiar with usually ends without strong results.
The solution? Turn to science — try these outside-the-box, research-proven strategies to sharpen your team's brainstorming skills and perfect their instincts:
Get colorful.
A study from the University of British Columbia found that when you brainstorm in a blue-hued room, you come up with twice as many creative ideas as you do if you think things out in a red environment.
So, set up your team in that cobalt conference area! Interestingly, though, you don't want to discount the color red entirely as a creativity tool.
Once an idea has been brainstormed is being polished by your group, the same study found that utilizing a red tool — think a pen with red ink to write out detailed notes — can help with memory retrieval when it comes to incorporating previous details from another project, as well as with making effective proofreading notes as your team works.
Collaborate — but not the whole time.
New research from Harvard Business School, Boston University and Northeastern University finds that in a group brainstorming situation, intermittently isolating members from each other will ultimately help everyone solve the most complex problem areas found in an overall idea.
This is because when people brainstorm too long as a team, they can develop "wisdom of the crowd" syndrome — the opinions of the strongest, loudest performers on the team start to dominate, and more reticent team members simply agree without offering their own thoughts.
To avoid this, split your team members up briefly to work on creative solutions alone. When everyone comes back together, ask each of your team members to present their ideas in turn — you'll have a much wider range of innovative plans to choose from, and ultimately, the right problem-solving strategy will be apparent.
Turn off the technology.
Constantly being distracted by using Google or emailing other colleagues to get their input during a brainstorming session can significantly interrupt the creative thinking process.
Ask your team to do their research before your group brainstorming session, then to turn off their phones, and allow themselves to think and speak in a completely free-form, unfiltered manner.
Encourage breaks in the discussion.
Research from Texas A&M University found that taking a pause during a brainstorming session prevents team members from unconsciously mimicking each others' thought patterns, and from circling back ineffectively to concepts that have already been introduced.
Aim for a five-minute break every 30 minutes of brainstorming; encourage your team members to walk around, grab a coffee, and talk with each other about anything but the idea being worked on, so they return to the group sufficiently refreshed.
Use specialization to your advantage.
A study from the Institute for Operations Research and Management Services also showed that bringing in outsiders with specific expertise to brainstorm about varied components of new product development works — but only if the product idea you're asking them to think about isn't complex.
Your best bet: boil down the basic concepts of what you're creating through brainstorming with your team, hone the idea your group has come up with into a straightforward result, and then ask other experts to add their perspective.
This systematic approach ensures that your group's creative approach will also be clear and practical to execute — which is everything you want.
