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ii today's knowledge economy, we cling t o iiiariy niyths ;ibout c-rcativit): We believe, for instance, that creativity is ;I solit;iry practice, \vhcn iii fact most of this ccii t ii ry ' s grea tes t inve n tions and discover ies-coii i p LI tcr el cc tron ics , con1 i i icrci'il aviation and space flight, the breaking of the gciictic code-have cmviatcd fi-om inspired ,qrorrys. We believe that crcwivity cniitiot he nianagcd, \vhcn in reality iiim.iger5 can strongly shape the creative process. 13ut perhaps iiiost prevalent-md lexit productive-is the belief that groups iiiiist dcpctid on a few often eccentric individu,ils for crcativc output. In reality, any group caii hcc.oiiic iiiorc creative if its l c d e r s 1111derstaiici and support the dynamics of creative collabor;ltion.
Looking beyond these myths, most students of creativity and Icdc-i-ship agree t h t the t w o disciplines are deeply related. O n e c;innot thrivc \vithout the other. <:rc,iti.ity is a process of developing novel ;in d use fill i de.is, \.he t h er a I i i 11 c rcii icii tal i iiiproveiiieii t or .i \,orld-clianging breaktlirougli. I t ciiix>iiip~sscs 11101-c than the I,iiiiich of . i ne\v product or project teani. it is what effective or~aiiiz;rtioiis ffo. I)cc;idcs of psychological research 011 h u i i i a n behavior ;in11 the \vork ot'i~ollc.iguez such as Teresa Aniahilc have provided inuch insight into ho\v the creative p r o c w 1111foltls. I t liiiigcs on ;I rcpcatcd cycle of divergence .ind c'onvri-geiic'r-to t i n t c'rc*.ite .I rich diversity of options and then to agree on the best ide;is t o iniplemcm. Tfic process ot'crcativity involves five steps.
Pwpir~ttioti. Creativity may emerge i i i unexpected \v;iyh, but it docs n o t coiiic tiom the hluc. I t springs from deep wells of esprrtise. I\escarc.li dio\vs that the most crcative people have a to\vering conimand of a given discipline, a i d sucli cspcrtiw i x i i take 1 ( I yr;irs t o develop. Hut creative groups ,ilso need "begiririrrs' ii~ii~d~"--iie\vcomers to :i field who bring fresh perspective and ask good questions. Coniyosiiig groups with both kinds of iii\ight is a key for leaders.