There are a number of formal training courses available for those who wish to study the skill of facilitating creative meetings to a more detailed level. However there are a few key points to note that will help you get the most from any session you are running.
- Create the right atmosphere. The session should be positive and focused on generating ideas. You must curb those who are negative or criticise others. Also, turn moaners around by keeping people focused on producing ideas. You might like to start with a ten-minute moan zone to let people get everything off their chest; but make it clear that after that only ideas and solutions will be accepted, not problems and complaints.
- Draw in the full team. Make sure everyone speaks. Do not rely only on random calling out of ideas: go round the table, ask everyone to contribute. Set yourself the challenge of having each person speaking for about the same amount of time. This will mean curbing some and encouraging others.
- Arrange for someone to help you stick up flip chart sheets. A simple point, but having to do them yourself can block the flow of ideas.
- Try to bridge ideas and comments into useable practical ideas. In the closing stages of the session, try and get people to think about their ideas and how they can be applied to the business today.
- Be disciplined with time. Never let a meeting overrun, regardless of how well it is going. Keep to the timetable. If you become known for letting meetings drift on, people will be frustrated and resent the time lost. Also, having a tight time frame helps focus ideas and maintains the pressure for quality not quantity.
- Keep everyone positive, including yourself. Praise people for their ideas, avoid negative phrases such as ‘yes, but . . .’ or snap judgements like ‘that wouldn’t work’ or ‘the customer would hate that’. If you are not convinced about an idea, do not pour cold water on it. Instead try and draw it out, with a line such as ‘I like that approach – what could we do to make it even more powerful’, or ‘that’s a good thought – how could we develop it to solve our problem even faster or more thoroughly?’
- Never let anyone say anything without ending up with an idea. If someone makes a statement or complains about something, do not let them get away with that being their only contribution. Ask them to tell the group what they could do about it. For example, you could use a line like: ‘You are right, that is a real problem – what do you think would be the best way to handle it?’ It may sound surprising, but often asking such a blunt question, causes the speaker to rattle off an answer that was spinning away in the back of their minds.
- Surprise people. Another way to shake out creative thoughts that people did not know they had is to say: ‘Just imagine you knew the answer to this problem – what would you do?’ The replies that people often give to this simple ‘trick question’ frequently astonish the group and the individual concerned, who up until that point had been totally stumped by what he or she thought was an insoluble hurdle. Although this technique may sound paradoxical at first, its effect can be dramatic on a group that is creatively stuck. Initially in despair, people begin to speculate upon possible solutions or options: for example, if only they had more time, more budget, better resources and so on. Once these ‘dream ideas’ are expressed, the leader of the creativity session should encourage further speculation – for instance by asking ‘how might that idea be turned into a reality?’ Almost without realizing it, the group often finds that it has developed new practical ideas, or at least, is beginning to see a way forward towards a solution.
- Avoid criticising or harsh joking about people’s ideas. Goodhearted humour is fine as part of keeping the mood and your tone positive at all times. Never let your frustration show. If you think the ideas are poor or not flowing fast enough, keep your exasperation to yourself. If the tension mounts in the room, the creativity will dry up like a puddle in the desert.
These are a few basic guidelines, most of which are common sense. Try to apply them to your leadership style in and outside the group sessions and you will be rewarded by people coming forward with ideas and thoughts that they know will be treated with enthusiasm and respect. The more your people believe that their concepts will be listened to, well received and valued, the more they are likely to be forthcoming.
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