IMAGINATION, CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

The table below is my attempt to separate the traits of Managers from those of Leaders.   There are roles for both Managers and Leaders of course, and things are never quite as clearly defined as this table suggests, but for me this is a useful comparison that helps me modify my behavior if I feel I am slipping into the (more comfortable) role of managing when I should be leading (or vice-versa).   Personally I find that when riskier things aren’t going as well as I expected that my frustration leads to behavior from the left hand column when what is needed are the traits from the right hand column. Manager Leader Demands obedience, controlling, trusts no-one fully Objective is to repeat previous results but a little more cheaply or a little more efficiently Cuts costs, limits variation Plays it safe Takes the credit Points out flaws and criticizes mistakes Makes decisions, gives answer...

Recently in Thailand and beyond, the media was abuzz with stories of ‘Frank’, the high school student who started a Facebook campaign to abolish the mechanistic school system in Thailand.   Schooling in some Asian countries demands military-like discipline from students in order to produce a homogenized, compliant and a near-identical set of adults.   In Japan, for example, for much of their school lives, hair length and hair color are regulated. http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/thailands-schools-vestiges-military-rule Frank and his ‘friends’ want to transform the purpose of Education and encourage ‘free-thinking’.   What they are seeing is that society’s demands of them as adults and citizens are vastly different from the adults they are taught to become. The strict conformity of some Asian school systems highlights the gulf between what is taught and what is needed, but in most countries it is fair to say, I believe, that there is a disjoint between the...

The Optimist says: 'This glass is half full.' The Pessimist says: 'This glass is half empty.' The Physicist wonders why they are using the wrong glass. We are often encouraged by trainers and professional development consultants to 'think out of the box' or 'out of the square'. The implication is that by changing the parameters, we may find more creative solutions to our problems. The assumption though is that we have correctly identified the problems we have. Both the Optimist and the Pessimist have assumed that there is not enough water in their glass. The Physicist wonders why the Optimist and the Pessimist are using the wrong glass to hold the right amount of water. This is not looking for a creative solution to the 'problem', but a redefining of the problem itself. Rather than 'thinking out of the box' the Physicist has thrown the box away. Many will have heard the story of the boy who fills his...