When your job revolves around the ability to come up with solutions, then you need excellent creative problem-solving skills. The following post will show you twelve of the best tips to really hone in on your creativity:

Open yourself up to new ideas

You can’t solve problems through creative thinking if you’re unwilling to explore new ideas. So, the first step is to open yourself up to new lines of thought and different opinions. This is a surefire way to find new perspectives that provide the solutions to your problems.

Immerse yourself with other creatives

Following on from the above point, if you spend time with creative people, then their creativity rubs off on you. Their open-minded approach helps plant seeds in your mind, which dramatically enhance your problem-solving ability.

Change your surroundings

Improve your problem solving by changing your environment — Break out of the office to inspire your creativity

One of the secrets to productivity is having a work environment that makes you feel comfortable. You can take this sort of idea into creative problem solving by understanding that your surroundings make a difference. Sitting in the same office all day can limit your creative thinking. So, go outside or change your surroundings, it’ll make a surprising difference to how you think!

Think about awful solutions

Sometimes, you have to work backward and come up with solutions that are just downright awful. Then, you look at what makes them so bad, and can devise a creative solution that addresses all of these issues.

Solve the complete opposite problem

Likewise, if you take a problem and solve the opposite version of it, then it helps find more stumbling blocks for the initial issue. As a result, you have loads of new things to focus on and prevent from happening.

Stimulate your brain with colours

It’s proven that certain colours can improve your performance more than others. So, when you’re taking notes or brainstorming, use different coloured pens. Things like yellow and blue are very effective, and just the presence of colours helps get you out of your creative funk.

Switch up your tools

Often, a change in approach can help fire off new creative thoughts in your brain. If you always use a pen and paper to do all your notes or brainstorming, then switch to an iPad or computer instead. It gives you a new tool to use, which can trigger new thoughts. Especially when you jump from traditional to modern technology, and vice versa. There’s something about holding a pen when you’ve spent all day on a computer that really shocks your brain into life.

Set timing restraints

Setting a deadline can help you solve problems better — Set a timer to improve your efficiency when problem solving

It’s harder to solve problems that don’t have any time restrictions on them. As a result, you spend ages going over as many vague possibilities as you can. But, you can improve your efficiency by creating these restraints. Set a timer on your phone, and you’ll instantly feel the pressure of running out of time spurs you on to come up with better solutions.

Build mind maps

Draw a mind map on a piece of paper or on your mobile, and it helps to visualise your thought process. By doing this, you will quickly arrive at the solution to almost any problem. You can do this on your own just doodling however you like, or you can actually find apps or tools that help you draw more effective mind maps.

Gain inspiration from elsewhere

A lot of the time, it helps when you take a break from your work and seek inspiration elsewhere. Check out other people’s blogs, watch some videos, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly a thought can pop into your head. Then, get back to work and solve your problem.

Always jot down your ideas

No matter where you are, or how absurd your idea might be, make a note of it. Keep it in the notes app on your phone, write it in a booklet; whatever. Having all these ideas will prove helpful when problems arise. It may not seem like it now, but that random idea you had could solve an issue in the future.

Attend a workshop

Here at STL Training, we can help your creative problem solving with our Problem Solving Decision Making Course. You will learn all about how to solve problems using creative thinking, and you’ll carry these skills throughout your career. Check out our creative problem solving training London courses!

It’s common for individuals to run into walls during the problem-solving process. You’ll likely hit a creative rut at some point, where you just can’t seem to think of anything. This is normal, and you can get out of that rut by following the tips laid out in this blog. Now, there won’t be any problem that you can’t think of a creative solution for.

How can an understanding of yourself help you become a better manager?

You’ve sat on the bench long enough, and in your mind you have a vision of the impact you want to make on the team. You know the areas that require immediate improvements, you’re well-rehearsed at what doesn’t work. How do you ensure you reach peak performance – the answer is within you.

First, set the stage

Progress is to challenge yourself. But, asking the right questions is to honestly face who you are, and that’s not so easy. Remind yourself, how else can you possibly discover what defines you? The limitations you have or the strengths you may not have realised?

It’s like taking the stage for the first time after years of sitting comfortable and inconspicuous in the audience. Being under the spotlight is a shock, with new levels of exposure and vulnerability.

To perform well can seem natural and easy from the balcony, but when you put yourself out there, alone and under scrutiny, new pressures apply. Your most important lesson will be the knowledge of yourself, so embrace it.

Secondly, identify where to find the knowledge

Your greatest adversary can be your own expectations. You will encounter situations that defy imagination, and the behaviour of others will often leave you confounded. Sometimes the objectives will seem impossible, like a barrage of situations to confront and test your metal.

Reflecting on who you are is a great start. The Johari Window Model provides four areas to help us understand who we are. Try considering events at work that affect you from these four perspectives:

1. What we and others see

2. What only we see and hide from others

3. What we can’t see about ourselves and yet to others is obvious

4. And then of course the quadrant of the unknown

The Johari Window

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Lastly, seek to understand, and then be understood

Having a mentor, a coach or a role model is crucial for instilling a belief in yourself. They will challenge critical thinking and help you to define you. Using a theoretical device to analyse predetermined reactions to a given situation is a great start, yet nothing beats the discovery of a mentor or a coach. Confronting role play and problem solving develops perspective. The ability to assess yourself and your team lies in 3 clear evaluations:

Performance
Efficiency
Productivity

How do you bring this all together?

Training courses become important at this stage, as they are a proven way to initiate mentoring. Workshops that take the principles of management and expose them to experiences and theoretical situations, while encouraging individuals to solve – all of which can create a better understanding.

Knowledge is power. How willing are you to investigate the unknown? The challenge is not for everyone, yet for those who do step beyond the comfort zone, they are guaranteed to find two things. A better path to self-awareness and a greater clarity in how to inspire others. Both go hand-in-hand and both are the keys to success. It’s all up to you.

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