IEEE-USA E-BOOKS

Boosting
Team
Creativity
B Y H A R R Y T. R O M A N
Copyright © 2019 by IEEE-USA and by Harry T. Roman. All rights reserved.

Published and Hosted by IEEE-USA.

Copying this material in any form is not permitted without prior written approval from IEEE/
IEEE-USA.

Editing, Review, Production and Publishing by Georgia C. Stelluto,

IEEE-USA Publishing Manager; Manager/Editor, IEEE-USA E-BOOKS

Cover design and layout by Hello. Hillary R. Coggeshall, LLC

This IEEE-USA publication is made possible through funding by a special dues assessment
of IEEE members residing in the United States.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Learning about Your Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Promoting Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Working with the Education Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Some Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Losing Creativity—and Getting It Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 1

INTRODUCTION

C
reativity is intelligence having fun.
~Albert Einstein

Creativity is not fluff. It’s real. And it’s important to the health and vigor of
your project team, and to your company. Creative people can change your business,
give it new perspective, re-envision it─and perhaps, even disrupt it completely.

In a highly competitive, global economy, creativity is rocket fuel. You can use
it to zoom past competitors, and gain strategic advantages.

In a list of what makes really great employees leave a company, and ranking
high on that list, is management that will not allow its employees to engage in
creativity. Even worse, some employers place severe restrictions on creativity,
and don’t recognize the need to promote it.

Strictly speaking, creativity is not something you manage. It is something a

manager should foster, cultivate, promote and mentor. Executive leaders and
managers should teach their employees about creativity, and demonstrate
personal, positive and consistent examples, for creativity to take effective hold
within their companies. Mentors and team leaders have the province, and bear
the responsibility for, individual and team creativity. But, you don’t have to be
in charge to create, or to make creativity happen.

Creativity is a visceral passion, an essential critical corporate process; and team

members should take part in it─without thinking or fanfare. It is, and should be,
ingrained into the corporate DNA. Its application in everyday problem-solving
activities should be expected, welcomed, and never second-guessed. Chances
are, if your company takes great pains to talk about creativity, then it is lacking
within the company. It must be that visceral to be effective, an autonomic
response to any problem-solving challenge.

Throughout your life, you will be exposed to creative techniques from many
different experiences. Think of these experiences as life lessons and hard
knocks─and many of those occasions may even be serendipitous─downright
joyful. Sometimes, even our children teach us some really great lessons. Be
on the lookout for all the creativity this world, and your life, has to offer.

In this brief volume, we will explore some creativity techniques you can use
with your team.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 2

LEARNING ABOUT YOUR TEAM

C
reativity takes courage.
~Henri Matisse

Having worked within an R&D function for most of my career, I have

had the good fortune of interacting with colleagues from all over the world.
We have always talked about big issues, those beyond what we were trying
to accomplish within our local problem-solving work. We enjoyed continuous
exposure to different cultures, and the opportunities to observe how people
viewed problems and challenges─a great way to get to know each other.
We also had a wonderful mix of disciplines─engineers, scientists, physicists,
chemists, mathematicians, statisticians, and many others. Our team was
broad and deep, affecting the rich way we viewed problem-solving, and the
variety of metrics we took into account when solving problems.

Diversity was a constant in our R&D world. It made a huge and important
difference in how we worked as a team and solved problems, compared to
traditional operating divisions in the company. In addition, our work often
required us to interact with people in national/international venues, such
as committees, working groups and joint research projects. Such diversity
enhanced our team creativity even further.

One thing I did notice─with regularity─my creative colleagues drew

sustenance from a rich variety of things─like music, poetry, hobbies,
sports, and even politics. Their minds were multiply engaged, always
learning. It was not only about work. My colleagues and I came up with
ideas from seemingly unrelated sources. Many of us enjoyed travel, and
meeting people from other cultures.

How well do you know your team? What makes them tick? What motivates
them? What brings them to work every day? Do you realize having such
different life experiences can be a great benefit to every one of your team
members? Do you think it will promote creativity? Following are some things
you can do to get to know your team members' interests and passions.

I strongly encourage you and your team members to share information

about each other’s interests, passions, hobbies, favorite topics, leisure
pursuits, etc. Cross-learning about each other can spur unexpected creative
thinking, and cause potential friendships to blossom. You can lead such
interactions throughout your tenure with the team─at lunches, staff

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 3

meetings, off-site gatherings, and social events. By all means─interact
with one another─on both a professional and personal level. Take the
time to really learn about each other.

I once engaged fifth grade teams at a local school to create some new board
games. They pursued this challenge with passion and creative insights. At
the end of the week-long exercise, I asked them what they enjoyed most
about the challenge. I was amazed and delighted to find that nearly all the
children took great satisfaction in their team members’ creativity─and in the
new friendships they made. Years later, I am still processing that information.
Unleash this kind of passion in your team members!

Discuss how each member approaches problem-solving. What explicit and

implicit techniques do they like to use to solve them? What solution matrix
do team members tend to draw from? What are their criteria for success?

Problem-solving is both an art and a science, honed through:

• Previous experience

• Successes and failures

• Cultural values

• Many other factors, including age

You can learn so much from one another. Some members may be strictly
sequential or deductive learners; others may forage here and there; and
some may mix all sorts of deductive and lateral thinking together. These
techniques may be suitable for different kinds of problems. If someone
comes up with a unique solution to a problem, ask them to discuss how they
arrived at that solution: how did they see a connection between things?

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 4

PROMOTING CREATIVITY

M
istakes are the portals of discovery.
~James Joyce

So often, people feel they must create a kind of unique environment

to spur creativity─like an office-playground, where team members can go
from work to play as the spirit moves them. Perhaps, this special area might
contain specially painted and decorated walls─to stir up psychological cues,
or contain pool tables and coffee bars. Not necessarily. It’s more a kind of
understood empowerment─where one’s mind is free to roam, and make
connections between things─yet maintain a connection to the work at hand.
It is a different form of discipline mixed with professionalism.

One of my all-time favorite ways to promote creativity was to engage in “what

if” scenarios, exploring potential impacts new technological developments can
have on the problems a team is facing. I worked with a long-time colleague
of 25+ years, who taught me this technique. We played almost every day,
when we could. He would come up with a scenario over a cup of coffee; and
for a half hour, we would fill up a whiteboard with the possible implications.
We had all sorts of ideas about where our team was heading, and how things
could change at a moment’s notice. As both of us evaluated advanced energy
systems for our company, my teammate and I were always on the leading
edge of new technology applications—always pushing the boundaries of our
corporate envelope. We loved it!

Our company’s president routinely sent new ideas to us for evaluation,

because we were both so prepared for new things coming down the pike.
We both retired about a month apart, and I still miss those coffee cup
discussions. We combined creativity and fun. That was our magic. Could
you see doing something similar with your team members?

Make sure your team members have a big feeding trough—one that is deep
and wide. Bring the information they need to them; and let them tell you the
sources of information they need—such as magazines, journals, transactions
and professional organizations. Open access to the internet is absolutely
essential. Some companies still have a stranglehold on allowing employees
to access the internet freely. Such limitations serve to derail creativity. Let
your employees explore things. Encourage making a creative space, and a
chance to make connections between things.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 5

Encourage your members to develop terrific oral and written communication
skills. I cannot emphasize the need for these skills more strongly. Good ideas
are worthless, if they cannot be expressed well and succinctly. In fifty years
of engineering, I cannot ever remember an engineer being discharged for
incompetence; but I distinctly remember careers diminished, because
engineers could not write or speak well. Lacking these skills are show-
stoppers. They harm not only the person, but the whole team. Pay great
attention to developing these skills—for yourself, and among your team
members. Creativity feeds off good ideas presented well. Great communication
changes the dynamics between team members and the outside world!

Allow your team members to travel and take part in national/international

forums like joint projects, committee assignments, and related activities.
World experiences have wonderful implications for the whole team. Participating
members can bring back:

• Best practices learned from other companies

• Latest technological advances and techniques

• Study creativity and creative techniques from some of the top industry
leaders, such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, 3M,
and others

• New contacts for possible later exploration

• National/international perspectives on what the team is trying to do

Here is something many companies have trouble with; but in my estimation,

it’s a powerful way to spur creativity. Encourage your team members to publish,
and enrich the literature that’s out there on a particular topic, or topics. Speaking
for myself and my close colleagues, nothing spurs professionalism more than
traveling to a conference, and being on the program to discuss technological
advances you are working on. One must be careful not to expose company
secrets and intellectual property; but in my five decades of engineering, my
experience is that you can carefully take care of such details beforehand. Plus,
having your team member names out there as experts will naturally draw the
attention of national/international decision-makers, and other professionals who
may want to team with you. It can bring not only more expertise, but also more
funding to the efforts you and your team are engaged in.

To develop this thought further: In a large team project I led some years
ago, one that involved developing mobile robot applications in hazardous

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 6

environments, we published our work regularly. We even helped to create
a national working group that met every four to six months to discuss what
we were doing back at our home labs. Those activities attracted important
people to our robot lab. We were able to leverage research dollars from
other companies who wanted very much to join in our work. For every
robotic device we fielded, other companies, vendors, developers and
researchers kicked in 40 percent of the cost.

The interactions and expertise brought to bear on the 23 machines our group
launched benefited from the expertise team members from many companies
shared—so much so, that every, year those early robot applications saved
$3.00 in operating costs at year-end—for every $1.00 spent on the robot
at the year’s beginning. Our team had results like that for eight years! I am
convinced it was because of our team’s ability to get out there in the public
forum, and mix it up a bit. We also ended up with six patents, and more than
$650,000 in royalty revenue, making us a small business within the larger
corporation—a profit center.

If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.

~John Cleese

Don’t forget to have your team members become involved with their professional
organizations, like IEEE, ASME, WIE, and other such professional affiliations. It’s
another excellent way to meet people—as well as bring back great information
about technology being tested, developed and fielded. Chances are good some of
your company's senior leaders may have senior positions in one or more of these
organizations, and can act as a natural mentor for your team members. Again,
this type of affiliation was most important for me, now an IEEE Life member. I've
been an IEEE Member for more than 50 years, and I'm still very active. Working
in various IEEE volunteer activities has completely changed the way I see my
profession. Further, it opened up a treasure trove of contacts, and information I
applied directly to my team leadership. Remember: As a team leader, one of your
greatest responsibilities is to make more team leaders—to create a legacy
of leadership for your company.

How about each team member being responsible for teaching others
a new creative technique they have researched? Having taken many
continuing education creativity courses, I've observed many ways to
engage team members in different techniques to solve problems. Have
your staff do some research and see what comes of it. One of my greatest
continuing education courses was an AMA week-long course in creativity
and innovation, held in New York City, many years ago. That course
changed my way of thinking; and it unleashed a torrent of ideas about

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 7

creative manipulation of problems. Prior to taking that course, I had
been reading about Alex Osborn's early work. Osborn's pioneering work
in the 1940s was all about team brainstorming; but this AMA course set
it all on fire with, many concrete examples and perspectives. Having
team members attend creativity courses; or researching them, and
teaching other colleagues, is a powerful way to get new ideas to surface
and be recognized.

A best practices project my team worked on for about six months involved
our entire R&D department visiting other companies—to learn about
how those companies took raw ideas and converted them in to real
products. What an eye-opener those frank discussions were, as I learned
about America’s great companies and how they harnessed the creative
spirit of their teams. I remember vividly that DuPont understood so well
how important it was to make corporate creativity a core process of its
entire organization—down to the point of knowing exactly how many raw
ideas employees generated to make several really good new products
[turned out to be 164 raw ideas to make four great new products]. You
must remember that DuPont is more than 210 years old, and it actually
changed corporate focus three times over during that period. DuPont
executives really understand the role of employee creativity. Other very
creative companies like 3M and Hewlett-Packard were a sheer pleasure to
talk with and visit. Think about such interactions for your team.

Earlier, we talked about “what if” scenarios as a way to encourage creative

thought. How about the old military game of red team-blue team, to outwit
each other and probe for weak spots? I think your team would enjoy doing
this challenge—trying to out-maneuver the other. What strategies would
your team use to defeat the mother company? How would they engineer
such things? Are there vulnerabilities your team members see that could be
exploited? Maybe they are technological; or perhaps they might be regulatory/
political. Look at how solar energy gained the advantage, to redefine the
electric power production industry—mostly through political means. Could
something like this be appropriate for your company/industry? Are these
the kinds of things you might like to document and present to senior lead-
ership? Think your creative team members would rise to the opportunity to
hone their creativity techniques? I bet they would…

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 8

WORKING WITH THE EDUCATION
COMMUNITY

C
reativity is as important as literacy.
~Sir Ken Robinson

A well-organized classroom functions in a similar manner to a project

team. It’s all about a leader helping people see the bigger picture of what
they are trying to do. Consider inviting teachers into your team’s activities.
Here is what I propose.

During the summer months, invite high school teachers to work onsite with
your team—to add some outside “spice” to the team’s efforts; bring in some
new ideas; and more importantly, ask the forum some new questions to
stir up the creative juices. These teachers must start fresh on your team’s
problems. As such, they can often see things your team may have gotten
too close to, to gain a new perspective on. Outsiders often disrupt the flow
of old ideas by turning a problem on its head. Many past paradigm-smashers
became so, because they had a viewpoint no one else had. Your team may
achieve some interesting breakthroughs. Teachers working in a real work-
place can also bring their experiences back to the classroom, and enrich
tomorrow’s new employees.

Another rich outside source of new perspectives involves working with a local
college to bring professors and students into contact with your team. Many
engineering and science-oriented schools suggest students perform a capstone
course to demonstrate their ability to apply what they learn. Why not have
teams of students try their hand on some key aspects of your team’s work?

During my career, I had more than thirty such teams work on research projects
my teams were involved in. In a two-semester capstone course, professors and
student teams evaluated a problem statement, and they planned a solution
in the first semester. They actually carried out that solution during the second
semester—finishing with a final report and recommendations. Essentially, the
student teams functioned as consultant to the work assigned; and I must say,
they almost always came up with really good ideas. Here is a list of benefits of
going this route:

• Regular team members enjoyed working with the professors and students,
lending a change of pace and different perspectives to the project.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 9

• Enthusiastic students, anxious to show what they could do, almost always
went the extra mile to uncover some interesting new information of relevance
to the project, bringing new techniques to the problem-solving process.

• In all cases, it was less expensive to have students work on problems

than a regular consultant.

• Often, I had a chance to preview some new talent up close; and I actually
hired some of the students after graduation for work in the company as
regular, full-time employees.

• On several occasions, we engaged the student immediately. And on several

more, it led to even greater project activities with the sponsoring college.

• Professors involved in this activity soon developed a sensitivity to the kinds

of problems our industry was facing, and it became a significant source of
consultancy—often proposing exciting ideas for the teams to consider.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 10

SOME TIPS

P
lay is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.
But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work
of childhood.
~Fred Rogers

Experienced leaders know giving their employees time to relax, and perhaps
enjoy some playtime, is not counterproductive. Never be reticent about
allowing your professional charges to “let their hair down.” Studies have
revealed that on-the-job play can lead to reduced stress; more (and often
unusual and surprising) ideas; enhanced creativity; and increased innovation.

Playtime might simply mean giving employees private time; and a quiet
space to doodle, think and clear their minds—and hopefully interact more
with teammates. Invite the other departments your team interacts with to
relax with you, as well. You might consider:

• A catered lunch and “intellectual jam” session

• Offsite meetings

• Trips to see relevant technology demonstrations

• An opportunity to hear an invited speaker in your areas of interest

• Developing co-authored papers about your work

• Holiday parties—always fun

You can create many ways to induce a relaxed, yet productive work
environment. Explore them!

Companies looking to instill a more creative work environment have installed

juice bars, game lounges, nap cubbies, and lots of other amenities to get
employees to “chill out”—figuring a relaxed mind is more receptive to new
ideas and concepts. Some of these activities may be different to the multiple
generations that might be present on your team, and in your company. My
own experience tends toward the less expensive “bricks and mortar” aspects
of building creative spaces. Experiment and see what works best for your
teams, and in your corporate culture.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 11

The importance of workplace diversity cannot be understated. An environment
filled with people from different cultures, experience levels and specialties
enhances creativity—because the more diverse the group’s knowledge and
beliefs, the more diverse the ideas and creative solutions that tend to arise.

Allow team members to give formal presentations about the work being
conducted and the results achieved. Such presentations will keep motivation
high, make team members feel like part of the larger team effort, and
promote a sense of professionalism. Support them during such presentations,
introducing them as team experts, and helping to build self-confidence.

When you are out of the office, let team members cover for you, making
decisions as needed, answering questions from senior leadership, etc. This
responsibility is a terrific way to groom people and build self-confidence. Do
it on a rotating basis among team members.

In a team I worked on many years ago, our leader had several ways to
keep us engaged. He managed to take us to lunch every Friday. He fostered
friendly competitions during the work week, often involving who could get to
the right person in our large company to answer a tough question—with the
fewest phone calls. It all worked out quite well. I will never forget those fun
things we did, and the people I worked with.

That assignment led to my first really big job as a project manager, and it
hooked me into being a lifelong R&D project manager—assembling my own
teams to design new products, and use them within the various company
departments. In essence, I functioned much like an “intra-preneur.” And I
loved every minute of my long career.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 12

LOSING CREATIVITY—AND GETTING IT BACK

J
ust some final thoughts here, on how easy it is for employees, team
members and organizations to lose their creativity. And how to go
about getting it back.

Fast Company reported in a study that in 2004, a worker’s attention switched

an average of every three minutes. In 2012, it was one minute and 15
seconds. By 2014, it had dwindled further—to 59.5 seconds. Lack of focus
and distraction profoundly diminishes creativity and productivity. It isn’t likely
to be a case of attention deficit disorder (a condition diagnosed in only about
five percent of the population). Instead, we can point the finger at the very
technology that enables our work, according to Gloria Mark, a professor at
University of California-Irvine. Mark has studied distraction, and its effects on
productivity and creativity.

In a different study, on writing emails, Mark observed: “When people

are constantly interrupted, they develop a mode of working faster (and
writing less) to compensate for the time they know they will lose by being
interrupted. Yet working faster with interruptions has its cost. People in
the interrupted conditions experienced a higher workload, more stress,
higher frustration, more time pressure, and effort. So interrupted work
may be done faster, but at a price.” Interruptions make for additional loss
of focus and creativity—for both individuals and team members.

A case in point are workers at Microsoft. Microsoft workers revealed in an

often quoted study that when they multitasked, it took between 10-15
minutes to refocus on the work they were supposed to be completing. Part
of that price is the lost time it takes to get back on track, as well as the loss
of creativity.

To get productive again:

• Tap the flow—You can achieve a happy, productive, flow state with a
strong sense of self-discipline—focusing on the team’s task at hand.

• Understand what you are really spending your time doing—Chart

the way you spend your day. From there, you will begin to notice patterns;
then, you can pinpoint the times you get distracted. You can start making
changes to break out of unproductive, unfocused, uncreative cycles.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 13

• Play music—A soundtrack that appeals to you both soothes the mind
and spurs action. Ambient music improves creativity.

• Visualize—Accurately visualizing all the things that need completing on a

given day is an easy way to stay on task, avoid a state of overwhelm and
loss of focus, and to keep from losing creative ideas. To keep your mental
energy up—put the most challenging tasks at the top of the list. Allow
time for the task that requires the most focus each day.

• Break tasks up into smaller chunks—Your “to do” list will be more
manageable; plus you’ll treat your brain to a neurological boost. Electrical
activity in the brain is at a heightened flow during a productive, creative,
flow state. With the satisfaction of completion—the brain has an out-pouring
of the feel-good chemical, serotonin. And serotonin can spur creativity.

During its “lost decade,” Microsoft stepped up its efforts to cripple competitors,
but ended up crippling its own co-workers, and its creativity in the process.
Due to some foolish management decisions—Microsoft rewarded its staffers,
not just for doing well—but for making sure their colleagues failed. Endless
internal backstabbing consumed the company. As a result, Microsoft killed,
derailed, or delayed such potential and creative market-busting businesses as
e-book and smartphone technology—amid bickering and power plays.

The world may still operate and rely heavily on Microsoft products, most
notably Microsoft Office, but the tech giant lost ground to Apple in recent
years in style, creativity and innovation. Apple made giant leaps with
iPods, iPhones and iPads. Google also fell asleep at the wheel—when it
came to social media—particularly with the rise of Facebook and Twitter.
Both Microsoft and Google have rebounded, and are gaining new ground in
creative ventures.

It's hard to know what creative endeavors any of these technology giants
will unveil next. Each company is trying to maintain, regain and/or retain its
creative mojo—by allowing newer, younger players to enter the market—with
fresh ideas.

The final word? You can be sure: engineering and technology remain among
the most exciting and creative industry careers.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 14

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

H
arry T. Roman holds 12 U.S. Patents, has received numerous
engineering, invention and teaching awards, and has published
more than 550 scientific papers, articles, monographs and books.
In 1999, the New Jersey Technology Education and Engineering Association
named Roman a Distinguished Technology Educator. In 2005, the New Jersey
Inventors Hall of Fame honored him with an Inventor of the Year award, for
his application of mobile robots in hazardous work environments. In 1996,
IEEE honored Roman with a Meritorious Achievement Award, for developing
continuing education products for IEEE members. Again in 2006, IEEE honored
him with an Outstanding Engineer award. Roman also received IEEE’s 2015
Region 1 Excellence in Teaching award. Every month, more than 250,000
educators read his feature articles appearing in various national publications.

In PSE&G’s R&D group, where Roman worked for 36 years, he directed

and consulted on more than $100 million worth of projects/programs, and
taught graduate-level R&D project management courses at the New Jersey
Institute of Technology [NJIT]. Throughout his engineering career, Roman
worked with schools around the state, bringing the excitement of real-world
problem-solving into the classroom. Retired since 2006, he has published
more than 70 resource books, math card games and science kits for teachers─
products valued for their “head and hands” approach to teaching creativity,
invention, STEM, engineering, and alternate energy topics, in the classroom.

Roman now spends many hours in the classroom, working with teachers
and students in West Orange, Montclair and Livingston, conducting special
student project team challenges. He is an advisor/author to the Edison
Innovation Foundation, and docent/special lecturer at the Thomas Edison
National Historical Park, in West Orange. Roman also admits to writing
and publishing poetry and short stories. For the past three years, he
has been teaching graduate school at Montclair State University, in their
teaching college, where he co-teaches a unique course about applying
STEM techniques in the classroom.

BOOSTING TEAM CREATIVITY 15

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