UnitVImaterial.pdf

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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

5. Examine leadership strategies that create an organizational culture embracing sustained creative
thinking practices.
5.1 Identify the elements of organizational culture that promote creative thinking.
5.2 Discuss leadership practices that promote sustained creative thinking practices.

Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

5.1
Unit VI Lesson
Chapter 4
Unit VI Reflection Paper

5.2
Unit VI Lesson
Chapter 4
Unit VI Reflection Paper

Reading Assignment

Chapter 4: Knowledge, Evidence, and Errors in Thinking

Unit Lesson

Thus far, we have discussed several significant topics, such as identifying why critical and creative thinking is
important, distinguishing between creative thinking and status quo thinking, and exploring how to overcome
barriers to creativity solve complex problems. Organizational members with the ability to overcome
complicated obstacles are extremely valuable, but sometimes it can be difficult to know how to cultivate this
ability. This unit provides insights into how an organizational leader might foster a culture of innovation
and creativity.

Creativity has been defined as the ability to come up with new and innovative approaches to situations that
are also relevant to the context. In other words, a novel approach to a situation is only creative if it helps fix a
problem or address an issue. However, it is possible that a new idea needs to be evaluated thoroughly to
determine whether it applies to the situation or not. This is where critical analysis comes in to play. Boss
(2017) discusses what we know and do not know, how we evaluate evidence, and how misperceptions and
cognitive barriers can create errors in our thinking processes. Finally, Boss explains how biases and social
errors can impact our abilities to impartially evaluate evidence.

Each of these topics has specific implications for organizational leaders who are interested in creating a
culture of creative thinking and innovative behaviors. Organizational culture is a set of shared beliefs and
values, which lead to a pattern of discernable behaviors among members of an organization (Guzak,
Crandall, & Alavinejad, 2017). The implication in this definition is that organizational culture is more than
simply acting like other members; instead, it gets into instilling shared beliefs and values, which can be a
challenge of paramount importance for organizational leaders. Creating a culture of creative thinking and
innovative behavior can be difficult but not impossible. The following discussion touches on elements from
Boss (2017) and goes into leader actions, which can incorporate those concepts, thus creating the desired
organizational culture.

UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE

Creative Thinking

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Human Knowledge and Its Limitations

Boss (2017) explains that two widely accepted approaches to gathering knowledge are rationalism, which
says that reason produces knowledge, and empiricism, which proposes that knowledge is gathered through
observation and the use of our senses. Regardless of which camp one falls into, the underlying premise for
knowledge is that it relies on evidence or other justification for belief in its validity. Since evidence is never
perfect and may be incomplete or incorrect, discussing methods for its evaluation seems particularly
important.

Evaluating Evidence

When discussing critical thinking, a key component to
creative thinking, the process of evaluating evidence, is of
primary importance. Boss (2017) explains that there are
factors that can add to the veracity of the presented
evidence and factors that can cause questions as to
whether the evidence is valid. One of the most widely
accepted types of evidence is direct experience.
However, even this highly reliable form of evidence is
subject to possible problems, such as false memory
syndrome, which is inaccurately remembering an event,
and possibly even adding elements of the experience that
did not happen (Boss, 2017). An example of this
syndrome would be a group of eyewitnesses to a crime
that was committed, and the eyewitness accounts differ
as to what happened, or the descriptions of the suspect do not match. A traumatic event, such as a violent
assault might cause a witness to “remember” seeing a weapon of some kind. Problems, such as this, can
come from leading questions, such as an investigator asking if the suspect was wearing a blue coat or
whether the witness saw the gun that other witnesses reported seeing, in other words, inserting details that
the witness might seize upon and inaccurately remember. Therefore, it is important that when evaluating
evidence, the entire process of how it was gathered should be examined.

Hearsay, which is often referred to as second-hand information that is heard by a person and then repeated,
is another form of potentially problematic evidence. An example of hearsay would be if someone tells an
investigator that person X told me that person Y was once in possession of the weapon used in a crime. If the
reporting person did not physically see the weapon, then transmitting what someone else “said” is hearsay.
Using experts is a great way to gather accurate information, but it is important to make sure that the individual
is an expert in the specific topic area of interest. Boss (2017) explains that the more credible evidence
presented in support of a claim, the more reasonable it is to accept the claim as factual. However, in the
absence of supporting evidence, contradictory evidence can refute it. A key problem to avoid is confirmatory
bias, which is looking only for supporting evidence and ignoring contradictory evidence (Boss, 2017).
Confirmatory bias is common in political debates. If someone has a differing political view, then it might be
tempting to look only for evidence that an individual in an opposing party was engaged in bad behavior,
ignoring potential evidence to the contrary. For examples, take a look at Republican claims that Hillary Clinton
mishandled classified information, and the Democratic claims that Donald Trump colluded with Russians to
steal an election. Both claims have supporting evidence, but both have contradictory evidence as well.
However, each side will only focus on the evidence that supports their position. Finally, it is important to
ensure that support collected through research is valid. With the proliferation of the Internet and open-source
information sites, such as Wikipedia and others, it is important that sources be examined to ensure accuracy.

Cognitive and Perceptual Errors in Thinking

Cognitive and perceptual errors can cause problems with presented evidence. The term “perception is reality”
is an actual example of this kind of problem with evidence. The employment of this phrase provides an easy
excuse to stop investigating an issue. If a seemingly credible source provides erroneous information, or if
social conversation believes something to be true, then it is often accepted as true, even if it is not. Lyons
(2015) provides an excellent example of how perception can actually be far from reality in a description of the
public reaction to erroneous accounts of the dangers Ebola presented to the United States. Several
seemingly reliable news outlets presented dire scenarios that were not at all likely to happen. However, when
folks heard them discussing these possible situations, their perceptions were that the threat was far more

Eyewitnesses’ accounts may differ
(Mullannix930, 2005)

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eminent than the reality, which was that the threat was minimal at best. These misperceptions can flow from a
variety of sources, such as misinterpretation of random data, memorable events error, probability errors, self-
serving bias, and self-fulfilling prophecy (Boss, 2017). The conclusion here is that just because “everyone”
believes something to be true, it is still advisable to do a little research to confirm the evidence is accurate.

Social Errors and Biases

Social errors and biases are closely related to the perceptual errors just discussed. The key to this group of
potential evidentiary problems is that humans tend to perceive events differently in groups than they do
individually (Boss, 2017). These groupthink type errors include “one of us/one of them,” which is clearly
evident in today’s political discourse. One need only turn on any 24-hour news channel to see a surrogate for
one political party or another spewing vitriol against the others in the classic “we are good/they are bad”
biases. Curtin (2015) describes a scene in which a family takes a long, hot unair-conditioned ride to a distant
city for supper. Upon returning, a disagreement breaks out over the fact that none of them wanted to go but
that each agreed because he or she thought that everyone else wanted to go. This classic story of groupthink
clearly illustrates the problem associated with the fear of dissenting and the danger of a culture that does not
support critical and creative thinking. Social expectations, group pressure and conformity, and diffusion of
responsibility are other potential errors related to social biases (Boss, 2017). Many of the discussed errors
with interpreting evidence are interrelated and can be problematic, but there is a way to overcome all of them.

Leadership

In organizations, each of these potential errors in evidence analysis can occur, and they can severely damage
the creative thinking processes. It is up to the leaders of the organization to develop a culture that rejects
many of these biases and encourages the presentation of new, creative ideas. Old leadership paradigms,
which focus on a few, or one at the top devising solutions and establishing processes to implement the
proposed solutions, are being replaced with more follower-focused leadership styles. It is by focusing on
those being led that rich and meaningful discussion takes place, which, in turn, leads to a culture of creativity
and innovation.

Follower-Focused Leadership

One of today’s leading leadership conceptualizations is a continuum of leadership styles, which places
laissez-faire leadership at one end, transactional leadership in the middle, and transformational leadership at
the other end (Bass, 1985). Beginning with the work of Burns (1978), this research stream determined that
the least effective form of leadership on the continuum is laissez-faire. This includes concepts, such as
management by exception, which only calls for leader/follower interaction when a problem exists.
Transactional leadership calls on the leaders to provide specific benefits to followers for conformity with
expectations. In other words, there is a transaction that takes place: you do X, and we, as an organization, will
do Y for you. Transactional leadership is considered more effective than laissez-faire, but transformational
leadership is the most effective of the three. Transformation leadership seeks to transform the motivation and
desires of followers by infusing them with the goals and objectives of the organization. Bass (1985) explains
that there are four elements of transformational leadership, known as the four Is:

1. Individual consideration–treating each follower with dignity and respect;
2. Idealized influence–setting the example;
3. Inspirational motivation–providing a reason for extra effort, a cause bigger than oneself; and
4. Intellectual stimulation–setting high expectations to be met and providing the opportunity for all to

contribute to figuring out a path to achieve the high standards.

It is not difficult to extrapolate this concept of transformational leadership into the development of a culture of
creative thinking and innovative behaviors. If the leader sets the example by providing creative ideas and then
solicits ideas from the rest of the organization, providing incentives and allowing for failure, human psychology
tends to gravitate toward those behaviors. Servant leadership is a concept that begins with a love and respect
for each individual follower as a person first and a potential asset to the organization second. Servant leaders
seek what is in the best interest of the individual follower, thus satisfying most, if not all of the four Is of
transformational leadership (Jones-Burbridge, 2012; Northouse, 2013). Authentic leadership, likewise, is
interested in the leader demonstrating a genuine interest in followers. These are but a few of the many

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leadership theories and concepts that can provide insight into how a leader might develop a culture of
creativity and innovation.

Conclusion

As has been explored, creative thinkers can be extremely valuable to an organization, and the creative
process begins with effective critical thinking. To that end, effective evaluation of evidence, which leads to
clear and accurate knowledge of a problem or issue, is important. Avoiding cognitive, social, and perceptual
errors can lead to the necessary clarity to employ the novel solutions. Leaders should take a follower-focused
approach to establishing a creative culture within the organization. By setting the example, providing a high
level of inspiration and acceptance for ideas that do not work out, the organization can begin to adopt the
values and beliefs necessary to employ creative thinking and innovative behaviors, thereby establishing the
desired organizational culture.

References

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York, NY: Free Press.

Boss, J. A. (2017). THiNK: Critical thinking and logic skills for everyday life (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill Education.

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Curtin, L. (2015). Cherish the differences. American Nurse Today, 10(9), 64. Retrieved from
http://link.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/apps/doc/A434414859/AONE?u=ora
n95108&sid=AONE&xid=6f6de7e9

Guzak, J. R., Crandall, B., & Alavinejad, H. (2017). Compensation and culture: A configurational fit between
pay system and culture types. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 17(5), 109–117. Retrieved from
https://search-proquest-
com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1967314542?accountid=33337

Jones-Burbridge, J. A. (2012, January). Servant leadership. Corrections Today, 73(6), 45–47. Retrieved from
http://link.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/apps/doc/A279915391/AONE?u=ora
n95108&sid=AONE&xid=f2ce69f1

Lyons, B. (2015, Winter). Ebola reminds us perception is reality. Gateway Journalism Review, 12–15.
Retrieved from
http://link.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/apps/doc/A409832864/AONE?u=ora
n95108&sid=AONE&xid=044053d7

Mullannix930. (2005). Robber-gun-money-bank-crime-actor [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://pixabay.com/en/robber-gun-money-bank-crime-actor-1080232/

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI
Reading Assignment
Unit Lesson
Human Knowledge and Its Limitations
Evaluating Evidence
Cognitive and Perceptual Errors in Thinking
Social Errors and Biases
Leadership
Follower-Focused Leadership
Conclusion
References