Leader Thinking, Follower Thinking: Leader Impacts on Follower Creative Performance

Abstract

Innovation, and the creative thinking that provides the basis for innovation, is of great value for organizations. In this article we describe what is needed for people to think creatively, noting that creative thinking is a complex, albeit voluntary, activity involving performance on certain types of problems. The ways leaders influence peoples’ willingness to engage in, and ability to solve, creative problems are then described. Leaders of creative efforts must not only motivate creative work but also actively contribute to creative problem-solving both by engaging followers in creative problem-solving and by establishing the conditions that allow creative problem-solving at the individual, team, and firm levels. The implications of these observations for leader assessment and leader development are discussed.