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Creativity mars leadership potential ?

http://mytoday.com/u/1801

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Mueller and co-authors Jack A. Goncalo of Cornell and Dishan Kamdar of ISB undertook three studies to examine how creative people were viewed by colleagues. The troubling finding: Those individuals who expressed more creative ideas were viewed as having less, not more, leadership potential.

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But understanding the need for creativity within a large company is not the same as actually fostering it. Indeed, Mueller's work shows that those who think outside the box may be penalized for it.

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"By definition, people will say creativity is positive," Mueller states. "It is almost impossible to get people to say they don't want creativity. But when someone actually voices a creative idea, there is a response of, 'Wow -- What is that?' This issue really comes to life at the moment the idea is voiced. There is discomfort when people encounter creativity."

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The value that leaders have for groups is in creating common goals so the group can achieve something," Mueller notes. "And goals are better the clearer they are -- you don't want uncertainty. So leaders need to diminish uncertainty and create standards of behavior for everyone in the group. And they create those standards by conforming to them."