ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how everybody has a potential to be creative and great inventions have needed a supportive environment. Some historical examples of how creative environments have resulted in streams of innovations are given. It describes the basis for creating an innovative group or team environment.
Critical factors for enhancing the creativity in a group are described such as the importance to make the expectation of innovation clear for the organisation. It also shows how listening can be a very effective tool for enhancing and supporting creativity. That personal encouragement is important but that rewards can be inefficient and even counterproductive.
The chapter continues to describe how research on psychological safety (as shown by the research of Amy Edmondson and others) have shown that this is a crucial factor for the creative functioning of a group. Psychological safety in this context means when people in the group feel safe enough to disagree and safe enough to voice new ideas. The importance of psychological safety is illustrated not only by practical examples from industrial development but also by examples from the creative music industry and from the competitive sports world.
