How Managers Can Spark Creative Thinking in Their Teams Every Day
- Mamie Kanfer Stewart
- Dec 2, 2025
- 4 min read
Innovation often feels like something reserved for tech geniuses, R&D labs, or ambitious startups chasing the next big breakthrough. Many managers picture “Eureka!” moments or moonshot projects or assume creativity is an artistic trait: something you either have or don’t.
But cognitive scientist Tessa Forshaw and innovation expert Rich Braden challenge that view. In their work teaching innovation at Stanford and collaborating with organizations worldwide, they’ve found that most people underestimate their creativity. The problem isn’t ability, it’s belief.
Tessa and Rich explain why creativity is universal, why innovation doesn’t require grand gestures, and what managers can do to build more curious, courageous, and adaptable teams. Their approach? What they call “innovation-ish” is a practical, human-centered way to spark creativity in everyday work.
You’re More Creative Than You Think
When Rich asks professionals if they consider themselves creative, almost no hands go up. Yet once these individuals start tackling problems, they produce ideas that reveal deep creativity.
Why the disconnect? Many equate creativity with artistry. If you’re not an artist, you assume you’re not creative. But artistic skill is about execution. Creativity is about generating ideas that feel new and surprising, even if only to yourself.
Creativity shows up in everyday work: a pilot navigating uncertain weather, a manager guiding a team through change, or an engineer adapting a process on the fly. These acts require perspective, problem-solving, and the willingness to explore possibilities.
Another misconception is the “left-brain vs. right-brain” myth. Cognitive science shows we use both creative and analytical processes continuously. Creativity isn’t a personality trait, it’s a capability we all carry.
The Three Forces Behind Creative Thinking
To tap into your creative tinking, it’s helpful to understand the three forces at play. Tessa uses an aviation metaphor. Just like an airplane needs lift to get off the ground, gravity to land, and thrust to move forward, creative problem-solving relies on three cognitive forces:
Lift is divergent thinking: imagining possibilities and exploring broadly.
Gravity is convergent thinking: narrowing ideas, evaluating options, and making decisions.
Thrust is executive functioning: moving ideas forward, coordinating tasks, and maintaining momentum.
Innovation requires all three, and managers play a key role in helping teams use the right mode at the right time. Without guidance, teams may endlessly brainstorm, overanalyze, or execute without reflection.
The Right Mindset Makes A Major Difference
Innovation is more than a process; it’s a mindset. Tessa and Rich have identified six different innovation mindsets that teams can align around at different stages of innovation. Rich compares it to shopping: sometimes you’re in browsing mode, sometimes buying mode. Conflict arises when people are in different modes.
Tessa and Rich shared an example of a team debating a tool to identify nonprofit founders’ demographics. The team was stuck in chaos. The breakthrough came when they adopted a single “implications mindset,” focusing only on potential unintended consequences. That alignment helped them make a decisive, innovative choice, not to move forward.
Small Experiments Beat Perfection
Managers often feel pressure to “get it right” the first time, leading to overthinking and costly mistakes. Rich emphasizes adopting an iteration mindset: running quick, inexpensive experiments that reveal what works and what doesn’t.
Tess and Rich shared an example of a restaurant chain testing a voice-command device for tracking waste. A small prototype revealed serious feasibility issues before any major investment, saving millions. Innovation should never require pushing what appears to be a brilliant idea forward blindly. Instead, test those ideas to learn quickly which ones shouldn’t move forward.
Innovation-ish as a Managerial Practice
Innovation-ish invites managers to let go of perfectionism and embrace possibility. You don’t need to turn your team into design thinkers. You need to foster curiosity, align mindsets, prioritize learning, and treat failure as information.
Creativity isn’t a personality trait; it’s a practice. When managers approach it with openness, structure, and compassion, they unlock the creativity already present in their teams.
Listen to the entire episode HERE to learn more about fostering creativity and innovation.
Keep up with Tessa Forshaw & Rich Braden
Guest Bonus: 1st Chapter of Innovation-ish: How Anyone can Create Breakthrough Solutions to Real Problems in the Real World
Innovation-ish is your no-nonsense guide to unlocking your innate creativity. This book shows you how to solve problems and generate solutions in a huge variety of personal and professional situations. Tessa and Rich demystify the myths that surround innovation, reveal the six mindsets that underlie innovation, and show how the moves you make drive innovation forward. And they share the latest relevant cognitive science research in a compelling and digestible way - no degree required.
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