How Can Leaders Use Divergent Thinking to Solve Problems?

 

DIVERGENT THINKING is a way to think about problems and solutions in the opposite direction to how we might typically respond to them.

It is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring the fact that there are many possible solutions.

 

For example, in kindergarten, we are introduced to a mathematical equation such as 5 + 5 = 10. There is a simple answer to this simple question. 

 

5 + 5 and the only right answer is 10

 

But what if you were to ask what two numbers add up to 10? The answer to that question creates a multitude of possible right responses. And that is what DIVERGENT THINKING is all about.

Divergent Thinking Requires You to Ask New Questions

 

It is about asking a question that does not have ONE RIGHT ANSWER.

 

When we asked the question one way, we got the ONLY right answer. When we asked it a slightly different way, we get an infinite number of solutions.

 

Why is this important to you?

 

Well, sometimes in life, people can get stuck believing that there is only or can only be one right answer to a problem. But that is not true. Rarely is there only one possible correct answer, and by using DIVERGENT THINKING, you get to explore any number of possible alternatives.

 

Could You Pass the One Word Exam?

As part of the entrance exam to get into one of the oldest universities in England, Old Soul’s College in Oxford, students have to be able to answer the ONE WORD EXAM.

 

It does not mean that the answer is one word, but that the question is one word.

 

Students use three hours to answer the question using that one word as a prompt. The examiners who read the responses are trying to find out how you think.

 

Is the student a linear thinker, or are they a creative thinker?

 

What if the ONE WORD QUESTION was INTEGRITY? RESPECT? WATER?   Could you write for three hours about the word WATER?

 

The answers that students provide demonstrate how they can connect and combine ideas. They can draw a line and connect the dots of all their life experiences and their knowledge to answer the question and create an integrated story.

Key to Creativity – Be Open to Ideas (and Questions) You Don’t Normally Consider

 

DIVERGENT THINKING forces us to think creatively and to be innovative.

 

If we can tell ourselves that there is more than one right answer, we allow our brains to get imaginative.

 

To practice DIVERGENT THINKING, ask yourself, how many uses can you think of for a regular household brick?

 

You see, there is more than one right answer.

 

When faced with a problem to solve, do not restrict yourself to thinking that there is only one right response.

 

Unless the problem is WHAT IS 5 + 5?