How creative leaders think: Experimental findings and cases

To direct innovative efforts, leaders must possess creative thinking skills. The available evidence, however, suggests that leaders may express their creative thinking skills in a unique way. In the present effort, we argue that leader creativity is based on experiential cases, a form of situated co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Leadership quarterly 2003-08, Vol.14 (4), p.411-432
Main Authors: Mumford, Michael D, Connelly, Shane, Gaddis, Blaine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Creativity
Critical thinking
Leadership
Studies
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Summary:To direct innovative efforts, leaders must possess creative thinking skills. The available evidence, however, suggests that leaders may express their creative thinking skills in a unique way. In the present effort, we argue that leader creativity is based on experiential cases, a form of situated cognition, where idea generation occurs through evaluative operations. Evidence supporting this argument is provided using a series of experimental studies as well as incidents of “real-world” creative leadership in manufacturing, finance, and service industries. The implications of these observations for understanding leader performance, leader development, and leader–follower interactions are discussed.
ISSN:1048-9843
1873-3409
DOI:10.1016/S1048-9843(03)00045-6