Intuition, innovation, collaboration and credibility

 

(There's a good idea in there somewhere. Some bokeh courtesy of u07ch's stream on Flickr.)

Intuition is fire for creativity: absolutely necessary yet potentially dangerous when wielded clumsily.

Intuition describes a personal process of connection-making and idea generation that occurs at a subconscious level. In a sense, intuition describes what it's not: a systematic, rational process of analysis. When working alone, a personal process works great. (I always like my own intuition when I'm having some.) In collaborative and interdisciplinary settings, it gets a little stickier. Here are some thoughts I've had about intuition reflecting on collaborating for innovation.

Embrace intuition and make it concrete
Leaders of creativity and innovation should embrace and encourage intuition in their people. If it's not acceptable to have and share intuitive ideas at all points throughout a creative process, then the process is broken. People should be bringing to life unconscious connections informed by their innate sensibilities, outside inspiration and practical experiences. Leaders should encourage and support systematic inspiration-gathering and sketching of all forms.

Honestly discuss
Early in a creative process, when divergence dominates*, intuition is extremely important and sometimes all you really have to get going. But early, intuitive ideas aren't easy to judge as you transition towards convergence. Collaborators get curious about why something is good or the origins of an idea. If you have a nascent idea and can't describe its provenance (because it sprang forth from your subconscious), you could end up having a tough situation on your hands.

At the same time, individuals bring a wealth of experience to life through an idea or in a decision**. These experienced folks might say an idea or decision just "feels right" based on their experience. But if you find yourself saying that, and only that, you're missing an opportunity to share that experience.

Channel intuition
Here are some ideas about how to wield intuition in collaborative and creative organizations:
    ▪    Encourage intuition and lay the foundation for it to occur (promoting, inspiration, sketching and safe, early sharing)
    ▪    Bring intuition to life through "sketching" and concrete design
    ▪    Accept that your intuitive idea might not be the right idea
    ▪    Explore in advance why others might find your idea "good": whether they be a user, a team member or a client
    ▪    Be honest as a team about whether one person's intuition (experience) is more valued, and then be open to ignore that hierarchy if the merits of an idea dictate that you do so
    ▪    Embrace critique
    ▪    Be open to the fact that others will be curious about your intuitive idea's underpinnings
    ▪    Claim and share your experience if you have it; others will learn from it
    ▪    Don't steamroll with "my gut" when you're really talking about your experience
    ▪    Don't use "my gut" to replace "I don't know" when you really just don't know
    ▪    Make it safe to say "I don't know"

*My gut (ha!) says that, in team settings, intuition is more practically valuable for divergence than convergence because of the friction involved in justifying intuitive decision-making. That makes a willingness to detach from an idea during convergence really important as a designer.

**I'm finding it useful to think of two "types" of intuition in individuals: inspired and informed. Sometimes the most experienced individuals, those who might exhibit a high degree of informed intuition, could use a dose of inspiration. Likewise, some of the most inspired individuals would do well to learn from and listen to the experience of others.