The notion of what are creative thinking skills can be resembled as an essential attribute of efficient problem solving. One may often find him or herself in a situation where commonly practiced approaches to solve a problem are not appropriate or even may not work at all. These situations may require the ability of nonstandard and unorthodox thinking in order to find an alternative solution. Whether it involves a decision in obvious creative disciplines such as art and design, or the development of an alternative solution to an engineering problem, creative thinking skills can surely benefit in multiple spheres. Considering the aforementioned facts, it is only reasonable that modern business and management approaches consider creative thinking skills to be a necessary prerequisite for success. Thus, it would be more than noteworthy to attempt to understand the actual definition of what are creative thinking skills.
Defining Creative Thinking
While it may seem obvious at first, one may actually find it difficult to define what exactly does it mean to have creative thinking skills – is not everyone thinking creatively? The short answer is no, the human being is capable of numerous types of thinking, and not everyone has a natural preference for creative thinking. Numerous thinkers have a predisposition to analytic, logical, and visual thinking which involves seeking solutions based on common knowledge and facts. Creative thinking stands out in the fact that it involves seeking and applying a solution that is not obvious and requires an unbiased point of view on the situation. It would also be noteworthy to mention the fact that while the common analytical thinking applies the left side of the human brain, creative thinking is activated using the right side of the brain.
Types of Creative Thinking
One of the main and mostly used types of creative thinking skills is brainstorming. Brainstorming is a creative thinking activity that is commonly used in management, it involves gathering a group of people and coming up with numerous ideas, which could somehow effect the issue, and than selecting the best solutions collectively. Brainstorming itself is an assembly of multiple creative thinking skills. Creative thinking also involves two main characteristics: reframing, which involves reconsidering and changing the perspective on the issue in order to obtain a fresh and unbiased view, and mind mapping – creating an associative connection between new ideas.
Modern Application
Creative thinking is gaining significant recognition in a wide range of modern practices. While previously creative thinking has been mostly associated with artistic disciplines, such as music, art, and writing, that involve literally creating something new, modern tendencies suggest that creative thinking is highly appreciated in a variety of practices. Creative thinking skills are considered to be a necessity in conducting business, since innovation is required to maintain competitiveness in the modern market. Creative thinking skills are also required in education, since they allow to create new and interesting ways to educate and develop an individual approach to students. Even technical disciplines such as computer programming require creative skills in order to be able to suggest alternative solutions to unexpected problems. In other words, creative thinking skills are considered to be a necessary application in any modern day activity.