Handbook for Creative Team Leaders

Every worthwhile organization strives continuously to improve. What the authors of this groundbreaking book offer is nothing less than a system for achieving peak performance. As a result of their work with more than 2000 teams, in some 40 countries across the globe, the authors identified the 7 factors that distinguish what they call ?dream teams? and on that basis they developed the structured approach described in the Handbook. Part I sets out the principles that underlie team performance. Part II shows how to train teams to become more creative. Finally, in Part III, the authors demonstrate their ideas in action with real-life examples from a wide variety of organizational settings. They emphasize throughout the role of leadership in stimulating creativity and innovation, and they explain how to inject new dynamism into existing organizational systems and practices. Anyone involved in teamworking would profit from a close study of the Handbook. It will be especially valuable to team leaders and facilitators, to project managers and to HRD practitioners and consultants.

Contents: Foreword by Fran Cotton. Part I Creative Teams in Principle: An anatomy of teams; Building creative teams - 'The genius of the and'; Enhancing team creativity: The MPIA system. Part II Creative Teams in Practice: From messes to mind-maps; Breakthrough perspectives; Putting action into ideas and ideas into action. Part III Creative Teams in Action: Innovation teams in action; Creative networks in action; Creative teams in action; Bibliography; Index.

Tudor Rickards is Professor of Creativity and Organizational Change at Manchester Business School. Following a career in product research and development at Unilever he joined the Business School, where he directs the Creativity Research Unit. He is Alex Osborn Visiting Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Kiel. His awards include the Partnership Trust Prize for teaching creativity (1985). He has written numerous books and articles, notably Creativity and Problem Solving at Work, also published by Gower. Susan Moger is a Research Fellow at Manchester Business School, working in the area of creative problem solving and innovation management. She has designed and delivered product development and innovation training programmes in the petrochemical, brewing, food, pharmaceutical and airline industries. Her particular current interest is in the management of innovation within supply networks. Both authors have taught and researched extensively around the world on creativity and innovation. They are joint editors of the journal Creativity and Innovation Management.