(För introduktion till denna serie bloggtexter, se http://blog.perspectus.se/?p=693)
21. Creativity
Ability to generate and develop original ideas, innovate and being willing to disrupt conventional patterns.
Creativity is not a skill in the more narrow sense, nor is it a cognitive capacity that anyone can develop to a high level by specific exercises. However, there are reasons to believe that creativity is linked to adult development processes. A common distinction in the adult development field is to differentiate between preconventional, conventional and postconventional patterns of meaning-making (see e.g. Cook-Greuter, 1999). Conventional meaning-making is associated with taking prevailing norms and practices as given, rather than inquiring into alternative possibilities, whereas postconventional meaning-making involves independent envisioning of what is desirable and how it can be realized. A strongly developed Complexity awareness includes the habit of exploring and seeking understanding of causal relationships and possibilities for alternative scenarios. People with strong complexity awareness tend not to take existing conditions and patterns for granted, but often imagine how things could be like if done differently. Other IDG items related to creativity are Openness and Learning mindset, Perspective skills, and, when seeing creativity as a collective phenomenon, Co-creation skills and other social skills.