Unlock creative thinking and problem solving with divergent thinking.
Feb 19, 2024
Design thinking
The bigger the problem, the more challenging it is to identify an ideal course of action. In cases like this, it’s best to focus on three things: 1) the data 2) the user, and 3) creative problem-solving processes like divergent thinking.
Divergent thinking involves exploring a range of creative ideas, emphasizing not just new solutions but those tailored to your user. It's about dumping a flurry of ideas—good, bad, kooky, and ugly—in the name of innovation and cross-functional collaboration. Refinement, and judgment 🙃, come later in the convergent thinking phase, but for now, this is a safe space to get all ideas on paper.
Creative problem-solving methods, like divergent thinking, are not only good for your program, but sharpen your personal problem-solving skills. The more you develop this skill, the smoother your approach to challenges will become, so lean into this! Here are two easy activities to get started:
A mind map is like a web of ideas. It’s a visual way of organizing information that connects concepts (aka branches) to a larger topic or challenge.
I use mind mapping during my first round of planning because I can easily visual a problem and its associated components.
Pros: Mind mapping is pretty straightforward; everything rolls up neatly. Since this is such a popular tool there are a ton of templates you can use.
Cons: Because mind mapping is in a pretty linear format, it’s hard to elaborate or connect cross branches without the map getting bloated and difficult to read.
A brainstorming session is a group activity where teams come together to share and generate creative ideas that foster problem-solving and innovation.
“How Might We?” statements are popular in brainstorming sessions because you’re answering questions for a very specific statement or problem. HMW statements are in question format, and help frame a problem or challenge in a way that encourages creative thinking and exploration of potential solutions.
For example, if a challenge your program is facing is low sign-ups for your financial literacy webinars, a HMW statement might be "how might we make our financial literacy webinars more appealing and accessible to encourage higher registration rates?"
Pros: Nothing beats collaboration and diverse perspectives. Some of the most successful ideas start by bringing everyone in a room to work through a problem.
Cons: Sessions can take some time, especially when you have multiple, or large, teams participating.
With divergent thinking you can easily get sidetracked by off-topic thoughts and hypothetical scenarios. Set up some guardrails beforehand so you’re not spiraling in a “what ifs” doom loop:
Pro tip: if you’re short on time, have your team build on ideas rather than generating new ones. Give individuals 15 minutes to create their own solutions, then spend the rest of the time adding onto other teammates ideas! Great for collaboration, new viewpoints, and making sure you don’t have endless sticky notes on your whiteboard.
Check out these great resources on divergent thinking!
