In this episode, I dive into divergent thinking.
Divergent thinking is a stage in the strategic thinking process where you are intentionally creating lots of ideas without judgement. Many schools want to harness innovation and encourage creativity and this is a great tool to utilise for this.
I start by discussing how you can create an environment for divergent thinking to thrive and have narrowed it down into three areas:
1. Ensure there is diversity within your discussions
2. Separate divergent and convergent thinking
3. Make people feel safe to contribute
Once you have created the right environment for divergent thinking, you need to know how to generate the right conversations. I explore the three questions you can ask yourself to help guide divergent thinking.
If you are trying to increase the amount of innovation or just encourage change within your school, having a focus on this divergent thinking stage can really be helpful to supercharge your strategic thinking around certain issues.
References and Resources
Episode 15: Supercharge your strategic thinking (strategy toolkit 4) Catch up on previous podcast episodes at www.consultjuliet.co.uk/podcast Download your copy of the free eBook ‘The Strategic Independent School Leader’ at www.consultjuliet.co.uk/ebook
