Creativity as Complex Problem Solving

Season Three kicks off with an inspiring conversation featuring Dr. Teresa Lawrence, Program Director for the Creative Leadership and Innovation for Change PhD program in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Lawrence brings a wealth of insight into how Creative Problem Solving, CPS, adds value across education, research, and business.

Dr. Lawrence invites us to rethink creativity as the ability to generate options and possibilities. "Creativity," she says, "leans into decision-making and implementation." To be clear, idea generation and idea evaluation are the two key aspects of being creative when problem solving.  This dynamic balance is what sets creative thinking apart from regular thinking. 

Creativity, as a problem-solving process, can and should be learned. Just as we study subjects like accounting or cooking, we must also intentionally learn how to solve problems. According to Dr. Lawrence, the key is knowing where you are in the problem-solving process and applying the right skills to move forward and a truly inclusive "get behind."  

Dr. Lawrence’s Top Tips for Practicing Creative Problem Solving:

1. Learn the tools of Creative Problem Solving – Explore any (or all) aspects of the process. At the very least master the balance between divergent and convergent thinking.
2. Work with a buddy – Collaboration matters.
3. Practice makes permanent – Like feng shui, a little bit goes a long way.

Dr Teresa Lawrence is the Director of the Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change, CLIC, at the University of the Virgin Islands. Dr Lawrence is also a master facilitator for Creative Problem Solving, a domain-general complex problem problem solving model that equally acknowledges all aspects of problems, to include clarification, transformation implementation. 

CLIC PhD Program, University of the Virgin Islands 

Dr Teresa Lawrence 

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity. Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at [e-mail]