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Research shows that brainstorming with a group of people is not the best way to come up with ideas. So why are we still doing it and how can we come up with stronger ideas, and still look like team players? Writer Emma Bullen has some suggestions.
Da Vinci didn’t do it, Shakespeare didn’t do it, Darwin didn’t do it. And I’m going to go out on a limb here and tell you that Elon Musk probably doesn’t do it either.
I am (of course) talking about brainstorming — the art of solving a problem by holding a spontaneous group discussion with your colleagues. Controversial this one. I’m sure a lot of you are reading this thinking, “what does she know, I brainstorm with my team all the time and we come up with GREAT ideas.”
Yes, brainstorming will help you get more ideas with other people, but research tells us that it’s a fundamentally flawed process. Let’s look at the evidence, shall we?
What’s so bad about brainstorming?
A study published in Basic and Supplied Psychology found that rather than increasing ideas, group brainstorming reduced them both in terms of quantity and quality.
It’s not the first time that someone pointed out that brainstorming wasn’t that great. In fact, a study at Yale in 1958, found that groups generated fewer ideas at a lower quality than of those generated by solo workers.
There are several factors that can hamper creativity in a group setting. Some of these are the way the brainstorm is managed — such as failure for the facilitator to prepare the brainstorm, give it structure, or let the quieter people in the group have a voice. Other factors can include social anxiety, the wrong mix of people, and of course — collaborative fixation, or ‘group think.’
To put it more bluntly: “Group brainstorming, over a wide range of group sizes, inhibits rather than facilitates creative thinking,” say Thomas J.Bouchard and Melana Hare.
Whose bright idea was it, anyway?
The reason that I know that Da Vinci and friends certainly weren’t brainstorming is because as a process, the concept is less than a century old. It’s a term that was coined in 1953 by Alex F. Osborn, a New York ad-agency executive in How to Think Up (currently out of print).
Prior to the existence of this method of generating ideas, humans had been coming up with brilliant concepts unaided by Post-it Notes and Sharpies for approximately 199,937 million years. For every book that promises to help unleash your creativity through brainstorming, there’s a creative who pooh-poohs the technique as old fashioned. How’s that for irony?
If it’s that bad, why are we still doing it?
For one thing, we keep telling each other that brainstorming is a skill that you can improve over time. This is true to some extent because we can always find things to improve about the creative process. If the issue is identified as a lack of structure, we plan for it better. If it’s social anxiety, we tell our employees to speak up and become more assertive.
We also keep telling ourselves that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. After all, group brainstorms do produce ideas. They also make us look like team players, enable some nice social interactions and introduce learning opportunities for junior team members.
The good news is that there are better ways of coming up with good ideas — for everyone.
Oh, I suppose you know better, do you?
Old habits are hard to break, but if you want to encourage the best ideas from your colleagues or employees, here’s what you can do:
- Debate: One of the biggest misconceptions about brainstorming is that “no idea is a bad idea.” Not true. A series of studies in found that criticism can enhance the quality and quantity of viable creative ideas. To produce better ideas, we have to get comfortable with questioning beliefs and telling people when we think they have lousy ideas.
- Try Brainswarming: If you’re not comfortable with conflict, you could try brainswarming. This is a technique where collaborators work independently to solve a problem, considering all the possible outcomes based on a collective goal. Top-down thinkers start by redefining the goal. Bottom-up thinkers analyze tactics and alternatives to solve the problem. Where the ideas meet is where the magic happens.
- Use Nominal Group Technique: NGT combines solo work and debate. First, pose a problem, then have team members write down ideas alone and in silence. Give them time to do this — five minutes is not enough. When they are done, collect ideas and record them. Now start a discussion to improve on the ideas gathered and vote on the best solution.
Before you dismiss these ideas, try them out with your team. You may have found yourself in a creative rut without even realizing it. Challenging your thinking is a great way to mix up the energy and release some unexpected results.
Emma is a writer and editor with 15 years of experience in print, web, and mobile publishing. British by birth and Canadian by residence, she is passionate about learning, storytelling — and em dashes.
Have you come up with better ideas by quitting brainstorming? Do you disagree with science? Are you Elon Musk? We’d like to hear from you! Share your stories and let us know how you come up with awesome ideas in the comments section below.