Week 12 Question 2: 5 Cultural Barriers to Creativity

There were several different cultural barriers to creativity that I learned about in chapter ten of Small Group and Team Communication. The five of the nine barriers that I am going to discuss include: expectation of practicality and efficiency, expectation of politeness and following rules, reliance on expert knowledge, belief in an either/or perspective on issues, and a trust in the power of reason and logic. (Harris 188)

If a group or group members have an expectation of practicality and efficiency, they may try to achieve a task by sticking to a strict or set plan. Although this is some times effective; in doing so, levels of creativity and ideas are at a minimum. Politeness and following rules is generally a good trait to possess. However in a group setting if you obtain this characteristic, you may be reluctant to contribute your ideas in order to maintain politeness and follow rules. Reliance on expert knowledge does not allow you to be accountable for your own actions. In a group setting there is typically a leader or facilitator that helps everyone to stay on track. If everyone is dependent upon the leader, they will not use their own creativity or ideas to help add to the group. Having an either/or perspective on issues seems very precise. But when in a group, having more ideas is best. This barrier only gives to ways of looking at or solving something which in result limits creativity or the possibility of others. Last but not least is the trust in power of reason and logic. This concept is one of the biggest barriers in my opinion, because everyone wants something to be reasonable or logical. However this can be detrimental in a group because if your ideas do not seem logical or reasonable, you may not add or suggest them. Focusing on reason and logic gives you no room to “think outside the box”.

I have fallen victim to all of these concepts and I believe the majority has as well. Because I think we mostly do this subconsciously, these are habits that can be difficult to break. But since I am now aware of these things, I am going to strive to be more conscious of them so that my creativity is not overlooked.