Fear and Failure:
A Sure Path to
Creativity and
Innovation
Dr. Jennifer Walinga
Royal Roads
University
Roads to Research
Optimal Performance
Despite Adversity
Optimal Performance
Despite Adversity
Optimal Performance
Despite Adversity
Optimal Performance
Despite Adversity
Optimal Performance
Despite Adversity
Creative Thinking: How many ways
can you think of to use one brick?
What if you don’t have a brick?
Creative Insight…
By moving only three sticks, can you change
the pattern on the right to look like the
pattern on the left?
By moving only three sticks, can you change
the pattern on the right to look like the
pattern on the left?
Amy Purdy: Living Beyond Limits
Barriers as Pathways to Creative
Solutions
Barrier
You
Values
and
Goals
Human
Barriers to
Problem
Solving and
Decision
Making
Ability
Penetrating
barriers to gain a
new view of the
problem...
“Between stimulus and response there is a
space”
Victor Frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning
Problem Solving, Creativity and Insight
• Problem solving (Guilford, 1950)
• Remote association (Mednick, 1959)
• Attentional breadth (Mendelsohn, 1976)
• Innovation and adaptation (Kirton, 1980)
• Problem framing (Getzels, 1975)
• Conceptual combination (Mumford & Baughman,1997)
• Divergent thinking (Osborn, 1953)
• Problem finding (Volkema, 1995)
• Problem construction (Maier, 1930)
• Solution readiness (Chronicle, et al, 2002)
• Impasse (Ohlsson, 2004)
Brainstorming Solutions
Divergence
Divergence
Divergence
Convergence
Finding the Problem and Then
Brainstorming the Solutions
Convergence
Divergence
Divergence
Divergence
Peak Performance
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Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1992)
Optimism (Seligman, 1991)
Locus of Control (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987)
Self Efficacy (Bandura, 1977)
Creativity (Getzels, 1972; Torrance, 1987;
Parnes & Noller, 1972)
Vikes Soccer
Walinga, J. (2008). Change Readiness: The Roles of Appraisal, Focus, and
Perceived Control. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(3), p. 315- 347.
* Sage Publications most read article 2010
* Western Academy of Management Best Doctoral Paper Award 2007
Problem Solving Under Stress…
• Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus & Folkman,
1987-2005)
• Thriving (Spreitzer, 2005; Luthans, 2007)
• Resilience (Maddi & Kobasa)
• A stressor or problem triggers the limbic and hypothalamus
centre of the brain
• Failure, fear, perceived threat, and worry results in a
deactivation of the frontal motor cortex of the brain
• Heightened Threat Vigilance
• Results in Threat Focus vs Value or Goal Focus
• De-activation of power and confidence
• Can’t have both sides switched on at same time
Interpretation - Challenge or Threat?
• Eustress (Selye, 1990)
• Anxiety direction
(Jones & Swain, 1995; Selye, 1956)
• Cognitive / interpretive bias
(Eysenck, 1992; Mathews, 1993)
• Cue utilization
(Easterbrook, 1959)
ReFraming Workplace Injury WCB grant
Walinga, J. (2008). Reframing Workplace Injury (Oakland, CA), Western
Academy of Management Conference Proceedings
Transforming Stress in the Workplace
Walinga, J., & Rowe, W. (2013). Transforming stress in complex work
environments: Exploring the capabilities of middle managers in the public
sector. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 6(1), 66-88.
Know
Fear
Barriers as Pathways to Values
Barrier
You
Values
and
Goals
Fear is a beacon that reveals your core
values ~ Stephen Hayes (2007)
Readiness
“The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating
around us, but they only take root in minds
well-prepared to receive them.”
The American physicist Joseph Henry
Readiness
• Theory of Change (Lewin, 1957)
• Self efficacy (Bandura, 1977)
• Transtheoretical Model
(Prochaska et al, 1997)
• Perceived behavioural control
(Ajzen, 1998; Karasek, 1979)
• Processing Efficiency
(Eysenck & Calvo, 1992)
• Perceived need for change and
active participation in the change
process (Cunningham et al, 2002)
• Anxiety Direction
(Jones & Swain, 1992)
• Decisional latitude and balance
(Hackman & Oldham, 1975)
Readiness to Seek Alternatives
Readiness to See Alternatives
Root and Route Finding…
Failure
“Stuckedness”
Failure is not an option...
Fitting Square Pegs into Round Holes
CREATIVITY UNDER CONSTRAINT...
Spence Silver
Kidney Chains
3M Post-it Notes
H1N1 Disney Queues QC
Rock Video
Gareth
Hill
Garet Hill
CREATIVITY UNDER CONSTRAINT...
Kidney Chains
3M Post-it Notes
H1N1 Disney Queues QC
Rock Video
Garet Hill
Spence Silver
Failure means…
Accepting the barrier as reality
Letting go
Making a cognitive shift
Opening to new ideas
Seeking alternatives
Accepting limitations
Relaxing constraints
"in the fields of observation,
chance only favours
the mind which is prepared..."
Louise Pasteur
Training Insight
Walinga, J., Cunningham, J.B., & MacGregor, J. (2010). Improving
Performance in Solving Insight Problems: The Roles of Assumptions,
Barriers and Goals. Journal of Creative Behavior, 45(1) 47-58.
Arrange the 12 coins so that each side of the
hexagon has 4.
Arrange the 12 coins so that each side of the
hexagon has 4.
Draw 4 straight lines that pass through all
of the 9 dots without taking your pencil
off the page or reversing over a line
Draw 4 straight lines that pass through all
of the 9 dots without taking your pencil
off the page or reversing over a line
Focus and Framing
“A new more penetrating view of the
problem” Wertheimer, 1959
Problem Composition
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Internal locus of control (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987)
Problem framing (Kahneman & Tversky, 1981)
Problem finding (Basadur, 2000)
Cognitive restructuring (Ohlsson, 1992)
Solution readiness (Ormerod, Chronicle, &
MacGregor, 2003)
• Goal setting (Locke & Latham, 1994)
Barriers as Pathways
Walinga, J. (2011). From Walls to Windows: Using Barriers as Keys to
Unlock Insightful Solutions. Journal of Creative Behavior, 44(3), p. 1-25.
Expanding the Focus
Barrier
You
Values
and
Goals
Inquiry and Dialogue
• Lewin “Unfreezing, Refreezing”
• Argyris “Double Loop Learning”
• Schein “Process Consulting”
• Dewey “Experiential Learning”
• Mezirow “Transformative Learning”
• Kegan “Questioning Assumptions”
Transformative Learning:
The Power of Narrative
Desire, Deterrent, Danger, Dilemma,
Decision, Disaster, Denouement
The Integrated Focus Model
and Process
Goal Focus:
How do I achieve my
goal?
(ignores barrier)
Individual
Barrier focus:
How do I resolve the
barrier?
(ignores goal)
Barrier
Goal
Integrated Focus:
How do I resolve the challenges the
barrier poses to my goal?
(addresses barrier and goal)
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Ministry of Jobs, Tourism & Skills Training
BC Assessment
Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal
Communities
Islands Trust BC
Greater Toronto Area Colleges
Unit 4 Business Solutions
City of Vancouver
Hartley Insurance
Maximus Health
Northern Health
BA Commerce Team Case Competition, Royal Roads
University
Centre for Applied Leadership and Management
Royal Roads University
Centre for Sport Exercise and Education, Camosun
College
Canadian Evaluation Society
City of Port Coquitlam
BC Public Service
Women of Whistler
Health Work and Wellness Association
HR Institute of Alberta
BC HR Management Association
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National Managers’ Network
HBC – The Bay
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Research
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Northern Lights College
Pensions BC
Department of National Defense
Military Family Resource Centre
Victoria Epilepsy and Parkinson’s Association
University of Victoria, Executive MBA Program
University of Victoria: Soccer and Rowing Programs
Canadian Back Institute
Parks Canada
Victoria School District
Archipelago Marine Research Group
Royal Roads University
Velox Rugby Football Club
St. Michaels University School
University of PEI Leadership Development Program
University of PEI Senior Management Team
Manulife
What is the problem?
(articulating interpretive frame)
Are current solutions
sustainable?
(accepting failure of threat frame becoming
ready to seek alternatives)
What is the fear?
(revealing protected values)
What is important?
(expanding the problem frame)
What is the solution?
(allowing systemic and sustainable
solutions to emerge)
Thank you!
[email protected]
www.integratedfocus.ca