The Paradox of group creativity: can collaboration and innovation go hand-in-hand?

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a group brainstorming session struggling to develop fresh ideas? Or perhaps you’ve experienced that mental block while staring at your computer screen trying to force creativity? It’s no coincidence that some of our best ideas often come to us when in the shower or on a walk, because these activities require minimal mental energy, so there’s space for new neural connections and creative insights to form.

The same can’t always be said for structured, collaborative brainstorming sessions…

Solo Brainstorming

Solo brainstorming is a powerful tool to generate innovative ideas. When you brainstorm solo, you’re free from external influence, it encourages diverse thinking and allows for greater creative freedom. Without the pressure of group conformity, your mind can wander in all directions and it gives you the time and mental space to think deeply and explore original concepts without interruption or distraction.

Group Brainstorming

On the other hand, group brainstorming can foster creativity, spark new ideas and combine different perspectives. However, group dynamics can be competitive and interruptive. People process ideas differently; some are more dominant in group settings whereas deep thinkers need time to be reflective and allow their ideas to flow. Group brainstorming settings often rely on immediate idea generation and therefore people can conform to whats being said around them to avoid conflict and achieve quicker progress. 

“Collective intelligence often begins with individual creativity…

when we generate ideas together, we fail to maximise

collective intelligence.”

Generating ideas together can therefore can result in less diverse and innovative ideas being generated. Taking the time to develop your own ideas before seeking input from your team or community is beneficial and then you can combine and refine ideas in the group setting to produce impactful solutions.

At Untapped, we believe that curiosity is the driving force behind brilliant creative solutions. We have a natural ability to spark and nurture curiosity and so we encourage teams and individuals to be inquisitive, to cultivate their curiosity, to explore possibilities and ideas. Innovators have an insatiable appetite for game-changing ideas but those ideas need space to grow before they’re ready for external feedback. Once an idea has been sparked, that’s when the collaborative magic can truly happen. We add value by bringing new perspectives and ideas, injecting new knowledge and insight to shape the ideas into consumer-centric products. We create an environment where individuals feel inspired and equipped with the right tools to transform their groundbreaking ideas to life.

The key to unlocking creativity lies in the balance between solo and group brainstorming. By first fostering individual innovation, and spending time ‘brainwriting‘ you set the foundation for a collaborative process that amplifies creativity and leads to impactful solutions and breakthrough products.

Our Recommendations

To encourage solo brainstorming, we recommend:

1. Assign brief pre-work before group ideation sessions so individuals can reflect on the stimulus material in advance.
2. Provide a short post-ideation session homework to capture any ideas that emerge afterwards.
3. Schedule ideation sessions regularly (e.g., quarterly) to allow a rhythm to flow and build a consistent “idea muscle,” ensuring teams anticipate ongoing opportunities for idea sharing.