Academic Leadership: Fundamental Building Blocks234
11.5 Brainstorming..............................................................................................................
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When using the Innovator role, as an academic leader you will think creatively about
your program. You will identify new courses and delivery approaches. You will grasp
new and emerging opportunities to do things differently, to meet the needs of students
and industry. In this process, you will fully and efficiently utilise the skills and knowledge
of your academic colleagues. Brainstorming is one strategy that has been used
effectively by many leaders to identify possibilities, opportunities, and new directions.OBJECTIVE
The objective of this activity is to assist you in using
brainstorming and thinking creatively about your program.In the 1980’s Edward de Bono developed a thinking model called the Six Thinking
Hats (de Bono, 1985). It is a widely applied and very useful framework that can be
adapted to a brainstorming session. The model helps structure individual or group
thinking and promotes creativity, especially during change. There are six hats, each
representing a specific way of thinking. Everyone puts on the same coloured hat during
the thinking process and aligns their thinking accordingly. By structuring the thinking
process in this manner, an Academic Coordinator can reduce 'ego's and 'power' in the
process because everyone is required to think in the same manner.
The group works through the discussion in the sequence listed below. At each
phase, everyone wears the same coloured hat, both literally and metaphorically. Once
discussion is completed under the colour of the hat, the group moves on to the next
‘thinking category’. The process facilitates creativity and thinking, and can move a group
forward during a change process.TABLE 7: The Six Thinking Hats of Eduard de Bono
Hat Colour and Analogy Thinking Category