In Dead Poets Society, unconventional teacher John Keating, played by the late, great Robin Williams, employs a variety of techniques to stimulate his students into ‘thinking differently’.
He has them stand on their desks to view the world from a different perspective. He encourages them to walk randomly around the school courtyard in their own unique style – much to the disapproval of their headmaster. He takes them outside for some unusual exercise – a mix of classical music, motivational quotes and football!
And while these techniques might seem like pure Hollywood fantasy, science shows there is method to Keating’s madness.
A feature in Scientific American highlights experiments where scientists tested participants’ creative thinking while they sat inside or outside a cardboard box. Other participants either walked freely or along the path of a rectangle. Subjects who were ‘outside the box’ in either sense scored higher on standard measures of creative thinking.
According to study co-author Angela Leung, associate professor of psychology at Singapore Management University, eliminating constraints to movement – by roving around a room or wandering through a park for example – could enhance creativity.
A recent article in Psychology Today also supports the notion of walking as a creativity enhancer, along with music – another of Keating’s unusual tactics.
Officevibe have highlighted other research that supports the benefits of walking and getting outside:
- A University of Michigan study found that people who spent time outside were better able to solve creative problems.
- Researchers at Stanford University tested creativity in people who were walking vs sitting, and found people were more creative by an average of 60% when they were walking.
Leadership plays a key role in encouraging innovation, lateral thinking, and what Kouzes and Posner call ‘challenging the process’. We have occasional away days and off-site meetings, but most creative sessions still take place in the same environment: the office.
Yet according to Officevibe, influential leaders including Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama have all used walking to enhance their leadership capability.
Of course, getting outside may not always be the answer. Research suggests that when it comes to focused thinking, you might be better off in a less stimulating environment.
But when it comes to creativity, free thinking and innovation, you should take a leaf out of Keating’s book: get your team active and into a different environment if you want to generate better ideas.
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