Creative Intelligence Program
What is Creative Intelligence Program?
Creative Intelligence (Ci) is an engagement program offered by the IAG Design Centre. As an extension of the Design Community, it uplifts skills of IAG employees with new mindsets. Applying creativity to business and customer goals enables out of the box thinking, capability growth, and long term behavioural change.
Challenge
How might we enable effective creativity for employees at IAG?
Context: In 2018, IAG set a strategy focusing on innovation and growth. Chief Innovation Officer Julie Batch emphasised that creativity would be a key mindset required to achieve this.
While the Design Community system addressed key design capabilities, it became evident that an intelligent application of creativity was essential to grow it: curiosity and confidence to explore new business areas and customers; and context, conflict, and connectedness to constructively collaborate across teams.
The brief was to create a program that suited IAG’s company culture, which could be used on its own, or in conjunction with IAG’s growing use of design.
Objectives:
Understand people's definition of and relationship to creativity.
Create and build the Creative Intelligence offerings.
Practice with a group of people using a test-and-learn approach.
Create and refine a system of measurement for creativity.
Establish a culture of creativity.
Role: Human-Centred Design & Creative Intelligence Lead
Visual Designer, Thought Leader, Facilitator, Experience Creator, Change Champion, Cross-Functional Collaborator, Researcher, Quality Gatekeeper, Scenario Planner, Relationship Alchemist, Knowledge Nurturer.
Timeline: September 2018 – September 2021
Things I designed: Creative Intelligence Frameworks, Engagement Partnership Model, Value Statements, Interactive Prototypes, Workshops and Co-creation Sessions, Program Ecosystem, Strategic Roadmap, Feedback and Metrics Mechanisms, Design and Content Library, Templates, Training Programs, Design Critique Sessions, Community Events, Handbooks and Tools.
Creative Intelligence In Action
What is Creative Intelligence?
Creative Intelligence is a fundamental shift in the way that people engage with the world around them. It is about looking beyond what you know and having the curiosity, courage and confidence to constantly try new things, and step into the unknown. It’s the ability to understand, interpret and act with imagination.
Creative Intelligence in the workplace is about developing the right mindset and uplifting skills of individuals, group, influencers to be better equipped to apply creativity to business and customer goals, enabling out of the box thinking, capability growth, and long-term behavioural change. It is a tool that builds adaptability and helps us deliver in times of great change.
The Design Solution
The Creative Intelligence program accelerates IAG employees’ ability to apply design techniques or complement their expertise with an adaptable open mindset to grow, be more resilient, and do things differently.
By investigating: How might we enable effective creativity within IAG? The project team yielded insights and solutions that were tested and iterated to create the program. It contains:
Framework: Demonstrating the creative process
Principles: Factors required to support participants
Activities: To introduce and enhance components of participants’ creativity
Engagement Model: To embed the creative mindset
Measurement System: To assess creative capability pre-and post-implementation
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Employee Interviews: Conduct in-depth interviews with IAG employees to understand their current relationship with creativity and their aspirations.
Contextual Observations: Observe day-to-day operations to see how creativity is currently being applied (or not) within different teams.
Creative Workshops: Facilitate workshops to observe how employees engage in creative activities and identify common challenges.
Literature Review: Review existing research and case studies on creativity in the workplace to identify best practices and potential pitfalls.
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Synthesising Insights: Analyse and group findings from the Discover phase to identify key themes and insights about creativity at in the workplace.
Persona Development: Create detailed personas representing different types of employees and their unique creative needs and challenges.
Problem Statement Formulation: Develop clear problem statements based on the insights gathered, focusing on specific areas where creativity can be enhanced.
Challenge Framing: Craft "How Might We" questions to frame the design challenges and guide the development of solutions.
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Ideation Sessions: Host brainstorming sessions with cross-functional teams to generate ideas for Creative Intelligence offerings.
Rapid Prototyping: Develop low-fidelity prototypes of program components, such as workshops, toolkits, and offering, to quickly test and iterate.
Scenario Testing: Create and test scenarios to explore how different ideas would work in real-life situations within IAG.
Feedback Loops: Collect feedback from initial participants and stakeholders to refine and improve the prototypes.
Pilot Programs: Run small-scale pilot programs to test the feasibility and impact of different Creative Intelligence offerings in a supportive environment.
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Implementation Planning: Develop a comprehensive plan for rolling out the Creative Intelligence program, including timelines, resources, and responsibilities.
Training for Facilitators: Train internal facilitators and champions who will lead and support the program across different teams and locations.
Communication Strategy: Create a communication plan to inform and engage employees about the new program, emphasising its benefits and how to get involved.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Establish a system to continuously monitor the program’s effectiveness, collect feedback, and make iterative improvements based on real-world performance and outcomes.
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Continuous Feedback Collection: Set up regular check-ins, surveys, and feedback sessions with participants to gather ongoing insights into the program’s effectiveness.
Impact Assessment: Develop metrics to assess the impact of the program on employee creativity, job satisfaction, and performance. Conduct regular assessments to measure progress.
Program Adjustments: Based on feedback, make necessary adjustments to the program components, delivery methods, and support mechanisms to enhance effectiveness.
Impact
The Creative Intelligence (Ci) Program has profoundly transformed IAG by embedding a culture of creativity across various teams. This initiative has enhanced the ability of employees to think outside the box, enabling innovative solutions to complex business challenges. By fostering the mindset, behaviours and environment to unlock creativity, the program has driven significant improvements in human-centred outcomes and collaboration, particularly within the CFO Leadership team and the New Zealand Enterprise Delivery Team. These enhancements have led to more effective and customer-focused solutions, serving a vast majority of IAG's employees and reinforcing the organisation's commitment to innovation and growth.
Outcomes
Enhanced Creativity
Introduction of curiosity and creativity concepts to over 300 staff within the CFO Leadership team.
Significant improvements in human-centred outcomes by the New Zealand Enterprise Delivery Team.
Improved Collaboration
Enhanced teamwork and collaboration within IAG’s Design Team improving emotional literacy, conflict management, and creative expression. Resulting in better solutions for flagship programs impacting over 85% of IAG’s customers.
Flexible Engagement
Participants can engage with the Ci program in conjunction with learning design techniques or independently to enhance creative skills.
The engagement model connects practice with cognitive knowledge, emotional awareness, and a support framework to actively foster embedment.
Measurement System
Developed a measurement system in collaboration with IAG learning and development experts to track the program's impact, monitor participants' competencies and refine the program's offerings.
Skill Development
Empowering participants to apply elements of creativity within their disciplines, projects, meetings, and personal and professional growth.
Achievement
The Creative Intelligence program was awarded the Good Design Award 2020 Winner accolade in the Design Strategy category by Good Design Australia. The award highlighted the program's innovative approach to building adaptability and delivering results in times of change. It celebrated the progress made by the Design Centre and underscored the strategic value of design in achieving outcomes for IAG’s customers, stakeholders, and bottom line.
A pivotal moment for me was receiving this external validation, which provided momentum and affirmed the efforts. The award acknowledged the collaborative work done by the Design Centre, Community, NZ Enterprise Delivery Team, and the Senior CFO Leaders Creativity Working Group. This collective achievement demonstrated the program's impact on enhancing design and creative capabilities across the organisation.
Overall, the Creative Intelligence program's recognition by Good Design Australia is a testament to its effectiveness in empowering employees, fostering creativity, and achieving strategic business goals.
The Ci Offerings
Creative Curiosity
Creative Curiosity Events are tailored for IAG employees, aiming to enhance their awareness and skills in design and Creative Intelligence. These events focus on essential elements such as curiosity, connectedness, conflict, and confidence.
Creative Friction
The Creative Friction workshops were developed for the IAG Design Team to enhance teamwork and creativity. These workshops focused on improving emotional literacy, conflict management, and creative expression. The intention was to equip the team with the necessary skills to navigate and leverage creative friction constructively, thereby fostering a more innovative and connected work environment.
New Zealand Enterprise Delivery
Incorporated creativity into IAG’s delivery approach, affecting all NZ IAG brands. Effectively questioning programs and exploring alternatives has enabled them to achieve more human centred outcomes.
CFO Leaders x Creativity
Introduced curiosity and exploration into CFO senior leaders people managing with the intention of enabling their 300+ staff with an environment supporting creativity as they redesign how financial services are provided.
Reflection:
The program highlighted that creativity is not just about individual talent but about creating systems and environments that nurture and sustain creative thinking and actions across the organisation.