Few organizational challenges are within the scope of a single individual to solve. Moving innovation from insight to idea to implementation usually requires a number of people, ideally working together within a well-functioning team.

Most of us, at one time or another, have worked in team environments that are frustratingly unproductive and uncreative, and consequently produce mediocre results. But when done well, teamwork can offer inspiration and motivation, and produce innovative ideas and high quality results.

Typically, interdisciplinary teams are formed based on their diverse knowledge – diversity in what their members know. Building hot teams is about harnessing a new kind of diversity – diversity in how the members think.

By beginning with an on-line assessment tool, the Creative Problem Solving Profile (www.basadurprofile.com), team leaders can assemble people who contribute to the creative problem solving process with a diverse range of problem solving styles. By synchronizing those diverse styles, hot teams can move seamlessly through generation, conceptualization, optimization and implementation stages. Team members execute specific thinking skills that make the process work. They recognize and eliminate destructive thinking practices, employ advanced tools including customer challenge mapping, and routinely ask  “how might we?”, “why?”, and “what’s stopping?” as part of a new everyday language of innovation.

The result is a well-functioning team capable of providing breakthrough results and experiencing real motivation and satisfaction.