When Sticklers Meet Dreamers #cindertoflame

Please exercise levity with respect to the labels: sticklers and dreamers, both have strengths and weaknesses. After we define their characteristics, we will explore how an interaction between them can result in “a clash”.

In terms of innovation, we will define sticklers as perfectionists who strictly follow each process step. Whereas dreamers are less concerned with stumbling (or failures), and may appear to aimlessly wander away from the beaten path (traditional set of processes) in pursuit of discovery.

My father was a stickler. I recall coming home with my Grade 7 report card with a science mark of 99%. He asked why I didn’t get 100%? Next term, I received 100% and told my science teacher that if I went home with that mark, my father would expect a perfect grade in every subject! I switched high schools and in grade 12, my science fair project led to an international science fair in London, England. Thereafter, I was invited to a science fair committee meeting where I encountered my Grade 7 science teacher. He asked: “Have you taken time to dream and enjoy your life?” This sparked deep reflection and helped reveal my internal conflict. My natural disposition fits more with a dreamer and I need to suppress my stickler drive for perfection, developed during my formative years.

You are invited to read my bio that opens with these words: “Born a creative thinker…” https://www.cindertoflame.ca/bio

People who excel in their career tend to have some perfectionist tendencies (aka “sticklers”). Sticklers are high achievers and exhibit intolerance for mistakes and failure, especially their own. When you review the research regarding the extreme end of the perfectionist spectrum, it’s described as an unhealthy obsession, the opposite of well-being. (Keep this point in mind as it will be revisited.)

Dreamers dream and some may be extroverts (like myself) who exhibit an openness to experience, the only Big Five personality trait that was a significant predictor of innovative work behaviours among almost 400 bank employees studied by Hamdy, Fazida and Rashidah et al (2019).

What happens when sticklers meet dreamers? View this article’s photo, can you imagine “a clash”? When animals lock horns (repeatedly), they are competing for dominance until one animal wins. Similarly, it’s impossible to hold two competing dispositions simultaneously. The challenge is knowing when a stickler or dreamer should concede so that the other may win a given match.

Let’s apply the concept of sticklers and dreamers to innovation. Continuous quality (process) improvement offers many benefits to refine existing processes and remove redundancies such as waste to increase the customer value of a service or product. When a Corporation is perfecting processes, it can be described as being in stickler mode.

Innovation case studies cite continuous quality (process) improvement and especially those that follow a formal methodology (e.g. Lean) as a significant barrier to disruptive or radical innovation. "Major innovation" is Cinder to Flame’s preferred term for this type of innovation. It begins with a disruption and at the most extreme end of an innovation continuum, case studies have reported obliteration of the existing business model along with the associated processes that can disrupt the entire system. The end goal is to create something novel to maximize benefits for Corporations, their clients and communities.

Cinder to Flame helps Corporations solve complex challenges with strategic services that energize people, fuel a healthy corporate culture and ignite major innovation.

Building a healthy corporate culture for major innovation shapes and coordinates the roles of sticklers and dreamers. Cinder to Flame applies a novel strategy to promote health and well-being while simultaneously building skills for inventive thinking and performance. (Do you recall that sticklers have a tendency to neglect their own well-being in pursuit of performance and perfection?)

Cinder to Flame has designed inventive tools and strategies to propel creative thinking and generate more novel ideas and innovative solutions (the dreamer mode).

Finally, a fundamental skill is knowing when and how to coordinate the roles of sticklers and dreamers to enable an optimal partnership for design thinking (to build and test inventive prototypes that capitalize upon iterations of learning through failure).

Cinder to Flame’s overarching goal is to help solve complex corporate and system challenges. While this goal may appear lofty and match that of a dreamer, consider the limitations of continuous quality (process) improvement - it was never intended to solve the complex challenges that Corporations, municipalities and government, and the health system are facing today (and tomorrow).

Continuous quality (process) improvement and major innovation are very different innovation strategies, each with their associated innovation culture and strengths. Cinder to Flame harmonizes the strengths of both innovation strategies and cultures to enable flexible movement between them.

Sticklers and dreamers, take three steps and click the button to book a free strategy consultation: https://www.cindertoflame.ca/services

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