Positive Indicators

• Actively seeks to improve programmes or services.
• Offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs.
• Promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas.
• Takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”.
• Takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things.
• Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.

Negative Indicators

• Is slow to produce new ideas.
• Views problems in a conventional way.
• Accepts the status quo.
• Problem-solving lacks creativity.
• Thinks in a traditional manner.
• Is cautious with new approaches.
• Produces few alternatives.
• Accepts outdated working methods.
• Suggestions are not taken up by others.
• Little experience of creativity at work.

Sample Questions

Tell me about a time when you came up with a new idea at work.

• Why was this important?
• How did you arrive at this idea?
• What risks did you consider?
• How did you get other people interested in the idea?
• What was the outcome?

Creative ideas may initially seem good but in practice be unusable. How often do you find this?

• Tell me about one such situation.
• How did you decide that the idea was not practical?
• What was the outcome of the situation?

Give me an example of a time when you used a less conventional approach to your work.

• Why was this necessary?
• Why do you consider your approach to be different?
• How well did it work?

In what situations are you least creative?

• What stops you from being innovative?
• How do you manage these situations?
• What would help you to handle these situations more effectively?

Describe a situation when you produced an limaginative solution to a problem at work.

• How did you generate the solution?
• What feedback did you receive?
• What would you do differently next time?

Tell me about a time when you questioned a way of working.

• Why did you question it?
• What alternative did you suggest?
• To what extent were your ideas used?

Tell me about a time when you took a risk with pursuing a new approach or idea.

• What was risky about pursuing the approach/idea
• How did you handle the situation?
• How far did the new approach/idea progress

Tell me about a recent time when you went a… instituting improvement and change.

• How was it decided that an improvement was needed?
• How did you go about making the change(s)?
• What resistance was there to the change(s)?
• What effect did the changes have?

What feedback did you receive regarding the quality of your idea?