Creativity allows teams to solve problems and leverage existing resources simply by virtue of having different thoughts and perspectives. Emotional intelligence promotes team trust which fosters a collaborative culture which increases the creativity of the team. Increased EQ in individuals and teams allows for better communication and openness to different ideas. Team emotional intelligence is the ‘ability of a group to develop a set of norms that manage emotional processes’ (Druskat & Wolff, 2001b, p. 133). Jordan and Lawrence (2009) suggest four components to team EQ. These are: ‘awareness of own emotions, awareness of other’s emotions, management of own emotions, and management of other’s emotions’ (p. 454). Barczak, Lassk & Mulki (2010) hypothesized that both team trust and a collaborative culture are positively correlated with team creativity. Barczak et al. (2010) explains team trust as feeling that members can be vulnerable and their teammates will not take advantage of that. The authors define a collaborative culture as one that fosters open communication, values the differing viewpoints of its employees, and encourages an atmosphere of respect and support for one another. The authors conducted a study of over 400 undergraduate students who were placed into teams. When the data was analyzed, support was found for the hypothesizes: both team trust as well as a collaborative culture, foster creativity in teams. Barczak et al. (2010) postulated that the relationship to creativity in teams began with the EQ of the teams. From there, trust is built which allows for the creation of a collaborative culture; ultimately leading to higher levels of creativity among the teams. The authors suggest using the information found by the study in selection of candidates for positions that require working on a team.
De Dre, C. K. W., Nijstad, B. A., Bechtoldt, M. N. & Bass, M. (2011)
De Dre, Nijstad, Bechtoldt & Bass