As part of my class on change, I had my students take the Innovation Assessment by Jeremy Gutsche. The instrument identifies your primary and secondary innovation traits and shares strengths that you can use to accelerate your creativity.
I like it because it also highlights the traps and gaps that correspond to them and becomes a guide to forecast blind spots that may hinder your innovation.
Many self-assessments focus only on the positive aspects of your traits, but in reality, every characteristic has a downside. Being too cautious causes people to miss out on opportunities. Being too loyal can blind you to others’ faults. Being too risky can turn into recklessness. Being too nice can lead to people taking advantage of you. Being too curious can cause you to be distracted.
Some of my students were frustrated by the questions in the assessment, and others were dismayed with their results (hoping they were “more creative”), but all agreed it was a worthwhile exercise that got them thinking. There is no “wrong” kind of creative, and becoming more self-aware is always a good thing. I’m not on the “willing to destroy” end of the innovation spectrum, but the world needs those of us on the “disciplined” axis, too.
Take the (free) assessment here and learn something about your innovation archetype today. The knowledge may help you better handle the constant change we face.
