T = Thinking Skills
We are now up to T=Thinking skills habit in the CREATIVE HABITS series (the first ‘T’ that is). I look forward to your thoughts (no pun intended..) over the next few weeks as I write about this habit.
Everyone is different and will have preferred ways of learning, writing and being creative in their work. Understanding how your mind works, and your personal preferences will help you to write more creatively and will enable you to actively critique your work.
Luckily, there are several techniques and free tools you can access to learn more about how you personally think and learn. You can then use this knowledge to ensure your creative edge is available when you write, and to critique your work and improve it. 
Editing your own writing is often difficult, because you see what you expect to see, not what is there. However, if you know how your brain tends to work, you can use a different technique to critique and edit your own work.
Tools you can use to discover the ways in which you prefer to think, create, learn and work include the Belbin Teamwork Roles, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicators and the DISC method.
These are all tools you can use, and usually access for free on the web, to embark on a tour of self-discovery and knowledge. It has been said that knowledge is power, and knowing yourself better can really help you in your writing and creativity.
Over the years I’ve done all these tests, usually as part of team building exercises and I must admit I prefer the DISC. Especially the Extended DISC (which I’m certified in) as it made sense to me and I could easily understand my personal preferences and more easily identify those of my work colleagues and friends.
DISC is an acronym for
- Dominance (relating to control power and assertiveness)
- Influence (relating to social situations and communication styles)
- Steadiness (relating to patience, persistence and thoughtfulness) and
- Conscientiousness (relating to structure and organization)
People who have a high score in the dominance area are likely to be active in dealing with problems or challenges and those with a low D score will want to do more research before committing themselves. If you find you tend to spend too many hours on research before starting to write, you may have a low D score in this sort of personal preferences test.
People with High I scores can be enthusiastic, persuasive, warm and convincing and this will come across in their style of writing. People with low I scores are more likely to be reflective, with a focus on facts and be logical, critical and matter of fact in their writing style.
People with a High S style will like steady pace and will work consistently but those with low S scores are likely to be restless, impulsive and wait for the creative burst of genius. Understanding your Steadiness score or style will have an impact on your time management and working when you are more creative.
Finally, people with a high rating in the C style section prefer quality work with structure and rules, getting it right the first time. Their first draft may take longer than others, but there will be far less to correct for the final version. People with a low rating in the C style section can be opinionated, unsystematic and careless with details naturally, so learning to double-check the details is a good self-critique for this style of writer.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicators are a similar tool, where you answer questions and decide where you sit in the four groups of personality types.
The Belbin tests are ones that help you to discover how you work in teams, but can also give you important information about how you might work individually. Belbin has devised nine categories of styles of workers; plant, resource investigator, coordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, teamworker, implementer, complete finisher and specialist.
If you are interested in looking into these types of tools further Business Balls is a great site full of interesting and fun topics – just search for ‘personality types’, there is lots of information and free tools.
