How and When Team Creativity Is Driven by a Star Teammate
A creative star on a team is one who has superior creativity compared to others team members. This team member is typically the source of new and creative ideas and has great influence on the rest of the team’s creativity. The creative star’s influence on the team’s creativity depends on how he or she interacts and communicates with other team members. Stars who interact with team members frequently have central positions and serve as key points of interaction. Because they are in central positions, they can enhance team performance outcomes. However, they can also detrimentally affect their teammates’ performance.
Recent research in the Academy of Management Journal examined the effects of centrally positioned creative stars on team creativity and learning behavior of other team members. The researchers surveyed R&D and sales teams across various industries in China. The results revealed that centrally positioned creative stars positively impacted team creativity. The creative stars utilized diverse information from other team members and developed and spread novel ideas through the team network.
Further, the researchers found that there was an inverse relationship between the creative stars’ centrality and the learning activities of the team. The researchers hypothesized that this is because the resources and attention provided to the creative stars would limit opportunities for the rest of the team’s development. The contributions made by the creative stars could also make their teammates more dependent on them, which could reduce the team members initiative to engage in their own development. The inverse relationship could also lessen creativity as a whole because of the lack of diverse input and knowledge gained through organizational learning.
Finally, the study showed that team coordination mitigates the detrimental effect of the creative star’s centrality on team members’ learning behavior and team creativity. Team coordination allows team members to gain team-relevant knowledge because it helps clarify shared objectives, assignment of roles, and locations of expertise. Ultimately, it helps team members to integrate their own knowledge with those of others. Through this learning, the team can explore alternative perspectives that facilitate team creativity.
Li, Y., Li, N., Li, C., & Li, J. (2020). The Boon and Bane of Creative “Stars”: A Social Network Exploration of How and When Team Creativity Is (and Is Not) Driven by a Star Teammate. Academy of Management Journal, 63, 613-635.
