There may be an ‘I’ in ‘team’ after all: Scientists find individuals are more creative when they feel personal ownership towards a group project
- Study found creativity improves when we feel personal ownership of a project
- However, there also needs to be a form of collective ownership within the team
- Teams with high levels of individual ownership are less collectively engaged
A new study suggests there may be an ‘I’ in team after all.
Researchers found that it is important for individuals to feel personal ownership towards a team project in order to be more creative.
However, when a person only thinks of themselves as owning the project, without collective ownership, creativity drops –suggesting there has to be an ‘us’ as well.
The study was led by Dr. Ieva Martinaityte of the University of East Anglia (UEA)’s Norwich Business School.
The result proved the importance of how collective ownership is key for success in projects.
Researchers found that it is important for individuals to feel personal ownership towards a team project in order to be more creative. However, when a person only thinks of themselves as owning the project, without collective ownership, creativity drops –suggesting there has to be an ‘us’ as well
But the study also suggests managers should be aware of individual ownership within groups, as teams with high levels of individual ownership are less collectively engaged and in turn decreases overall creativity.
The team examined two kinds of psychological ownership – personal, which looks at projects as their own, and collective, those who view it as ‘ours’.
Data from 39 teams with 186 individuals were analysed from organizations in the US, UK, Lithuania and China.
The teams worked on projects involving mobile software, creating and implementing a building design and launching an event.
A questionnaire was given that asked participants to report their psychological ownership and collective psychological ownership towards the specific project.
Three weeks following, a second questionnaire was distributed where individuals reported their levels of individual engagement in the project and their own creativity.
At the same time, project managers rated the team’s engagement in the project.
The study also suggests managers should be aware of individual ownership within groups, as teams with high levels of individual ownership are less collectively engaged and in turn decreases overall creativity
Finally, three weeks later managers reported team creativity.
The results show for the first time that although collective psychological ownership has positive effects on engagement and subsequently on creativity, for both individuals and teams, personal psychological ownership drives individual engagement and creativity, but has the opposite effect on team outcomes.
Dr. Martinaityte, a lecturer in business and management, said: ‘Human nature to possess can be a powerful motivation to enhance employee engagement and creativity.’
‘Managers should invest time in making each team member feel like a project owner to maximize individual outputs, but equally focus on teams developing a feeling of collective ownership, ‘our project’ rather than ‘my project’, if they expect higher team dedication and more creative project outcomes.’
‘Without team members experiencing collective ownership, there is a risk that team performance will be lost.’
‘For employees it is about being aware of psychological ownership as a powerful driver to engage and perform in the team project.’
‘If they are not willing to put effort into the project perhaps they should consider whether they feel they don’t own the project.’
