The Top 10 Catalysts for Great Ideas

Idea Champions recently conducted a poll to discover which catalysts spurred its clients' brightest ideas. While many of them involved solitary activities or reflection, two of the top five -- brainstorming with others and collaborating with a partner -- reveal the power of team ideation in sparking creativity. A third top-five factor, being immersed in a project, arguably fits in that mold as well, assuming you're not taking part in a solo endeavor.

The top 10 catalysts for best ideas:

When you're inspired
Brainstorming with others
When you're immersed in a project
When you're happy
Collaborating with a partner
Daydreaming
Analyzing a problem
Driving
Commuting to and from work
Reading books in your field

Study authors Tim Moore and Mitch Ditkoff noted that forced physical teamwork from employees doesn't tend to engender great ideas: "Rafting trips and ropes courses can work well to bond teams instinctually. But in this poll, we found all activities requiring physical exertion scored low as idea catalysts."

Some of their recommendations for fostering a better collaborative environment for creative thinking:

Let your team daydream and brainstorm
Create a buddy system for people to explore new possibilities together
Encourage friendships and fun in the workplace
Don't reject creative ideas out of hand

As a manager, leveraging the positive aspects of teamwork can help your employees get more inspired -- and that can lead to innovation, better job satisfaction and performance, and more engagement.

CC Holland

CC Holland is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and a number of national magazines. Online, she was a columnist for AnchorDesk.com and writes regularly for Law.com and BNET. On the other side of the journalism desk, she's been a managing editor for ZDNet, CNet, and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, where she earned an APTRA Best News Web Site award.

More from CBS News