Have you ever taken a personality assessment like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? If so, you have probably provided answers to a number of questions so that an algorithm can determine how you interact with the environment. You can find out from this test, for example, whether you make decisions more subjectively (feelers) or more objectively (thinkers).

Similar to that aspect of the Myers-Briggs test are convergence and divergence in thought. “Divergence” refers to opening up your senses and taking in new sources of information from the outside world, such as at the start of a new project. “Convergence” refers to shutting off sources of distraction and narrowing your focus to arrive at an end result.

We’ll examine the distinctions between divergence and convergence in this article. Please keep reading.

Convergence

We all need to develop another, equally crucial mentality if we hope to see the results of our creative endeavors. Convergence calls for the exact opposite strategy, and it is what is required.

Convergence is about coming to conclusions, making decisive decisions, choosing between trade-offs, and prioritizing what is essential versus what is “nice to have.” In order to settle on a final product (like a document, a deliverable, or another result), you are consciously reducing the range of options you are considering.

Imagine the interior designer in question deciding it is time to settle on a final layout. He begins eliminating possibilities and making difficult decisions. He could put away the majority of the magazine clippings he used as inspiration, pack up all but the final patterns the client has approved of, finalize the budget, and begin ordering the materials he requires.

Most creative people struggle with convergence because, in order to pursue one path, you have to say no to all the others, regardless of how intriguing or juicy they may be. Throwing away content that took effort and time to find can be a form of creative grief.

As lovers of ideas, we frequently detest hearing the script with the enticing dialogue or seeing the deck with the fascinating slide, or the product with the tantalizing feature, cut.

But convergence is essential if we ever want to finish anything. All the extraneous components only dilute and obscure the crucial ones. For us to be able to bring something real to live, we must have the self-awareness to recognize when limiting our degrees of freedom actually gives us that freedom.

The truth is, until we produce a tangible artifact that can be shared with others, we have nothing to show for our efforts except a lot of messy work-in-process that may or may not be of value.

Benefits Of Convergent Thinking

Convergent thinking may be applied unknowingly in project management. Convergent thinking embraces structure and straightforward solutions, so it makes sense that project managers would gravitate toward this methodology. The benefits of convergent thinking include:

• A quicker way to arrive at a solution
• Leaves no room for ambiguity
• Encourages organization and linear processes

Using convergent thinking to organize teams, design processes, and schedule projects is acceptable. In project management, there are numerous situations where you must act quickly to find solutions. You will struggle to come up with original solutions to problems if you completely avoid divergent thinking, though.

Divergence

The act of divergence is the starting point of every creative project.

You start to broaden your focus as soon as you decide to write that article, create that website, a host that event, or start that fundraising campaign. You inevitably start to notice new insights and examples that might be applicable to it as you view the world through the lens of the new project.

This early stage is divergent – it is about expanding the range of possibilities you’re open to, considering as many options as possible, exposing yourself to new ideas, and exploring potential pathways without committing to any single one.

Think about a decorator who is getting ready to furnish a space. He might browse the patterns as he strolls through fabric stores, waiting for one to stand out and catch his eye. He might idly leaf through design publications in search of something that meets his requirements. Inquiring about his client’s background, way of life, and preferences for the space may lead to this.

Making choices that will stand the test of time, narrowing your options, or staying within a certain price range is not appropriate at this time. Now is the time to stray, roam, and let curiosity and serendipity lead you in unexpected directions. This is a divergent state of mind because the range of information we are considering is expanding and diverging from the starting point.

Divergence is the classic image that often comes to mind when we think about creativity: the artist splashing paint haphazardly across the canvas, the dancer improvising across an empty dance floor, or the writer filling a wastepaper basket with crumpled-up drafts.

Benefits Of Divergent Thinking

Being a busy project manager, it can be challenging to take your time and think in a different way. Projects have due dates, so it’s crucial to act quickly. You might believe that if you don’t find a solution right away, you’ll let down your clients or customers.

Working too quickly, however, can also lead you to settle for safer choices and avoid taking risks. Because you’ll adopt a mindset of learning, divergent thinking can be advantageous for project managers. Divergent thinking can also help you:

• Identify new opportunities
• Find creative ways to solve problems
• Assess ideas from multiple perspectives
• Understand and learn from others

Fast results and predictability may be effective occasionally, but this way of thinking won’t make you stand out from the competition. To impress clients or customers and differentiate yourself from the competition, you’ll need divergent thinking.

What Separates Convergent Thinking From Divergent Thinking?

In 1956, psychologist J. P. Guilford coined the terms “convergent” and “divergent” thinking. The goal of convergent thinking is to arrive at a single, clearly defined solution to a problem. This way of thinking works best when solving problems that call for logic rather than creativity, like multiple-choice questions or issues for which there are no other viable solutions.

The process of divergent thinking requires more creativity than convergent thinking. You can come up with ideas and create numerous solutions to a problem using this way of thinking. While brainstorming for numerous potential answers to a question is frequently a part of divergent thinking, both convergent and divergent thinking share the objective of finding the best solution.

In practice, here’s what these different types of thinking might look like:

• Convergent thinking: Convergent thinkers would immediately call a technician to fix the copy machine if it breaks down at the office.
• Divergent thinking: In the event that the office copier malfunctions, a divergent thinker would investigate the root of the issue and consider potential solutions. One option might be to call a technician, while other possibilities might include searching for a do-it-yourself video on YouTube or sending an email to the entire team to see if anyone has experience repairing copiers. Whichever option is best would then be decided.

Use Convergent And Divergent Thinking For Creative Problem-Solving

To solve issues in your processes or projects, you can combine convergent and divergent thinking. You’ll have a harder time moving from point A to point B if you don’t use both types of thinking.

Discover: Divergent Thinking

Utilizing divergent thinking is necessary during the discovery phase of creative problem-solving. Finding the root of a problem at work requires first considering all of the potential causes.

For instance, you might have had a number of projects go over budget. This raises the question, “Why does this keep happening?” If you were to respond to this question using convergent reasoning, you might come to a quick conclusion as to why these budget overruns occur. However, when you employ divergent thinking, you take into account all conceivable causes of the issue.

Define: Convergent Thinking

When reducing the list of possible causes for your issue, employ convergent thinking. Even though it’s possible that multiple factors contributed to your budget overruns, convergent thinking calls for a focused approach to problem-solving, so you must decide which factor poses the greatest challenge.

Your budget overruns may have been caused by a lack of communication, but if poor project planning was more to blame, that is the issue you should focus on. Improved budgeting may be the result of developing a solution to your project planning process. In addition, most causes are connected. So even though it wasn’t the main objective, better planning will enhance workplace communication.

Deduce: Divergent Thinking

As you search for a solution to your issue in stage three, you’ll once again engage in divergent thinking. If the cause of your budget overruns is poor project planning, then possible solutions may include:

• Use a project plan template
• Better communication with stakeholders
• More thorough research of project requirements
• Implement cost control methods

Before you can choose the best solution for your problem, you must take into account all other options.

Determine: Convergent Thinking

In the final phase of problem-solving, you’ll use convergent thinking once more to choose the approach that will solve your issue the most successfully. Even though all the solutions you came up with in stage three might partially resolve your issue, you should start by addressing just one of the action items.

You might choose to concentrate on more than one action item in some circumstances, but only if these items are connected.

For instance, following a discussion with your team about the potential solutions, you decide that incorporating cost control strategies into your cost management plan should help you avoid budget overruns and possibly even save money.

Know Your Modes

Divergence and convergence are so fundamental to the creative process, we can see it in action across every creative field:

• Writers diverge by collecting raw material for the story they want to tell, sketching out potential characters, and researching historical facts. By creating outlines, outlining plot points, and penning the first draft, they come together.
• Engineers diverge by researching possible solutions, testing the boundaries of the problem, or tinkering with new tools. By settling on a specific strategy, creating the specifics of its implementation, and starting to construct, they converge.
• Designers diverge by collecting samples and patterns, talking to users to understand their needs, or sketching possible solutions. By settling on a problem to solve, creating wireframes, or turning their designs into graphics files, they converge.
• Photographers diverge by taking spontaneous photos of things they find interesting, juxtaposing different kinds of photos together, or experimenting with new lighting or framing techniques. By selecting the photos for a collection, saving unused photos, and printing their favorite photos, they come together.

Once you understand what divergence and convergence look like in your own work, you can use this simple framework to tell you which state of mind you should be in at any particular point.

Conclusions

We all naturally use our cognitive processes to solve creative problems, so there is nothing wrong with being steadfast.

You can always add to, edit, or enhance something. When I say “final product” or “deliverable,” I don’t mean to imply that this represents your entire body of work. It’s just the latest in a long line of them. The final outcome of one round of convergence can be used to gather outside input, which then serves as the foundation for the subsequent round of divergence.