PART II
Unlocking the Secrets of Creative Leadership
In this part, we present the case for the growth and development of business analysts as creative leaders. Our goal is to arm business analysts with the principles, knowledge, practices, confidence, and courage they need to assume the roles of creative leader and innovation specialist in their organizations.
Although the belief that the business analyst is primarily responsible for writing and managing requirements remains prevalent, the numbers of business analysts serving as senior-level business/technology optimization and innovation consultants is growing rapidly. While business analysts acquire and sustain their requirements analysis knowledge and skills, organizations today need them to gain entry into the world of creative leadership as well.
In Chapter 4, we examine how management differs from leadership and how creative leadership differs from conventional leadership in the world of business. In addition, we discuss how business analysts can begin to assume the mindset of creative leaders.
In Chapter 5, we discuss the business analyst’s role in leading innovation teams and building and sustaining creativity in team decision-making and problem-solving.
In Chapter 6, we examine leadership strategies for fostering innovation and creativity when working with large, complex distributed teams.
In Chapter 7, we examine the vast array of creativity-inducing techniques the business analyst can use to foster originality and inventiveness.
In Chapter 8, we take the reader through the steps for planning and executing a requirements elicitation workshop, focusing heavily on ideas for requirements visualization techniques.