A Mindful Approach to Team Creativity and Collaboration - Practical

In this review of A Mindful Approach to Team Creativity and Collaboration in Organizations, the author Melinda J. Rothouse explores how contemplative arts and mindfulness can change the way teams work together. The book is aimed at managers, facilitators, and organizational development practitioners who want a grounded, research-driven method for improving team creativity and communication. Its single biggest reason to buy is the clear, action research-based model that links arts-based workshop techniques to measurable shifts in trust, mindfulness and collaborative problem solving.

Key Features

• Contemplative arts methods: Describes artsbased workshop processes that facilitate reflective practice and open creative channels among team members.
• Action research approach: Uses a qualitative, action research paradigm so readers see how interventions were designed, implemented, and observed in real organizational settings.
• Team-focused outcomes: Demonstrates effects on mindfulness, trust, communication, collaboration, and insight, offering practical links between activities and team dynamics.
• Model development: Presents a five-element model grounded in findings that helps practitioners structure workshops and follow-up practice.
• Ethnographic detail: Employs artsbased and ethnographic methods to provide rich, contextual examples of how groups respond to contemplative practice.

Who It's For

This book is best for HR professionals, team leaders, organizational consultants, and facilitators who want evidence-informed methods to foster creativity and collaboration using contemplative arts and mindfulness. It suits readers who appreciate qualitative research and want specific workshop-based techniques to try with intact teams.

Practitioners seeking step-by-step tactical instruction for every exercise or those looking solely for quantitative metrics may need to supplement this book with facilitation manuals or quantitative studies, since the focus here is qualitative and model-building.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Provides a research-grounded model linking contemplative arts to improved team communication and trust.
• Uses real organizational examples through ethnographic description, making outcomes relatable to workplace contexts.
• Focuses on team-level change rather than only individual development, which is useful for group facilitators.

Cons

• Not a step-by-step facilitator manual, so readers may need additional practical guides to run every activity.

Specifications

Our Verdict

This book is a valuable, research-informed resource for facilitators and organizational leaders who want to experiment with contemplative arts to enhance team creativity and collaboration. Its qualitative evidence and model make it a good value for readers who plan to adapt workshop processes to their own teams and integrate mindfulness into group practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book include practical workshop examples?
The book provides artsbased workshop descriptions and ethnographic examples, but it is not a step-by-step facilitator manual.

Who conducted the research and what methods were used?
Melinda J. Rothouse conducted qualitative action research using artsbased and ethnographic methods to study team responses.

Will this help with individual mindfulness practice?
While the emphasis is on teams, the model includes individual-level mindfulness as one element and demonstrates how personal practice supports group outcomes.