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Convergent and Divergent Thinking

By Jay

Jun 22, 2023 | 4 minutes read
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Series: Leadership

Tags: blog, msol

One of the main themes of my organizational leadership curriculum was the concept of design thinking; this is a way of problem solving that follows four key steps:

  1. Fully understand the problem.
  2. Explore a wide range of possible solutions.
  3. Iterate through prototyping and testing.
  4. Implement through your normal methodology.

A component of this dive into design thinking that I found interesting was the use of two modes of thinking - convergent thinking and divergent thinking - to work through those four steps. What follows is a post I wrote for our cohort discussions on the topic of these modes.

Convergent thinking is the process of finding “the single, correct solution to any problem by following defined, logical steps” (Indeed, 2021). This mode of thinking assumes that the questions posed during the process have clear, unambiguous answers that are either right or wrong. In stark contrast, divergent thinking, also known as lateral thinking, involves the pursuit of multiple unique ideas to solve the problem at hand (Airfocus, n.d.). The process of divergent thinking not only accepts but relies on the existence of multiple correct solutions to a given problem.

In my role as an engineer, convergent thinking has proven to be invaluable. Within the realm of programming and systems engineering, we use Boolean logic, which requires all values to be either “true” or “false” (Lotame, 2018). This allows us to make decisions on how our program, script, or application will react in certain scenarios. This is a highly efficient and useful application of convergent thinking.

However, computer programs are not the real world, where problems are less about black and white, and more often about various shades of grey. Unfortunately, many people insist on simplifying real-world problems to black and white, ignoring the fact that these problems do not neatly fit into those categories. Divergent thinking can help unlock solutions that better align with the problem than a force-fit solution arrived at by convergent thinking.

For those of us trained in logic and a logical approach to problem-solving, divergent thinking can be challenging. When applied correctly, divergent thinking requires one to focus less on the logical steps necessary to define the problem set and narrow it down to a solution, and instead engage in the creation of multiple potential solutions (Cheprasov, n.d.). From my experience, the ability to engage in divergent thinking (or lateral thinking as it is also known) does not come easily and requires practice and patience. Moreover, engaging in this mode of thinking requires a degree of psychological safety within the team and organization, because you will be wrong more times than you are right as you go through the process.

A final point about these modes of thinking is that they are not a dichotomy. It’s crucial to avoid “the tyranny of or” and assume that one can only engage in one or the other for a given problem, as they reside on a continuum (Runco, 2014). The best problem-solving techniques are those that draw on both modes of thinking when addressing problems encountered in the real world (with some exceptions, such as programming). From my experience, one difficulty is remembering to view each problem through both the divergent and convergent lens and then apply the appropriate techniques to identify, test, and select solutions. The other difficulty is that most people are not very good at divergent thinking. The good news here is that there are plenty of books and websites where you can work on this skill (Muxworthy, 2021).

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