What is Ekvall's 10 Dimensions of Climate?
Goran Ekvall created 10 dimensions to measure the amount of creativity in a climate or organization. Gorans' work has been refined and validated in the USA by Scott Isaksen (Center for Creative studies, State University of New York-Buffalo). In 1991, the Climate for Innovation Questionnaire (CIQ) with sixty items across 10 dimensions was created followed in 1995 by the Situational Outlook for Creativity and Change Survey (SOCCS) Questionnaire. It's most recent label is the Situational Outlook Questionnaire (SOQ).
Ekvall’s 10 dimensions include:
Ekvall’s 10 dimensions include:
- Challenge (How challenged, emotionally involved,and committed are students to the work?)
- Freedom (How free are the students to decide how to do their work?)
- Idea time (Do students have time to think things through before having to act?)
- Dynamism (the eventfulness of life in the school or organization or in the classroom)
- Idea support (Are there resources to give new ideas a try?)
- Trust and openness (Do students feel safe speaking their minds and offering different points of view?)
- Playfulness and humor (How relaxed is the classroom-is it okay to have fun?)
- Conflicts (To what degree do students engage in interpersonal conflict?)
- Debates (To what degree do students engage in lively debates about the issues?)
- Risk-taking (Is it okay to fail?)
Factors that create climate:
•Visions & Goals - Strongly held images of what a team wishes to achieve.
•Strategies - The kinds of approaches and processes used to accomplish the team's visions and goals.
•Leadership - The style, quality, and effectiveness of the leader helps to set the tone for the team.
•Work Setting - The physical set up in which the members of the team work.
•Individuals - The personality traits, experiences, and background of the members of the team.
•Type of Work - The nature of the work itself.
•Work Organization - How tasks are organized and carried out. How decisions are made.
•Context - The relationship between the team and the organizational as a whole.
•Values and Norms - Commonly held beliefs, assumptions and practices
•Strategies - The kinds of approaches and processes used to accomplish the team's visions and goals.
•Leadership - The style, quality, and effectiveness of the leader helps to set the tone for the team.
•Work Setting - The physical set up in which the members of the team work.
•Individuals - The personality traits, experiences, and background of the members of the team.
•Type of Work - The nature of the work itself.
•Work Organization - How tasks are organized and carried out. How decisions are made.
•Context - The relationship between the team and the organizational as a whole.
•Values and Norms - Commonly held beliefs, assumptions and practices