How can we identify and assess creative capacity in leaders?

I just received a form from my child’s school, seeking permission for an assessment as gifted/talented.  I’m  blogging about it because it got me thinking (again) about how we assess and identify high potential individuals (ok, and maybe I'm bragging a little, too, but just a little).

Our school district considers students who fall into one or more of these categories for gifted/talented programs:

• Intellectual Ability - Students whose general intellectual development is markedly advanced in relation to their chronological peers
• High Achievement Ability - Students who consistently function for two consecutive years at highly advanced levels in both English-Language Arts/reading and mathematics.
• Specific Academic Ability - Students who consistently function for three consecutive years at highly advanced levels in either English-Language Arts/reading or mathematics. Students in Grades 9-12 may also be considered in either science or social science.
• Creative Ability - Students who characteristically perceive significant similarities or differences within the environment, challenge assumptions, and produce unique alternative solutions.
• Leadership Ability - Students who show confidence and knowledge; influence others effectively; have problem-solving and decision making skills; express ideas in oral or written form clearly; show sense of purpose and direction.
• Ability in the Performing or Visual Arts - Students who originate, perform, produce, or respond at exceptionally high levels in either dance, music (voice), drama, or in drawing or painting.

This list reminds me of Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, although it doesn’t strictly match all of Gardner’s categories.  I appreciate that the schools are making an explicit effort to identify individuals with exceptional abilities not only in academic and intellectual domains, but also in creative, artistic, and leadership pursuits.  Depending on the area of gifted/talented nomination, formal assessments can include intellectual ability testing, auditions or demonstrations, and a review of past work.

To identify high-potential individuals in business, we typically look for a record of high performance (good business results) combined with evidence of leadership ability.   Organizations often compare candidates to a competency model that describes what outstanding behavior looks like in a specific company.  A known problem with this is that competency models are built at a point in time, but leadership needs change, so we may end up selecting high-potentials (or leaders) based on yesterday’s criteria if our competency models are not refreshed often enough.

IBM’s recently released Global CEO Study found that leaders of organizations around the world identified CREATIVITY as the single most important leadership competency for enterprises seeking a path through the complexity that characterizes our times.  The report finds that CEO’s now realize that creativity trumps other leadership characteristics.  Creative leaders are comfortable with ambiguity and experimentation.  To connect and inspire a new generation, they lead and interact in entirely new ways.

How can we identify and assess creative capacity in leaders?  To what extent is creativity and ability that aspiring leaders can develop?