We consider how to combine creative individuals into creative teams and organisations in this part of Creativities. We begin by exploring two methods of blending the creative team. First, analytical 'sifting' to align individuals in the right formation; second, energetic 'mixing' to animate the group. Because these methods can lead us in different directions, our third method requires 'balancing' opposing tendencies. The fourth method, 'remixing', describes the need to reconfigure the team as it begins to lose focus and purpose. These four different methods require different approaches to leadership - analytical, charismatic, leading from below, and reflective or vulnerable leadership. Creativity research has shifted focus from individual psychology to a sociological paradigm, where it is assumed that creative processes flow from collective systems and relationships, not just talented individuals. This means that leaders of creative teams need to adjust their approach to match the changing dynamics. The different methods - sifting, mixing, balancing, remixing - also reflect different stages in the evolution of teams and organisations. 'Sifting' describes a filtering process which uses metrics like Belbin Team Roles, Myers Briggs Type Index and Kirton's Adaptation-Innovation Inventory, to identify, recruit and align the right people to the right roles. This approach assumes that creativity is relational - it depends upon relationships between team members as much as it does on the individual's creative capacity, the formation as much as the players. 'Mixing' is less analytical, trusting in the charismatic leader or entrepreneur to energise the creative team and drive the process forward. 'Balancing' recognises the limits of leadership, especially charismatic leadership, and seeks to balance opposing tendencies by adopting a more detached, reflective leadership style. Finally 'remixing' describes a process of reinventing and reconfiguring a creative team, bringing in new people and new systems to replace the old. Here the leader is more self-critical and delegates power to others in the team, an approach we have described as 'leading from the middle' or 'leading from below'.
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