Day 18: Embrace Creativity

Most people think of creativity as a form of self-expression like painting, drawing or playing an instrument. The reality is those acts are largely mechanical. At it's core creativity is the act of coming up with something that is novel, relevant and fits the problem at hand. What does that mean? It mean that we shouldn't think of creativity as a talent that is inherited by a few genius, but much like everything else we do it you have to train for it and practice. Today we would like to give you a few pointers on how you can embrace creativity as an organization.

Start With You

There is a great scene from the Matrix that has the most enduring message of the entire trilogy. While waiting to meet the Oracle, Neo meets a young boy who explains that because they are in an alternate reality, "There is no spoon." and that bending the spoon actually means bending himself to affect that change. Not exactly Plato, but definitely something Plato might say. If you want to change the environment you work in the easiest thing to change is yourself. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have I really given employees the tools they need for creative activities?
2. Have I made a true commitment to creativity?
3. Do our policies, procedures and actions show that creativity is a commitment?
4. Do I practice what I preach?

Remember creativity is just another task you assign to people, its something that has to be integrated into the culture of the company

Do Things That Cultivate Creativity

The most common creativity question I get is "How can I/my employees be more creative at work?" The short answer is you can't make people more creative (see my spoon comment above). What you can do is create an environment that encourages and fosters creativity. Read about the 5 things you can do to cultivate creativity. These are really good tips if you are looking for creative activities or practices to use at work.

It's Not Just For The Designers

Probably the biggest misconception that people have about creativity is that is should be isolated to the the "creative type". In reality creativity has very little to do with art, music, writing or other "creative" activity. It is a pre-cursor to those activities, and the same process the Mozart used to create his great symphonies can be applied to accounting, design, engineering and construction. Make sure your creative efforts can be embraced by every role in the organization.

Know The Truth About Empowerment

Maybe you've tried something like this before. You say "I told my employees they can be creative, and they didn't do anything. They're just lazy!" Now there are definitely some lazy people out there, there are also a lot of misguided attempts at empowering employees to do things. Much like creativity power isn't something that you can confer on your staff. Once you have some really good ideas about creativity in your workplace take a look at how you can empower employees to take it to the next level.

Today's Lesson

Today's lesson will require you to look back at some of the activities you have already completed. Get the one page plan you created on day 6, the 100 ideas list from day 2 and sit in front of the What's Next board you started on day 10. Now that you have those all together, take a look at them and come up with 10 things you can do to involve you employees in the process of making those things happen. Once you have your list do the following:

1. Define a problem related to the list for them to solve. Most employees will want to help you but need clear direction on what they are solving. Take some time to articulate the problem and reason for solving it.
2. Give them the tools but don't dictate the actions needed.
3. Participate in the process. Don't give them a 'go forth and solve' message. Give them a 'let's do this together' message. Make sure it's everyone's problem not just theirs.

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