I’ve coached many clients wanting to boost their creativity in their lives. They may even want to start a creative project. But none have asked about boosting creativity in their daily routine work. They seem to view work and creativity as two separate dominions. I believe you’ll only start adding creativity to your personal projects if you learn how to boost your creativity at work. Creativity grows through practice, and what better way to practice than in your routine work? And what better way to make your daily work more fulfilling?
Today’s bosses look for creativity and innovation in every potential employee. Your creative ability is as important in today’s job market as your ability to manage or balance a departmental budget.
Get out of your box.
It’s important for the worker bees humming at computers get up, out and about–both literally and figuratively. The internet has given us a world at our fingertips, but it’s also important for us to cultivate real world experiences, relationships, and movement. I usually get my creative ideas when I’m exercising, traveling, or having a stimulating dialogue with a friend or colleague. Yet it’s just as important for leaders to leave their offices and meeting rooms and shake hands with their employees. Some of the best departmental ideas came from a creative light bulb someone I supervised shared with me. Just be sure to give them credit and exposure if it’s their idea. My ideas were owned by my boss a few times when I was still a worker bee, and it made me less excited to share my ideas with her.
Imagine.
When creative John Lennon wrote this song, it’s doubtful he totally saw what a profound effect it would have on society, then, and where it would lead society. “Imagine all the people living in a world of….” is a great way to brainstorm any creative idea. John Lennon might not have known exactly the influence that song would elicit when he wrote it, but he could see it all in his mind. Lennon. You don’t have to be as creative as Lennon, as charismatic as King, or as spiritual as Mother Theresa to imagine how you’d like to see the world someday and then to imagine the first baby step to moving toward and living in that world. Close your eyes and dream. Imagine. Plan. Act. That’s the order in which change happens. It all starts with a creative spark.
Ask “what if?”
Innovative business
What If? exemplifies what asking the question leads to: Impact and Income. They’ve doubled down on values, behaviors, skills, mindsets and spirit that lead to creative ideas and results. They’ve made smart ideas into thriving businesses. In my own businesses, I can’t imagine (no pun intended) progress without these questions: a) what if? b) why? c) who will this impact? d) does this project meet with my own ethics and values and e) will the results be helpful and powerful instead of detrimental? Creativity can be synonymous with problem solving, if it’s allowed to be.
Try. Test. Repeat.
Failure is not bad. If you ask “what if?” it means that you’re curious. I believe that’s my largest innate quality, because of my scientific inquisitiveness, my journalistic objectivity, and my love of (and belief in) humanity. Though it’s sometimes landed me in hot water, it’s usually led to my success. Yet the hot water is part of the creative process. We must try and fail like the Wright Brothers to fly. Yet too many people try and give up, or try and don’t test. They want to be in a hurry, and speed is an instant creativity killer. Just because you have a great ideas doesn’t mean you don’t think it through and test it before launch. Rockets are amazing, but what would have happened if the scientific process hadn’t been behind it? Don’t leap before you think…or test. Then your failure will be minimal, and you’ll be more apt to try new things again. Yet if you do fail, be transparent about it. Failure shouldn’t induce shame or lying if you are truly doing what you’re doing for ethical reasons, and you’ve practiced ethical behavior.
Enlist leadership’s support.
If your workplace is about as creative and old as a stale piece of white bread, then pitch your manager about upping the organizational creative game. Show them the benefits, especially in terms of time versus cost. Ask them for an hour of creative time a week for all employees, a time devoid of structure and micromanagement.
“The fastest way to kill the creative process is by requiring your team to produce tactical solutions in tandem with creative ideas. This not only stifles the creative flow but also shifts the work environment into a “produce while editing” mindset, says CEO Lisa Guice. It’s like trying to write a song with your fifth grade choir director whispering into your ear about musical theory or wondering how audiences will react to it while you’re on the road. These are all separate processes, and combined, they lead to loss of profit. And that’s why leaders need to be taught to embrace creativity now, model innovation and receptivity to new ideas, and teach employees how to enlist their creativity, which every single human possesses (but often tells to quiet down).
How to boost your creativity at work–the bottom line:
Listen to that quiet, still voice in your head as you write your to do lists, brainstorm in meetings, and write your emails. You’re the one that’s asked it to be quiet and told your inner critic to speak up. Be an example in your workplace, promote creativity to leadership, and keep track of any results your creativity created. Pretty soon, you’ll have a promotion, and you’ll actually begin to like your job more and have more time to create in your personal time.
