4 Tips for Supporting Creativity at Work

“When the creative spirit stirs, it animates a style of being: a lifetime filled with the desire to innovate, to explore new ways of doing things, to bring dreams of reality.” – Goleman & Kaufman

Do you want to stir creativity at work? Psychology Today’s article, “The Art of Creativity” says that the workplace needs to change in order to allow for more creativity and innovation. They recommend:

1. Make offices smaller – The size of the space affects creativity. Large offices scream of uniformity. Break a large organization into smaller, semi-autonomous units. An advocate of this approach is Jim Collins, a lecturer at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. "As our society has evolved from small organizations to large ones," he says, "it has stifled innovation. Of course, there are economies in doing things on a mass scale. But you lose one thing: that creative tip. Massiveness breeds conformity."

2. Build teams – A team that has experienced challenges together is more harmonious. They can draw upon the strengths of each team member to the organization’s advantage. Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg calls it "group IQ"—the sum total of all the talents of each person in the group.

3. Attitude is everything – The prevailing attitude in your organization can support or stifle creativity. Accept and encourage failure. Learning from mistakes is one of the hallmarks of creativity.

4. Value intuition – Trust your instincts & “gut feel.” It is a basic ingredient of creativity because you are letting go of conscious control of the creative process.

Many employees are not motivated by pay and status, but my making an impact on the organization. Create an atmosphere where they can be creative and then step back to reap the benefits.

Want to read the entire article? The Art of Creativity

Contact me to talk about creativity: Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com