How can you identify your creative thinking strengths?

I think, by now, everyone has a sense that they are creative, but in different ways. What would help further is to be able to articulate it - more for yourself - than for others! There are different models/assessments out there e.g. Innovation Styles touches on 4 ways of being creative. 1. Defining a new long-term solution for a large challenge 2. Refining/modifying an existing solution 3. Creating a breakthrough and radical approach 4. Randomly mixing and matching different things to come up with something else that works One can look at this or any other framework and use it as a base to arrive at where your creative strengths are dominant.

I believe that everyone is creative. No matter your profession, environment or personality. The word "creative" often conjures images of painters, musicians, writers - makers of traditional artistic works. But the ability to imagine new ideas transcends talent in aesthetics. Creativity lives equally in those envisioning innovative business models and more effective workflows. Or in intangibles like deep listening, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence. Even the best engineering or system design springs from sparks unique to human ingenuity. Thus everyone, from accountants to plumbers to marketers to equestrians, harbour creative gifts aligned to vocation or values.

I am really concerned about my creative thinking strengths, as I realize that career growth will always be followed by the increase in the complexity of the problems that I must resolve. Therefore, I always try my best to resolve similar situations with different approaches to solutions and review the outcomes.

I’ve found reflecting on our innate nature as a child to be helpful in uncovering our creative abilities. As children, we had no trouble being creative. But as we progressed through our careers, we got rewarded for behaviours that often hindered our creativity, like following instructions and not thinking for ourselves. Reflect on these questions: What did I love doing creatively as a child? What activities made “time disappear”? What was I regularly told by others I was gifted at? Find ways to reincorporate these activities to ignite your innate creative power.

You have probably already noticed: Creativity is not a matter of will. Here's why: Creativity requires our prefrontal cortex (in short: our "will") & default-mode network ("silent" mode in which associations blossom) and & salience network (information filter) to be activated together. The beauty of this: Chances are that you find yourself most creative while - taking a walk - sitting quietly in a corner just watching - throwing wild ideas through the room - scrolling through your newsfeed What is it for you? Likely, it's situations, where you allow your mind to wander. Great news for your busy workday, right? It means making space for breaks actually helps increase your ability to discover new connections & respond to complexity :-)

I agree with the importance of seeking feedback and inspiration from the people around us, such as peers, superiors, and coworkers, who can offer feedback on our creative thinking strengths from different perspectives. However, it does require us to maintain an open-minded attitude in order to benefit from their insights.

A helpful way to gather feedback is the Best Self Exercise. You simply ask friends and colleagues, when have you seen me performing at my best? You can frame this through a creative lens. Then, gather the feedback to uncover insights. Often, we can’t see our strengths because they come so naturally to us. But from the eyes of others, our gifts stand out.

I want you to understand that you have the ability and experience to put profound ideas out into the world - to potentially millions of people. And the simplest way to do that is by writing. Writing releases your imagination in low-pressure yet impactful ways. Action step: Set yourself a daily writing goal of 100 words (Starting a personal brand on LinkedIn or X is a great way to get going). These 100 words can be about literally anything - but it's best to focus it around your pillars of interest. We each have completely unique collection of hobbies, interests, passions and experiences - use them in your writing. This will ensure your work can never be saturated.

The best way to hone your creative thinking muscle is through a challenge. Action wins. Set yourself to exercise your creativity daily for 30 days. For example, write a story from your day, journal 10 ideas each morning, or set a 5-minute timer to speak on a topic “off the cuff”. The daily practice will get your creativity juices flowing, which will carry over to creative thinking at work. Try many different things until you land on what feels natural for you. For example, you may have an underdeveloped strength in creative writing, which you can use to work through problems.

Train your crazy to go into your art... I tend to be an obsessive person. I literally had a conversation with my roommate about said obsessive tendencies... I proclaimed outright that I'm obsessive compulsive I just trained it not to be a disorder. And she was like really you're... I replied thus: dude I sit at a piano playing the same notes over and over and over and over fixing different word arrangements until I get the one that makes me sigh... yea that's obsessive. She laughed... I went on to explain that as an artist my obsessive nature is actually a gift because I don't have to exercise a discipline muscle to get my creative work done. It's just there... so yea train your crazy it's likely your latent genius waiting to bloom.