Can Competition Cultivate Creativity?

“I have to make something amazing!” How often do we tell ourselves that?

Or as leaders, it might be a related phrase: “You?have to make something amazing.” Usually on a timeline.

How’s that working for you?

“I have to make something amazing!” was the background noise spinning around in my head just this past week, and it was not working well.

I’d just signed up to tell a 5-minute story in a storytelling competition, and now I was feeling as blocked as blocked could be!

None of the stories I’d told onstage before felt like the right fit. I wanted something new. But I was coming up dry.

The problem was, it had to be amazing, because it was a COMPETITION!

What had I gotten myself into? ??

I contemplated pulling out…

But I knew that was just my gremlins talking, trying to keep me safe. ??

So I consulted my?Creative Sandbox Way? guideposts:

1?? There is no wrong

2?? Think process, not product

3?? Think quantity, not quality

4?? Think tiny & daily

5?? Just start. Anywhere.

6?? Ask, “What if ..?”

7?? Take the riskier path

8?? Dismiss all gremlins

9?? Spring the Comparison Trap

?? Treat yourself with compassion

And little by little, by letting go of the need to be amazing, and cobbling together two not-amazing stories, a new story idea came together.

First as a crappy first draft.

Then, a whole lot of editing. And more editing. And MORE editing, to get it down to 5 minutes.

And even MORE editing!

I’ll tell the finished story in public (on Zoom!) for the first time on?Saturday, March 16, at the?NSA Northern California Chapter Contest.

I don’t expect to win the competition (though, ironically enough, the story I’ll be telling?features?a competition!) and in fact, the competition itself has become an afterthought.

Which, ultimately, is how it should be.

If we focus on WINNING, creativity tends to fly out the window.

If we focus on GROWTH and EXPLORATION and FUN, however, there is no limit to creativity. ??

The key for leaders is to cultivate a culture of creativity (growth, exploration, fun) even (especially!) when your ultimate goal is — and has to be — to create something amazing for your customers and stakeholders.?

So how do you do that? How do you cultivate a culture of creativity when you HAVE to create something amazing?

The short answer is that you have to make space for people to create not-amazing things.

This requires trust. Psychological safety. Uncertainty tolerance. Permission to fail.

(All areas I love helping organizations with — using play, of course! Transformation through “the other AI”: Applied Improvisation. ??)

The story I’ll be telling on March 16, “Gremlin Intervention,” has something to do with this, so come have a listen.

And when you’re ready to help your team or organization blast through creative roadblocks and cultivate a workplace where everyone looks forward to Mondays, schedule a complimentary?Team Performance Assessment Call.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Creative Sandbox Solutions? blog.

=================

I love helping teams communicate and connect better so creativity flows, their stakeholders actually listen, and their work has impact across (and beyond) the organization! Senior Leaders: When you’re ready to increase YOUR team's impact, here are 2 ways I can help:

1) Download my FREE Team Assessment Tool to evaluate your where your team stands in under 10 minutes!

2) Book your complimentary Team Performance Assessment Call to identify what's possible for you and your team in the next 90 days and beyond, and develop a 3-step Action Plan that will get you results ASAP.

And be sure to subscribe to this newsletter for more tips on the intersection of creativity, learning, technology, and business.

===============

About Melissa Dinwiddie, M.Soc.Sci.

I’m a Creativity & Communications Consultant specializing in helping senior leaders and their teams solve sticky problems, generate ideas, and communicate and connect better so productivity increases and their work has greater impact… all through play. I draw on 27 years of creative expertise, including my background as a professional artist and trained improviser and jazz singer, to design interactive, playful programs that attendees rave about because they acquire new skills and behaviors and build connections while having a blast. I’ve had the pleasure of transforming teams at organizations such as Google, Facebook, Uber, Stanford Children’s Hospital, Stanford University, Intuit, Salesforce, and more.

I’m the author of The Creative Sandbox Way?, an acclaimed book on creativity that has been called "essential for the bookshelf," "the owner's guide for the caring and feeding of the creative spirit," and "an adventure packaged as a book." Founder of Creative Sandbox Solutions?, I hold a B.A. from UC Berkeley, a Masters in Social Science from the University of Birmingham, England, and multiple certifications in LEGO? Serious Play?. I live in Silicon Valley with my husband and I love performing improv, playing ukulele and double bass, making art, crafts, and vocal loops, and chasing my two rambunctious kitties off the kitchen counters.