Ignite Your Creativity

Creativity is the ability to use our imagination to form original ideas. It aids in the creation of new solutions by seeing the world in a unique way.

It is, therefore, a vital precursor to innovation; presenting new concepts to solve ‘old’ problems in a new way.

Regardless of the field, creativity provides insightful solutions and helps advance careers, projects and the way of living.

Great leaders provide creative atmospheres for their team, by way of creativity training and activities.

A lot of the time creativity is confused with art or wild ideas. That's not the case.

As I stated earlier, creativity is essentially solving problems with innovative ideas. This is not just thinking outside the box.

It is creating a new box.

The issue is while creativity is not complicated to generate in your organization, as most people are creative. It is incredibly easy to destroy the creativity in people.

The first question is, what exactly makes a person creative? Here are five main traits of a creative person and you might be surprised when you hear them:

They are risk takers:

Creative thinkers are risk takers. They would be very eager and excited to take up a project with high risk potential rather than going through routine tasks they considered as mundane.

They fail forward:

Failure for them is a learning curve. Mistakes stimulate a higher sense of curiosity in them. They firmly believe that there are multiple roads to a single destination. Therefore, if one endeavor fails, they simply move on to the next road.

They are willing to break the status quo:

They like to be different from the masses. Remember how Mark Zuckerberg is always wearing the almost identical round neck t-shirt nearly every day?

Creative individuals are not comfortable being confined to the status quo. They desire to be unique and different.

They choose to become a divergent:

They do things that challenge the boundary of normal thinking. Creative individuals think outside the box; where opportunities and solutions remain unnoticed to many others.

They are also highly curious and inquisitive. They continually seek to answer the ‘what-if’ questions as they search for new solutions.

This often leads to the birth of many innovators.

They are impulsive and fickle:

Moving from one shiny new thing to the next. Creative people tend to be fickle in many aspects of life. Their minds are constantly looking for new ways and solutions to issues.

As such, they also tend to make impulsive decisions in accordance with their own ways of thinking, which is then misunderstood by many and interpreted as ‘not having a stand’.

With that said, our next question is how can you help your employees be more creative? The best way to do that is through modelled behavior.

Work on building your creativity, and your team will do the same. How do you build your creativity?

Here are 5 ways:

Endeavor to learn new things daily

It can be a new skill, idea or ability. This helps rewire your brain, improve your performance, and slow down aging.

Take on new projects to open yourself up to new abilities. It will challenge you and create new mental pathways.

2. Build your creativity with activities

Focus on spontaneous activities to practice connections and new idea generation.

For example, building something known (like a small airplane) from everyday materials you can find at your office or in your home.

Making something familiar with unfamiliar materials or different restrictions.

3. Discover new avenues within your field of expertise

Exploring new routes and alternative options opens you up to ideas you otherwise would not consider. Approach your day to day work from a different perspective.

Research different methods or approaches from colleagues in the field. Research what novel approaches are currently being studied or implemented in your field.

Examine the different possibilities and how to apply your own creative solutions.

4. Read broadly

It might surprise you to know how many fields are interconnected. Researching these concepts builds your creativity and provides insight for a new way of thinking.

Consuming content will expand your field of knowledge and help you with creating new mental connections.

Podcasts, for example, are among the most popular options because they allow the listener to learn about a new topic while they go about their day.

5. Take time to rest

Resting promotes regeneration of the neuronal pathways our brain uses to deliver information.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, “…when you turn your “focus” brain off, it will retrieve memories, link ideas so that you become more creative, and also help you feel more self-connected too.”

Make a plan to relax during the day. Taking a 10 minute nap can be greatly beneficial to an over-stimulated mind.

Conclusion:

As you try these tips, it will surprise you how much you can boost your creativity and increase your productivity.

The reality of Leadership is intentionality. In order to be successful as a leader, every action taken must serve a purpose. Leaders cannot expect what they don't express.

As such, I work with leaders on intentionally creating desired results. Leadership is not a game of chance. It is about intentionally creating the results you expect.

Want to boost your productivity as an organization? Ignite your creativity.

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Cheers.