1 Creativity will improve your workplace
Creativity is the ability to produce new, diverse and unique ideas. Thinking creatively means looking at things from a different perspective and not being restricted by rules, assumptions, customs, or norms. For example, the ability to look at the same thing that everyone else is looking at but seeing something that no one else can see.
Watch this presentation about why creativity benefits the workplace.
Advocating Creativity at the Workplace https://youtu.be/qO7Np9gXgow
Creativity is the valuable life blood of any workplace and, if it is nurtured and supported properly, it can bring many benefits to the people working at that workplace as well as the organization as a whole. On the other hand, if creativity is stifled and suppressed then any workplace can become very difficult to work in and organizations could seriously suffer. Creativity does this by allowing new ideas to be implemented to improve the various aspects of a workplace and solve problems that may arise. All workplaces need to keep pace with changes in their environments and without a healthy creative environment, workplaces will become stagnate and unpleasant places to work. Also, creativity can make work enjoyable and motivate all of us to invest more of our energies into getting our jobs done, no matter what it is.
Watch this video presentation about how creativity is a valuable life skill.
Here is a list of the 100 most creative people is business in 2020. Review the list. Do you see anyone you know? How valuable were these people to their workplace?
I have worked in many different workplaces within many organizations over my career. I have only enjoyed and thrived in those workplaces where creativity is encouraged and supported. Naturally, I chose to remain in those workplaces as long as I could and always looked forward to going to work. On the other hand, I have also worked in workplaces where creativity was controlled and suppressed. I felt smothered in these workplaces and that my talents were not valued. This lead to great frustration and I did all I could to remove myself from those workplaces. Unfortunately, I have to admit, the focus of my energies were more on surviving the job instead of excelling in the job. What kinds of experiences have you had in the jobs you have had?
Here is a list of the 50 most innovative companies in 2020. Do you know any of these? Would you like to work for any of these? Why?
As I reflect back on some of my experiences, I realize that the fault was not with the organizations I was employed by, but rather with supervisors that apparently didn’t understand how creativity is an important element in the workplace. Actually, I find that although most organizations claim to value and support creativity and innovation in their workplaces, some middle managers don’t seem to understand how to do this and tend to employ controlling managerial strategies that break trusts and drain the enthusiasm of most of the people involved. Some of the symptoms of this include lethargic employees, high absentee and employee turn-over rates, and basically a pretty undesirable place to work. Can you relate to this observation?
You can apply creativity in your workplace under any conditions that are either favourable or adversarial. The latter likely may require more creativity to prevent unpleasant reactions from others, but once you push through that and prove to others how valuable a worker you are, you will be recognized for what you can contribute. Sometimes, that reward comes in the form of new responsibilities and related benefits or sometimes in finding a better employment opportunity to move to.
Watch this following video presentation about 10 ways to make your workplace more creative.
Top 10 Ways to Make Your Workplace More Creative https://youtu.be/poN2BXkpRwI
This book describes many principles of creativity that can be applied in any workplace to improve working conditions for at least yourself, but commonly will also benefit others. These principles can be learned and mastered by anyone willing to invest the time, thought and efforts to do so. The benefits that I can promise you is that your work will become significantly more interesting and enjoyable. Ultimately, you will also make yourself indispensable to your employer, and never have a problem finding employment.
What is your perspective on this? Do you prefer working in jobs where you can make adjustments to the workplace, whether that is in your physical workspace or in improving working practices and procedures?
Not everyone agrees with my views of creativity being valuable in the workplace. Many people misunderstand that creativity is about art and the creation of art work or crafts. So to them, creativity in the workplace may be limited to the artwork hanging on the walls. Some management styles are also very top-down heavy where the managers feel they are the only ones capable and authorized to generate new ideas, take risks and be innovative. Have you ever worked for managers like this? Do you feel there is merit in their views about this?
Another misconception about creativity is that it is not related to innovation. Even if creativity is not deemed as valuable in workplaces, innovation is certainly valued. Unfortunately, by ignoring the relationship between the two, many valuable opportunities and resources that can contribute to innovations are overlooked. What I mean is that any employee or volunteer in an organization can be creative and contribute to valuable innovations, if they are allowed and encouraged. Where things go wrong is when managers overlook this and feel they have to hire outside consultants to come in to spark and engineer innovations, while internal people are left frustrated and feeling they have no voice. This also contributes to the common misconception that only “creative” people can be creative, which eliminates a huge creative resource in any organization.
- What are your experiences with creativity in places where you have worked?
- Do you feel that you are a creative person that can contribute to innovations that made valuable differences at work?
- What are some of the barriers preventing you from being more creative and enjoying your work?
This book will help you build your abilities and confidence to respond positively to all three questions.
Challenge:
Commit yourself to study the principles of this book and seriously experiment on applying these principles in your life to test how valuable they can be to you.
