The question of developing creativity is more complex than it at first seems and there is no quick-fix solution, but whether you are a major corporate company, a public service or a small business, there are some essentials which must be in place if you want your team to be more creative.
1) Fear kills creative spirit: There are plenty of examples of fear being the catalyst for great innovation in history, but society has evolved at a rapid pace in the last 20 years and what may have been true up until the 80s, is no longer true in the working environment in 2013.
Today, most people respond to fear at work by switching into surival mode, which means focusing on self, and operating within narrow perimeters, both of which destroy creativity. People won't think much beyond next week when they're frightened, whether the fear is a fear of getting it wrong, or a fear of job security.
Examine your workplace culture, identify and weigh up the behaviours of the various individuals who make up your team, explore your processes and pin-point where there is fear and why.
Is the level of fear helping your business?
Is it productive?
Is it acceptable?
In most cases the answer is no, and eradicating fear is a very good starting point if you want creativity to be king.
2) Jazz up your appraisal system: Too many businesses still operate an appraisal system which is a frustrating box-ticking exercise, rather than a people development tool. Appraisals should be fun, inspiring and positive, so that both parties look forward to the next one. I know of one leader who has flip charts set up in the room and has his staff moving about, bouncing ideas of each other, examining ideas, effort, and goals. He is constantly looking for fun yet productive things to do, in order to get the best out of his people and keep his appraisals fresh.
3) Balanced approach: Sales teams in particular, focus so heavily on financial targets and volume of calls made, that they forget the rather important notion of quality, intelligence, long term business development, strategic business relationships...I could go on!
As Roberto Martinez, current manager of Wigan Athletic stated recently, when asked how his team survives relagation year after year, "Don't torture yourself with the maths." Appreciate the numbers, understand them, but don't fixate on them because it can get tedious and limit morale. Once morale is limited, your team is less productive and you then stand less chance of achieving the numbers.
4) Ban internal emails: Once upon a time, in the land of email, all was well. We all loved them and they loved us. Sadly, email's once sweet taste has now turned sour!
Our inboxes are overflowing and our communication skills are getting worse. Interestingly, companies who ban internal emails find that their servers speed up and that people get on better because they have to start talking to each other again. Without good communication, don't expect much creativity.
5) Rome wasn't built in a day: The problem with innovation, is you can't predict what you'll get. If you invest X amount of time, who knows what the end result will be, maybe something, maybe nothing. This is dangerous territory for people fixated on ROI. But the reality is that many of the best things are born out of failure, or have evolved from going off on a tangent from an original idea. Innovation is not a linear or predictable process and the only hard and fast rule is to give it time and to give your people time.
6) Collaborative culture: The best things are made when teams are dynamic, on-fire and in good spirits. This is shaped by good leadership, positivity, and also company structures, which actively promote team working. This may sound familiar and most businesses would insist that they adopt a collaborative culture (particularly given that the word collaborative. seems to be an in-word at the moment!) but consider the following statement in the Salz Review on Barclays.
"There was no common sense of purpose in a group that had grown. There was an over emphasis on short term financial performance, reinforced by a bonus and pay culture that rewarded money making over serving the interests of customers and clients".
Whilst the rest of the business world may feel smug when they read this, this statement sadly sums up many of the sales teams and cultures I work with in the private sector. If your business structures promote an individualistic culture, it will undermine your creative ability, however good the leadership is.
7) Culture of acceptance: Did you ever come up with an idea which you knew would work, but your manager thought differently, so it either got shelved, or was so insensitively criticised, that you dropped it and resolved not to be so bold with your ideas in future?
Leaders need to develop their personal skills so they coach rather than command, and so they can accept and encourage different styles of thinking which might not fit in with their own world views. I know of one marketing company where the golden rule is, that no one laughs at each other's marketing ideas, however crazy they may be, because crazy can be good and crazy often leads to awesome.
Thanks for reading
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