We often think of creativity as a light bulb flicking on in our head, with a big AHAA. The unfortunate reality is that we seldom have these moments. So we think we are not creative…yet we can all be creative but in different ways. Let’s kill a few myths about creativity and see how we can all make it work for us, without having to be an exceptional genius.
CREATIVITY IS INVENTING SOMETHING NEW
Most of our everyday creativity is doing something differently, like improving the existing processes or finding new solutions to existing problems. We just don’t often consider this as creativity. But creativity can take different forms:
- Inventing something new
- Combining existing solutions differently
- Adding something new to an already existing idea, or developing it further
- Experimenting with different options to see what works
- Etc.
ONLY SOME PEOPLE ARE CREATIVE
Creativity is not something you either have or do not have – we can all be creative – in different ways. Some personality traits do help in making us more curious and producing more ideas, but that’s only one form of creativity. Problem-solving, for example, is another form of creativity. Using the WorkPlace Big Five personality profile, we can distinguish 5 different approaches to problem-solving, depending on a blend of certain personality traits:
- The Analyzer will tend to solve problems by methodically analyzing the situation
- The Experimenter by forming hypothesis about all possible causes of the problem and being open to discovering causes outside the immediate problem definition
- The Troubleshooter will use trial-and-error
- The Explorer as well but looking outside the immediate problem situation for possible explanations
- The Flexible is generally comfortable using any of the above styles and will most likely adapt to the style used by the others working on the problem.
All of these styles have upsides and downsides, but none of them is better than the other, just more likely to work in a given situation.
TO FIND NEW IDEAS WE NEED TO THINK WITHOUT ANY CONSTRAINTS
One of the most common ways of trying to find new ideas at work is Brainstorming. Usually, brainstorming starts with a free-flowing idea generation without any limits. This divergent phase allows for new ideas to emerge, but according to recent research, our brain will follow mostly similar neural paths. Therefore, it is important in the next stage of choosing/eliminating/developing ideas to add constraints to the equation, which makes the brain follow new neural paths in order to avoid the constraints.
In addition, there are some conditions that help us get more access to our creativity:
- Creativity requires having some headspace to think – we all know we do not produce our best ideas/thinking when we are too busy. So, giving yourself some time to stop and think calmly, might help you see things differently and find new approaches to issues.
- For those of you, who on the contrary have too many ideas and your head is loaded, the brain requires some white space to empty itself and rest. For example, a famous cook known for his creativity doesn’t cook during the weekend to make some space in the brain for new ideas for recipes.
Using our creativity to solve problems, find new alternatives, make little everyday changes, and design new approaches helps us be more satisfied with our work and with ourselves, and increases our confidence and resilience. If only you could recognize the different forms of creativity and use them to your advantage, you may discover that you are far more creative than you ever imagined.
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