Whether we realize it or not, most of us have personal barriers to creativity that range from fatigue, anxiety, sociological preconceptions to low self-esteem. These barriers are by no means permanent and, you may have noticed that, they have a tendency to fade in and out, depending on the situation, people and environment.
Adopting a creative leadership style enables an organization to actualize its potential for creativity by removing the root cause driving these barriers – fear of failure.
Here’s how your organization can adopt creative leadership:
- Create a safe space where there is freedom to share ideas without being dismissed, criticized or ridiculed
- Recognize that creativity sprouts from something and nurture it with techniques, processes, continuing education, travel, events and other stimulants to creative thinking
- Protect your team from being institutionalized into group think and, instead, inspire each and every person to maintain their individuality
- Learn to identify when disruption is a valuable and necessary step towards growth and change
- Accept the risk associated with creative undertakings and learn how to mitigate it
- Develop a process to vet creative ideas without fooling yourselves and simply reverting to the way things have always been done
- Stay in touch with your own humility and acknowledge what you don’t know
- Remain open to new ideas and approaches, even if at first they don’t sound quite right to you
- Discard your own scripts, habits and barriers, on an ongoing basis
- Offer trust, guidance and appreciation, earnestly and consistently
To some, creativity comes naturally. Unfortunately, that is not the case for all. Nevertheless, that ability exists within each and every one of us. It’s just waiting for an invitation to express itself.
Related articles: Unharnessing Creativity in Business
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