Improving your creative and innovative mindset
Creativity is not a talent for the gifted few, but a capacity that every human mind, including yours, has access to and every leader needs to grow.
Organisations with creative cultures have a competitive edge and creative leaders consistently outperform their peers.
To develop a more creative and innovative mindset, there are three simple steps which you can start with today:
1. Don’t ask ‘How creative am I?’; rather ask ‘How am I creative?’
Ask yourself a new question. It’s a small grammatical difference but with a big impact because it fuels growth by igniting a growth mindset and inviting curiosity rather than limiting beliefs.
It also avoids you ‘ranking’ yourself against others and stops you from putting creativity on a pedestal, out of reach.
Asking: “How am I creative?” makes creativity inclusive and accessible. This is especially important in business where everyone must lift the innovation load––not just the people who have innovation in their title. The fact is: Everyone is creative, in different ways!
According to the Creative ID theory, you could be a Stimulator (generate lots of ideas), a Spotter (you connect ideas together), a Sculptor (you develop ideas or join them together), a Selector(you identify the most appropriate solutions), or a Supporter (you support others in the creative process.)
2. Broaden your inputs
Creative ideas are both valuable and non-obvious. When it comes to our thinking, our minds operate in a similar way to computer programmes. What you put in is what you get out.
If you consume all the same media and inputs as your competitors, you are most likely going to be coming up with the same kinds of solutions as them. To differentiate yourself and become more innovative, broaden the inputs you are getting in terms of books and articles you read, people you follow on social media, podcasts you listen to, and groups you interact with.
3. Lean into challenges
Fear is the biggest creativity killer. You may view yourself as someone who is comfortable taking on challenges; however, you may find that those challenges lie in your field of specialisation or your areas of strength.
Creativity always involves uncertainty and risk, and therefore, a level of fear will always be present. Rather than trying to ‘overcome’ fear, we need to learn to get used to having it linger around in the background, but do what we need to do anyway. Build a habit of regularly doing things that scare you.
Choose all types of challenges, big and small, from physical, emotional, spiritual and mental perspectives.
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