Creativity Tip 14 – What’s needed to encourage creativity?
More and more people and organisations are realising that creativity is essential.
Whether the goal is new product development, provision of innovative services or
a fundamental creative change resulting in a new, more adaptive culture, harnessing
creativity is the key to organisational performance and success in an ever-changing
environment.
Human beings and organisations are incredibly complex. Finding the best conditions
for creativity to emerge can be a challenge. So, just what are the conditions required?
Richard Steel, an editor at the BBC wrote in his article Creativity in Organisations:
An Emergent Perspective that there were eight important factors in facilitating the
emergence of creativity in organisations:
Connectivity - emergence is unlikely to occur in a fragmented world.
Diversity - if there is not enough diversity in the system if will be hard for different
patterns to emerge.
Rate of information flow - either information overload or too little information
flow can make emergence unlikely.
Lack of inhibitors - inappropriate power differentials, too much anxiety or threats
to identity can all inhibit emergence.
Good constraints to action - effective boundaries can enhance the possibility of
emergence.
Positive intention - a clear sense of purpose can influence the chances of emergence
occurring.
Quality of Interaction - emergence is more likely to occur if there are significantly
more positive than negative interactions within a group or team.
Watchful anticipation - a period of expectant waiting is often necessary to facilitate
emergence.
It’s possible to translate his organisational requirements to the individual level.
How are your skills of connecting different thoughts at a comfortable rate without
feeling pressurised or anxious, while keeping to a particular working scope and at
the same time maintaining a positive attitude whilst quietly waiting for the best
idea to emerge?
