Let’s use the simple light switch as a metaphor to think about creativity.
You can switch your creativity on.
And you can switch it off.
it’s a useful metaphor to describe my experience teaching, facilitating and coaching leaders in the past 20 years about creativity.
It’s been my experience that many leaders have simply switched off their creativity.
Not deliberately in most cases.
But here’s why.
- Lack of use
I have found that my numeric ability has declined over the years because of lack of use.
I tend to use a calculator, my phone of computer when once i did many mathematical operations in my head.
Creativity is the same.
It’s an ability that can dwindle due to lack of use.
2. The dominance of critical thinking
Part of the reason to explain the lack of creative thinking is the rise of critical thinking.
Critical Thinking is a very powerful system and helps people sort the factual from the hearsay, analyse ideas, plan and control budgets for example.
All the meaty stuff of being a manager or leader.
This over time become the dominant way of thinking which leaves little room for creativity.
3. The fear of failure
The promise of critical thinking is that you will reach the right solution.
Our education system is designed to help students reach the right answer.
Creativity by contrast is concerned with being new or different not being right.
It’s about trial and error, failing often and sometimes creating something wonderful.
This has led to a fear of failure with more original ideas or solutions.
4. The lack of encouragement.
Although creativity is needed more than ever it is often not encouraged.
Being efficient and productive often trumps creativity.
Particularly in a corporate culture with the emphasis on short term results.
It’s no wonder that many leaders have switched off their creativity.
Creativity is seen as subjective, artistic and reserved for the marketing or advertising department for example.
5. The tools of creativity encourage infrequent use.
Think of the most popular group ideation tool – brainstorming.
By definition, brainstorming involves a team of people, meeting for a hour or so on a challenge and tossing around some ideas.
But this takes time to organise, needs a place or space and must fit in everyone’s diary.
This again means that creativity is seen as a rare occurrence rather being a day to day activity.
Hence the creativity muscle is not exercised.
The other implication is that creativity is seen purely as a group exercise.
But creativity can also be exercised by individuals just as well.
Which is just as well as many freelance professionals or small business owners do not have ready access to a group or team.
But they still can generate powerful ideas that can make a difference.
6. Innovation has to be big and disruptive
This means that leaders are often looking for a big idea that might transform their business or customer experience.
Another lens is that creativity can be used every day to improve communication, send out an invoice or attract talent in a fresh way.
In short, you can use creativity in most activities rather than just for a big innovation project.
Lots of small ideas have a big, cumulative impact.
And because innovation is seen as only applying to big projects it is not used regularly and is left to the innovation team using say Design Thinking for example.
In short, creativity is left to a few people, working on a few projects.
Creativity is then switched off for everyone else.
7. An over-reliance on AI.
This is a new one.
I am a great fan of Generative AI.
it can spark and support creativity.
But perhaps there are signs of many people becoming too reliant on AI as a way to generate new ideas.
AI is very good, quick and instantly available but humans also have an opportunity to amplify their total creativity by partnering with ChatGBT for example rather than relying on it only.
8. I am not creative
Perhaps the most disappointing belief among many leaders i have worked with is a belief that they are not creative.
For all the reasons i have mentioned i understand this belief up to a point but what a waste of human potential.
The world needs everyone to be more creative, not less.
In summary.
There are many reasons why leaders and managers have switched off their creativity.
The good news is that just as you can switch off your creativity you can just as easily switch it back on.
It’s just in sleep mode at the moment.
All you need are some switches.
This is the focus of other posts on my switch thinking site.