But what is creativity? Creativity is crazy ideas! Creativity is combining things without prejudice. Creativity is a process. Creativity is the ability and desire to be reborn every day.
Creativity exists in all of us. As children, we are curious and open to the world, boldly trying everything and constantly learning new things. We are enthusiastic and laugh a lot, enjoying play and crazy ideas, bursting with optimism and a desire to experiment. We say what we think and how we feel directly, without fear of criticism. But what about as adults?
Society has largely standardized us to operate according to certain norms. We have been forbidden and commanded, both at home and at school. There are unspoken norms, countless rules, and punishments for breaking those rules. In youth, there might have been bad grades in studies and negative feedback from various sources. School might have been tough, and parents might not have understood. In the worst case, there were no friends to talk to and share thoughts with. After the teenage years, the importance of efficiency is emphasized in working life, and everyday life becomes extremely busy.
Resource efficiency drains energy from the staff of organizations. Not all organizations view creative madness favorably; instead, we may experience suspicion, jealousy, and possibly resentful talk behind our backs as others try to advance using elbow tactics. After such experiences, few dare to do anything out of the ordinary, let alone something a bit crazy and fun.
Creativity manifests in individuals through personal characteristics. These personal traits influence the development of new ideas. Key factors include an individual's creative thinking skills, experience, and intrinsic motivation. Creative thinking skills include flexibility, imagination, and perseverance to see things through to the end. Experience refers not only to knowledge, technical and procedural skills, but also to intellectual talent. Experience develops through work and continuous learning.
An individual's intrinsic motivation manifests as a passion, an interest in solving problems, and an enthusiasm for study and work that is sufficiently challenging and rewarding. Freedom allows individuals to approach problems in a way that best brings out their experience and creative thinking skills. Characteristics of a creative person also include courage, risk-taking ability, independence, openness to experiences, and especially a passion for their work. Creativity requires time and focus, and contemplation. Time to think creatively, or 'idle time,' amidst all the busyness. Otherwise, creativity disappears.
Individuals form teams with like-minded people and eventually entire organizations and networks. Actual creative activities and innovations arise within these networks and organizations. To maintain this order or alternatively controlled chaos, creative leadership is needed – an understanding of how to lead individuals to peak performance.
Diversity increases knowledge, skills, and perspectives within a team. When team members have different backgrounds and experiences, the ideas produced can connect in beneficial ways. It is more effective to develop new associations, brainstorm, and discover entirely new and unexpected combinations and concepts together.
Leading creativity requires questioning, but also the leader's ability to change their perspective and opinion. Leading creativity demands sensitivity and the ability to foresee the future, but it also requires recognizing and acknowledging individual creativity. It means seeing creativity as a resource, which should not be stifled by strict rules and excessive supervision. Leading creativity involves flexibility, openness, tolerance, understanding of differences, and trust. It is about having the enthusiasm to show the way, encourage, and create opportunities.
Leading creativity involves managing experts and individuals, as well as controlling the intangible resource of creativity. Positive challenge means encouraging innovative thinking aimed at continuous improvement, whether it relates to community norms, ways of operating, or strategic goals. The intelligence of the community grows through ongoing dialogue. Experiencing a safe atmosphere is important, but it requires trust. Then everyone dares to freely present even strange ideas without fear of criticism. When we learn to work and solve problems together with the team, we can achieve excellent results. The team thrives, and creativity flourishes.
Give yourself permission to be creative and enjoy the journey! Remember, creativity is a journey, not a destination. Every small step towards a more creative life is a step towards greater joy, meaning, and satisfaction.
Sources include:
Amabile, Teresa, M. (1998). How to Kill Creativity. Harvard Business Review. September-October, 77–87.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1988). Society, Culture, and Person: a Systems View of Creativity. In: The Nature of Creativity. Contemporary psychological perspective, 325–339. Ed. Sternberg, Robert. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Florida, Richard (Translated by Nousiainen, Mikkonen, Raudaskoski from the original work 2002) (2005). The Rise of the Creative Class. How it’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. Helsinki: Talentum.
Kouzes, J.M. and Posner, B.Z. (1988), The Leadership Challenge, 6th ed., Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Author:
Jaana Jeminen, Project Manager, VATUPASSI – Responsible Future, University of Oulu Kerttu Saalasti Institute, Micro-Entrepreneurship Centre MicroENTRE
The author has over 25 years of diverse experience in innovation activities across various industries and organizations as part of business development projects. Her areas of expertise include multidisciplinary innovation activities and service design methods for value creation, as well as various participatory problem-solving methods for different stages of the creative process. She holds a degree in design (BA) and a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration (M.Sc Econ) with a major in creativity management.
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