For many of us, creativity tends to be associated with artistic endeavours. In relation to work, it’s a different ball game…
For starters, creativity is fast becoming one of the most sought-after skills at the place of work. It may be associated with the presentation of creative content, but more generally, it’s more to do with thought processes – thinking creatively, solving problems, and innovative thinking. Employees are considered more valuable when they are able to generate new ideas, propose new ways of thinking, and demonstrate mental agility that helps them and their place of work to thrive.
Even when simplified in such terms, most of us would still shake our heads in doubt when assessing our capabilities in the creativity department. But while some of us would fail miserably as artists, learning how to think creatively can be mastered, and applying creativity at our place of work is a skill that we can harness once we train and learn.
So how can we train and grow our creative muscle, even if we might think we are stuck in a job where such thought processes will never be called into action anyway?
Creativity is best likened to a muscle with which we can work anywhere
Confining creativity to one particular space is almost impossible. Embracing creativity as part of our lifestyle will see it accompanying us to work, while seriously committing to becoming more creative at work will inevitably result in it spilling over into our personal lives as well.
The following are a few of the possible ways we can enhance creativity as a soft skill:
- Be observant
- Keep an open mind and be open to new ideas
- Dream at night and during the day, daydream
- Take calculated risks
- Don’t give up even after failure
- Try a new experience
- Write, keep lists, doodle, draw
- Read; books, a page from the dictionary, online
- Socialise, especially with new acquaintances
- Ask questions
Engaging in the above will start stimulating the creative thinking process. The more you observe, the more you see, and the more you widen the circle, all the different experiences will open windows and doors to new opportunities and possibilities.
In the same way that muscles grow with the additional challenges of stress and tension, our creative muscle expands when ‘stressed’ with novel challenges.
In the same way that a bodybuilder becomes obsessed with muscle growth, the creative muscle becomes obsessed with the possibilities for growth that exist – around us, above, and beyond.
Activating your creative muscle
We know that the creative thinking process has been activated when we find ourselves:
- Brainstorming different possibilities
- Asking what would happen if things were done slightly differently
- Proposing totally different solutions
Creativity at your workplace can lead to:
- You freeing yourself from distractions because you know this makes you feel more productive
- You being more enthusiastic to learn and develop professionally
- You starting to be more constructive in your criticism
- You being ready to discuss and collaborate with others, even those whose outlook might be different from yours
- You being more open to change and willing to incorporate even little changes into your routine to increase productivity
- You finding yourself more appreciated and next in line for a promotion!
If you’re looking for a place of work where creative thinking is prized, contact us here at Ceek! We take a holistic approach to recruitment, considering all aspects of a possible match between employee and employer. On the other hand, if you’re a company looking for creative thinkers, contact us to see how we can help you find the right candidates to make your business stand out.