Cultivating Creativity
Creative businesses tend to be successful – just look at Google, Netflix or Amazon. So how do you cultivate creativity in your business?
You can’t force creativity, but the right environment will enable your team to work in new and innovative ways in order to generate imaginative solutions. Business is all about people. Hiring talented people is the first step in cultivating an innovative and creative business. Look for team members who understand your vision and align with your culture.
Having a team that shares one vision and works together will help the firm run smoothly. This doesn’t mean only hiring people who always agree with you – encourage different perspectives as this could generate creative new ideas.
Businesses are becoming more focused on diversity and this can really help to drive creativity. People from different backgrounds may have experience that allows them to come up with new and innovative solutions. The most creative businesses know this, and put together teams of people with different capabilities, backgrounds and interests in order to encourage different approaches to problem solving. In order to become more creative, your business should celebrate new ideas, encourage different approaches and try thinking outside the box.
Creative businesses tend to have a more flexible approach to work. Some of the most successful businesses have moved away from the traditional 9-5 working day and allow employees to work whenever suits them best. After all, some people are night owls and others are early risers.
Allowing staff to choose to work when they are well rested and performing at their best can only be a good thing. If you show your team that you trust them to work flexibly, they are more likely to feel empowered and this tends to drive employees to perform at a higher level.
Finally, make sure you encourage your people to take regular time off. Nobody can work at 100% all the time. Worn down workaholics don’t produce high quality, creative ideas. Communicate with your people and convey how important it is to get some rest and have time off throughout the year. Make it non-negotiable. Giving your people time to switch off completely will help them to be more creative when they return. After all, some of the best ideas are generated away from work, when thinking about something else entirely.
