An Inspired Creative State of Being

I used to think there were only 2 types of people in this world: the creative, artsy, design people, and the less creative, form-following people.  I tried desperately to fit in with the former, taking music lessons, being a radio DJ, taking an art class, but never really felt like I was up-to-par with my talented and genius colleagues. After reading several articles, books, and listening to TED talks about how to be creative, I uncovered a personal revelation; creativity isn’t just about talent in art or music, it is an approach, a state-of-mind, and applies to a world beyond music in business, relationships, and personal development. To be creative means to think, create, or visualize something new into existence, whether it is a piece of art, movie script, or new business solution. We all must think of new ideas to be successful, thus we all must be creative in some shape or form. Every individual can be creative and contribute to a creative process within an organization.

Using this definitely of creativity as developing something new, it seems to me that I am more creative in certain areas than others and my level of creativity varies. I used to play in orchestras and small ensembles regularly as a viola player, and the more I played, the more creative about playing I became. I can recall instances at work where I felt “on-fire” and was able to surprise myself with how many ideas I was able to form around a particular problem. I can also recall several instances where I felt stuck and no-matter what I did, I felt a lack of inspiration and stalled for ideas. When identifying the differences between these types of situations, I think there were several clear contributing factors including my mood, where I am, how much sleep I have had, what I am thinking about, how much I know about a subject, and who I am with. Looking back, creative periods were periods where the following were in place:

Motivation. In instances where I thought creatively about a problem, a personal situation, or even abstract issues, I felt a sense of intrinsic motivation. This is due to a desire to perform well at work, improve myself as a person, and other social factors. Owning a personal interest in a subject or area in which I am trying to think creatively generates additional motivation. Motivation corresponds to the energy with which I tackle a particular thought exercise, and I think is directly related to the quantity and quality of ideas.

Self-Reflection. Having time to reflect on ideas, think about a topic and allow my brain to make connections with other ideas, instances, and previous experiences helps to connect broader insights that lead to higher variety of ideas. If I have no time to make these connections, my immediate ideas are anchored to the current environment and situation and may not stretch any bounds. My brain requires time to make leaps between ideas and connect ideas creatively. Unplugging and disconnecting from cell phones and laptops is critical to self-reflection time. Without these distractions, my brain is allowed to wander and freely make these connections. Another distinction is purposeful versus absent-minded self-reflection. Purposeful reflection comes when I deliberately focus my thoughts on a particular problem and think through the situation. This can be useful when thinking about a particular issue, but less-focused abstract reflection is also productive. New creative ideas not tied to a particular problem usually stem out of my abstract reflection time (riding my bike, yoga, in the shower) and I find these ideas are usually ones that link different experiences, times, and situations – proving my brain is making these leaps in the background.

Freedom. Freedom to make connections and generate ideas is important to the quantity and quality of ideas I generate. Without certain idea constraints, pressure from colleagues, family etc. or fear of judgment, ideas can come unfettered. Without freedom, it is hard to make the connections discussed above and feel motivated.

While these factors need to be in place for personal creativity, I think these also apply in organizational settings. Teams need to have motivation in place to work together and independently to generate ideas. Teams need time for self and team reflection. Teams also need freedom to generate ideas without repercussions or judgment. In addition, I think there is one more element that must be present in an organizational setting:

Prompts. Whether this is a process, a project statement, or customer insights + problems, in order to generate ideas, teams need a prompt to begin the thought process. The process and prompt forms can change based on situational needs, but teams need inspiration, a few guidelines, as well as a goal to produce ideas. This may sound generic, but this process will look different for everyone. As a former consultant, I have seen how each situation necessitates a tailored approach and is highly dependent on the team, individuals, company culture, and the problem at hand. Specific examples include holding bi-weekly brainstorming sessions, or allowing for 2 hours of unstructured time where employees can work and think about whatever they think is important.

Lehrer’s article How to Be Creative (WSJ March 9^th, 2012) highlights similar thoughts with recommendations to relax, drink alcohol, expand your activities, and how individuals create those connections between events and thoughts. This all supports the self-reflection and motivation aspects introduced earlier. I think the processes highlighted are just a sample of how individuals and organizations can approach being more creative. I also think that as one practices and uses more of these processes over time, you will begin to understand where certain processes and ideas are more effective than others. This requires starting to use and try out these methods, and for new “creatives” like me, this may require trial and error and testing different ideas how to see what works. However, since creativity is embedded in every action, individuals already have a basis and bias towards particular processes that work better for them. My personal goal is so begin to integrate these practices in daily habit, ideally becoming habitually creative.