No matter what business you are in, you need creativity if you want to make real progress. Many people may see creativity as something that is really important just for artists and musicians. Its usefulness is much more than that because it is also nice to have in your team of employees. If you want more creativity from your employees, make them a team of fearsome and productive players. Allow every team member room for his/her creative best. That is because creativity allows for alternative solutions to tough and very complex problems. It helps to generate new and useful ideas which can reshape your assumptions. It helps people improve their workflows and approaches, and most importantly, it inspires people, leading to happier and more productive team efforts. Everyone is creative to some reasonable degree but some people are more creative than others. If you want more creativity from your employees, just practice more of the following.
01. Encourage and listen to new ideas. What limits creativity most in the workplace is when it is not heard. Many workers may bubble with ideas and in their creative best but if their employers don’t feel comfortable encouraging them to bring those ideas to the surface, nobody gets to know about them in the workplace. It pays to have a policy of listening to new ideas no matter how stupid they may sound at the beginning. Even if you don’t act on them right away, try to value them and find ways to reward employees for bringing them forth. A simple “thank you” for such a great idea serves that purpose in many cases. Doing so regularly will cultivate an atmosphere of positive idea generation, which should self-perpetuate over time.
02. Allow objects which stimulate workers sensory experiences in your workplace. Some research evidence supports the fact that most creative experiences come from combining two seemingly unrelated ideas. For instance, you might hang thought-provoking abstract art on your office walls just for that purpose. You can also use soft or classical music and suchlike sensory stimulants to help stimulate your employees’ creativity. Using these things somehow helps employees to think in new ways as a result of environmental stimulation. These stimulating objects in the work environment also have calming or satisfying effect on your employees. That helps to make them to feel happier and more productive as well as being more creative.
03. Allow flexible work schedules. Many studies have shown that flexible schedules lead to higher rates of overall productivity from employees. Flexibility programs do not agree with the mandatory “9-to-5” workday. Such programs may allow for flexible hours, work-from-home days or even unlimited vacation. When employees are not fixated on precise punctuality, waiting out the clock, or rushing back from lunch, they have more time to decompress and land naturally on abstract solutions. This work flexibility allows them more room for creative thinking which greatly enhances their productivity.
04. Facilitate a team mentality. Nobody has the monopoly of creative ideas. In fact it is very rare for creative ideas to always pop up spontaneously only in one person’s mind. It takes a real team to tinker with an idea before it becomes ready to use. The best business ideas usually spring from team efforts. It does seem that creativity is a team sport. When team members work together in tandem somehow it enables the team more creativity. Team
Courtesy: Sule Yesufu
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