Creative Catalysts to Motivate Teams
"The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you’re trying to design for.”
— David Kelley, Founder of IDEO
What distinguishes a creative leader is a flexible mindset and ability to problem-solve. While some people feel inherently more or less creative, there are tools that any leader can employ to get more familiar with the value of creative expression and how it can help them relate to teams, show up more authentically, and innovate in their respective industries.
The creative process is often governed by emotion and emotional connection to phenomenon. Research proves that the cognitive processes leveraged for creativity are also beneficial to creative output (Reiter-Palmon). For this reason, working with teams to foster more creative problem solving and establish trust is well worth the time. A few possibilities include:
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Urging teams to invest in and leverage interests to identify creative opportunities for change or renewal. This means getting to know team members and not only what they value, but also what interests them and what they feel they excel at. This gives the leader information to better understand where this person could offer a new perspective or find opportunities to grow. Companies like Spotify, which value innovation, build time for employees to spend on personal projects, which leads to more creative ideas on the job.
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Explore narrative storytelling to refocus on your purpose. The value of a leader’s ability to tell stories is well-researched. Storytelling is a key resource to build personal charisma and get buy-in from teams. There is great value in choosing a few stories to tell that helps teams better understand you as a leader. It’s one thing to share values and goals, but it’s another to illustrate it in a story that demonstrates a time you realized these values or gained clarity on your purpose.
To say you value fairness is one thing, but to share a story about inequity that made you see the world through a different lens is another. Storytelling will always help you to better relate to others, while also supporting your points in a way that’s memorable.
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Make time for actual creative outings or exercises. Have you ever experienced a working meeting that was fun? There are many Design Thinking activities that incorporate both art and exploration to help you clarify your business goals or creatively problem solve. Consider exploring a vision statement that incorporates images or use the fundamentals of storytelling to construct a collective story about the future of the company. Take a company outing to the nearest improv studio and practice the art of saying “Yes, and…”
Such exercises might feel outside of some leaders’ comfort zones, but rest assured they will pay off. Not only can creative exercises help us to see our roles and potential anew, but they can also be ways of increasing empathy, catalyzing innovation and energizing the team.
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Disclaimer
Here at Lead Read Today, we endeavor to take an objective (rational, scientific) approach to analyzing leaders and leadership. All opinion pieces will be reviewed for appropriateness, and the opinions shared are solely of the author and not representative of The Ohio State University or any of its affiliates.
