Invite creativity into your workplace, and innovation will show up.
It’s a fact. Creativity is an important ingredient in innovation, and today innovation is more important than ever. While this is recognized, how does it play out in the office exactly? According to a study by Gallup of more than 16,500 employees, there is a lack of support for incorporating creativity in the office.
Instead of treating creative thinking as something only certain departments or management levels should be expected to practice, what would happen if a business invited creativity into every level of its organization?
In an article by Ben Wigert and Jennifer Robison on Gallup.com this topic is discussed. They state that there are three things that will encourage creativity at work:
- expectations to be creative at work
- time to be creative
- freedom to take the risks necessary to be creative.*
I’ll end with the story about Play-Doh shared in the Gallup.com article:
“Consider Play-Doh, for instance. First manufactured by a soap company in the 1930s, Play-Doh was sold as a wallpaper cleaner until an employee’s sister-in-law had a more creative idea: Call it a toy and market it to kids. Hasbro acquired the brand in 1991, and now Play-Doh is one of its best-selling products.
Most ideas aren’t going to be the next Play-Doh, but managers should make it clear that observing, thinking, making connections — basic creativity — is part of every employee’s job role and will be a factor in their performance development.”
If you would like information about the Corporate Creativity programs offered through Studio 127, please click here.
*Read the entire Gallup article here: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/245498/fostering-creativity-work-managers-push-crush-innovation.aspx