what kills creativity?

Creativity is a skill that is going to be the buzzword in the coming years. The more creative you are, the more secured your job will be; the more productive the employee will be leading the organization from good to great. In a report published by World Economic Forum on the future of jobs, the skill sets that the workforce of 2020 will need are: complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment & decision making, service orientation, negotiation, cognitive flexibility. Creativity is at number 3 as the top skills. 

We are innately born with the potential of a creative genius. This has been proven by NASA scientists as well. As we grow up, this tends to shift and we become less creative. Creativity is a skill that can be learned, honed & developed over a period of time. Let's look at the factors that generally kills creativity in a person:

1. Comparison
2. Perfectionism
3. The need to fit in & be liked
4. Conformity
5. Control
6. Fear of being wrong & ridiculed

All these lead to inaction & hence the loss of creativity. Employees are expected to be creative, think out of the box without realizing that they have been boxed by rules, policies, manuals, scripts etc. Let's see what kills creativity in our profession. 

1. Hierarchy
2. Restrictive job profiles
3.Lack of simplicity & over complication
4.Lack of resources
5. Approvals at various stages
6. Silo working

So what do you think needs to be done to help creativity flourish? If you look at the three components of creativity: expertise, creative thinking skills, motivation; you will find out that creativity can be influenced through workplace practices & conditions. A leader can influence his/her team's/team member's creativity by focusing on the motivation aspect, an organization can by enabling an environment where creative thinking skills can be nurtured & an individual can by developing a growth mindset. 

"Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world."-Brene Brown

Warmth,
​Priyanka