In an article published here at SmartBrief a few years ago, I wrote, “I can’t think of anything more important in our work as leaders than tapping into the gray matter, creativity and idea generation of the people around us.” If I were writing that same sentence today, I would add an exclamation point for emphasis.
From harnessing (and restricting) AI’s potential to solving humanity’s problems and navigating every organization’s challenges, leaders must prioritize cultivating working environments where creativity flourishes. Yet, the idea (ironic) of strengthening and harnessing the creative potential of people is mostly missing from our strategic, organizational and professional development radar screens. That’s a problem.
A tale of two cultures
At ABC Company, the energy of the people and teams was palpable. There was a hum of excitement for the work as you walked through the offices and joined meetings where co-located and remote colleagues came together to problem-solve and advance ideas.
No one needed permission to explore and experiment with new processes, products or service ideas. The power to innovate was perceived as a fundamental right of employees. In contrast to the mantra in many places of “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” there was the perspective that everything was fair game for improvement or replacement. While this sounds like creative chaos, ideas and initiatives were filtered to improve a customer’s situation, gain new customers and markets and make life easier for people in the culture to do both.
When I spoke with the firm’s GM and mentioned my observations, she laughed and offered, “Pushing the envelope on creativity is baked into our culture here. We single it out in our firm’s values. We coach our team members to be creative. And we as managers work particularly hard not to introduce processes and bureaucracy that stifle creativity. I’m even evaluated on various proxy measures for creative output.” She paused and added, “And we work hard to hire people who are jazzed about pushing limits on creativity.”
The culture at XYZ Company starkly contrasted with the practices of ABC above. Ironically, although all employees were co-located, ostensibly to improve collaboration, the working environment lacked energy. Around-the-table updates and status reports dominated meetings, and you gained the impression that the goal of people in the culture was not to be noticed.
No examples of creative output translated to revenue or profit growth existed. After interviewing many managers and contributors, it was clear people were told to focus on the work in front of them. One contributor offered, “This is a place where ideas go to die because managers are afraid of taking risks.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, ABC flourished in the market while XYZ struggled. Correlation is not causation, but I suggest that the contrast between the two cultures and their approaches to creativity contributed to outcomes.
The board recently hired a new CEO at XYZ to lead a turnaround. When I shared my observations of the environment’s lack of energy for creativity, I learned this issue also troubled him. “Finding a way to tap in to the ideas of our people is possibly my biggest problem to solve. We have brilliant people; they’ve just been taught to be quiet and do their jobs. We need creative chaos, and I must find ways to give them the confidence to fix what’s not working.”
Infusing the people in the culture with confidence to create
It’s easy to blame an organization’s culture for problems, including a creative deficit, but that’s a cop-out. The lack of freedom and encouragement to ideate, share, explore and experiment isn’t a cultural flaw; it’s a leadership failing. The challenge for leaders, including my XYZ CEO, is to gain help uncovering and fixing the friction points and practices stifling creativity.
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and author of Creativity Inc.—Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, describes a question he regularly receives from organizational leaders: “How do you become more creative?”
Catmull’s response is a master’s course for leaders at all levels. “Every time, I’ve told them that is the wrong question. The right question is: ‘What cultural forces are getting in the way of creativity?” I love this question if we remember that the forces that suppress creativity are the priorities and practices introduced and reinforced by leaders at all levels.
In the introduction to the expanded edition of Creativity Inc., Catmull describes an example of when the employees of Pixar convened for “Notes Day,” where the focus was supposed to be finding ways to reduce movie production by ten weeks — something that would offer substantial cost savings and allow content to move to market faster. In his words, “But Notes Day also revealed deeper problems with how our culture had strayed from the studio’s core values. It would take us years to incorporate the lessons we learned that day.”
I wish he had used the word “organization” instead of “culture,” as the areas where the firm strayed from core values were leader-made. Spurred by priorities that sound good in an MBA course but introduce friction for creativity and execution, any firm, even Pixar, can lose its creative edge.
What’s a leader facing a creative deficit to do?
In my article referenced at the opening here, “How leaders can teach their teams to become more creative,” I share various research-backed tools and tactics to gain more creativity from groups. Those tools and approaches are helpful, yet the most crucial point in reviewing my earlier thoughts is: “Don’t attack the culture — empower them to fix it.”
When striving for transformation and, in this case, transforming the organization’s level of creativity for problem-solving and innovation, less from leadership is more. Your moral suasion is not nearly as powerful as the impact you will have listening fiercely and supporting them as they find solutions to the creative deficit. Listen hard. They know what’s wrong. The culture isn’t broken; leadership is failing. They’ll tell you how to get this right. Your job is to empower them along the way. As a by-product, you will succeed in helping the culture evolve.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
____________________________________
Take advantage of SmartBrief’s FREE email newsletters on leadership and business transformation, among the company’s more than 250 industry-focused newsletters.