Creativity is key in the promo industry. Your clients are looking to you for clever ideas and smart strategies. While you may feel inspired by all the newest products, you know that creativity doesn’t just strike out of nowhere. Without the right environment and a little encouragement from time to time, your creativity can stall.
Have you fallen into a creative rut? Or have you noticed your team struggling to come up with fresh ideas? Read on. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share a post from the Crestcom blog that explains how to spark your team’s creativity.
Create psychological safety. Your team members need to feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of embarrassment or punishment. The post recommends saying, “There are no bad ideas” or “This is a safe space to think out loud.”
Encourage diverse thinking styles. People solve problems in different ways. Some like to talk things through, while others like to be more hands-on. The Crestcom post recommends forming subgroups with contrasting strengths and rotating brainstorming facilitators to make room for different communication styles and idea generation methods.
Set a vision and then step back. Giving people more autonomy is a great way to spark creativity. The post suggests setting vision and success criteria and then letting your team run with it.
Lead with curiosity. Curious leaders model the kind of open-minded, inquisitive thinking that drives creativity, the post says. Try asking more open-ended questions like, “What assumptions are we making?” or “What’s another way we could approach this?”
Create space to think. If your team members are overloaded with meetings, there won’t be much time left for deep work and ideation. The post suggests blocking off “no meeting” afternoons so teams can focus. You could also set aside 30 minutes a month for a creative recharge, whether it’s a meditative walk or a whiteboard session with no agenda.
Mix up teams. Depending on your company’s size, you could launch a cross-departmental task force or use job shadowing or swap days to let people experience different roles and gain new insights.
Frame challenges as opportunities. This is how you can help your team focus on possibilities instead of limitations. The post recommends using “How might we …” questions during brainstorming to keep the tone exploratory rather than restrictive.
Offer ongoing learning opportunities. Creativity is a skill that gets better with practice and exposure to new ideas, the post says. Give your team access to professional development or invite guest speakers to share their insight.
Creativity grows when leaders set the stage for it. Make sure you give your team members space to think. Encourage diverse perspectives and celebrate the process. When you do these things, you help your team do their best, most creative work.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: A blog post from Crestcom, a global leadership development firm.
