Your Workplace: Letting the Artist Rip

What kind of worker comes to mind when it comes to creativity in the workplace? The graphic designer? The newsletter writer? The advertising director?

How about the technician, the mailroom clerk or the accountant?

The answer: All of the above. Virtually everyone in an organization can create and innovate, experts say. And in order to maximize a company's productivity, that's just what they should be encouraged to do.

"Too often we pin the creative title on just a special few as if (BREAK HERE) only certain types of people have the capacity to contribute creatively," said Gail Jern, Westaff's Human Resources Manager. "But anyone can be creative given the right environment. If you're really engaged in your work and if you're provided with good leadership, chances are you're going to be able to come up with a better way of doing things."

For decades, American businesses have tended to ghettoize creativity, relegating it to a few departments or "types" of workers. They've further stifled creativity by clinging to a military model for running an organization in which top managers send orders downwards and everyone else salutes upwards.

But as companies look at competing with each other in the new economy, more recognize that building a creative business culture in which everyone is producing novel and useful ideas is key to their success. Today, it's: "Innovate or die" — "Innovate or evaporate."

A recent American Management Association survey of CEOs showed that 81% felt that innovation will be the single most important factor to assure the future success of their business. Why? Because a creative company is more productive.

"If I'm allowed as an employee to apply my creative juices in a new direction, you're going to get a whole lot out of me, including ways to save or generate more income," said Joan Lloyd, an award-winning speaker, executive coach and syndicated columnist on workplace issues. "But if I'm only allowed to do the same thing in the same way day in and day out for years, then basically I've retired — I've just forgotten to leave," Lloyd said.

To set the stage for greater creativity and innovation, some companies are trying to shed their old business culture. (See Side Story.) That can mean replacing a highly controlling environment with one that is more flexible and open to challenges — even a little rebellion.

"A truly creative environment encourages employees to question how things are done," Lloyd said. "It allows for an organic give and take in every single meeting and discourages ridiculing or demeaning anyone's ideas so that people feel safe enough to express themselves."

Creative business cultures also have CEOs and leaders who regularly get out and pull employees together in huddles, dive into the trenches to find out what the problems are and listen to creative suggestions about how to solve them. They know that having an "open door policy" or a suggestion box aren't enough. In fact, a lot of times, they can be a cop out, an excuse for CEOs and managers to sit in their offices and let problems come to them.

"You can look at a CEO and senior leadership team and tell whether this is going to be a creative culture," Lloyd said. "Do they encourage their people to think outside of the box? Do they actively seek pushback? Can you challenge their notions? Tell them they're all wet? Pitch your ideas? Too many organizations punish that."

Allowing for innovation can be a scary prospect for some managers who don't want to admit that the system they're used to isn't quite working or who think new ideas will just make more work for them.

"But those who do encourage true creativity are courageous leaders who aren't afraid to be challenged or even proven wrong," Lloyd said. "They're the dynamic, charismatic leaders who are going to shape the future."

Sources:

Joan Lloyd, an award-winning speaker, executive coach and syndicated columnist on workplace issues. Lloyd's firm, Joan Lloyd & Associates, specializes in leadership development, organizational change and teambuilding. www.JoanLloyd.com.

Gail Jern, Human Resources Manager for Westaff.