Myth: I’m not creative
You are only as creative as you allow yourself to be. If you do not step out of your comfort zone you will become monotonous to yourself. You are literally causing damage to yourself and the potential within you.
People in the workplace tend to blame others for their lack in creativity. This is one myth that needs to be dispelled within the workplace as it causes unnecessary barriers. This negative attitude in the department makes the others around you just as despondent to changes as you are. Employees become so complacent in their environment. They forget that we are all there to learn from one another in order to make the business as sustainable as it can be.
This myth creates a barrier to creative thinking. While the rest of the department is attempting to come up with ideas to better the workplace, the complacent employees are clouding the office with negativity. This starts creating a mental block in all the staff as there is no buy in from the very people who are going to do the work. Yet when management implements the innovation, they start arguing that management does not care about them.
Myth: Creativity is the result of the lone innovator
This myth almost links the one identified above. If there is only a handful of people prepared to do the thinking, then what is the use of the department existing. There is currently a situation where employees are not happy with the changes taking place in the organization. However, we need to ask ourselves the question why?
When management calls a team/department meeting and mentions the changes that they plan to implement, nobody voices their opinions. This gives management the impression that everybody is on board with the idea and they can go ahead. The moment the idea is implemented the very people who kept quiet in the meeting are the ones who complain. This myth creates a barrier where management is the lone innovators and the rest of us follow like sheep. We need to ensure that input from the entire department is considered. This only helps the innovation become better.
This is another myth that needs to be dispelled from the department. People need to understand management is there to lead the department to the goals set out by the organization. It is the people on the ground doing the actual work that needs to help them reach these goals not just by doing the work but being creative and innovative. Without this input the department will seize to exist or be overlooked come bonus and salary increase time. Thus, the reason management becomes the lone innovator.
Myth: Being creative is a waste of time
If being creative is a waste of time then what are you doing with the life God has given you. You might as well be living under a rock or back in the Stone Age. Organizations cannot afford to sleep on the job as their competition is always lurking around the corner. The moment you close your eyes they get the better of you. This creates a negative barrier in the workplace as the people are not interested in change. The rest of the people in the department will not be willing to be creative as they will also start to think that it is a waste of time.
As mentioned in the previous myths, complacency has gotten the better of most employees. They do not know what value they bring to the organization just by giving their valid opinion. The reason people may feel this way is that they are not very receptive to negative feedback. If management says that the innovation will not work, it does not mean you must just leave it there and give up. There are many things one can take from this response to get the result you want.
Maybe you should go back to the drawing board and re-look at your innovation. There might be little thing which can be tweaked to make the innovation more appealing to management. Maybe the way you presented it did not touch crucial points and details as to why the innovation is needed and why it will work. Sometimes the longer explanation is needed than that of a high level one.
This myth needs to be dispelled from the organization. People need to understand that maybe the timing of the innovation might be clashing with one that management has already considered and busy implementing. They need to see what it is that they can do to maybe improve this creativity once it has been implemented.
Myth: Creativity is not for adults or people with serious careers
If this is true, then why do we need to employ elderly people or those with serious careers? Clearly you can do better all by yourself and you do not need the organization just as much as it needs you. This creates a barrier as the adults in the business do not share any past experiences in the organization. The individual with the serious career is so caught up in his success that he does not see the need to be creative.
If people believe that they cannot add value or creativity due to their age or job status then they are clearly mistaken. For the organization to prosper we need input from everyone in the organization. Adults are more mature and can bring some form of calm in a very despondent department. You also need these adult’s maturity and knowledge as they have probably grown with the business for a long time. They have seen many changes and ideas being implemented in the organization in their time here. They are the ones who are more likely to add the most valued points in a meeting.
The person with his serious career can learn from this adult. If they work together they can take new ideas and see how they converge with the old ones which did not work out or were never implemented. It is thus the reason that creativity has no status, age limit or expiration date.
This is one myth that should be dispelled. The people in the department need to understand that they have been employed for a reason. They do not have to come up with a fortune five hundred idea but any input is valuable input. It might not make sense to one person but the others in the room it might just make perfect sense. Do not keep your creativity hidden in your degrees or doctorates or take it with you to your grave.
Myth: Creativity always from an epiphany
Some of the greatest ideas probably came from an epiphany. This does not mean that it will always be the case. Some employees merely pretend to be creative to score points for their appraisals come year end and bonus time. This can create a barrier as people lose confidence in their thinking as they think management does not take them seriously.
This is what makes employees feel that they need to go into some sort of complacency mode. Just because this wonderful idea popped into your head does not mean it must be implemented immediately. You need to right down the idea and explore it to the point where it not only makes sense but your research of it makes it make sense. You must cover all angles of this idea as it can touch other areas in the department. This can turn your simple epiphany into a great innovation.
Management needs to see that thought and effort went into your idea. They are looking for one thing and that is if the idea will add value to the department as a whole. Employees need to understand that being creative is far from just having an epiphany. Your epiphany may seem creative but try explaining it to yourself first and see if it makes sense and is valid.
This myth needs to be dispelled. Validation of creativity needs to be the driving force. Epiphany’s can only take you to a certain point of being creative. Drawing out the plan can help you understand your epiphany better. The better you understand your epiphany the better you will be able to interpret it to management in a way that can sell your idea.
Michael Joseph (On behalf of)
Business Management Project Solutions.
Business Management Project Solutions 