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that creativity is important but on the other they admit that they are
not fully tapping into the creativity of their people.
why is this?
1. `Perception'
One reason is the perception we place on who creative people are.
Creative people are often seen as those ponytailed, t-shirt wearing
folks in the corner. Not true. Creative people are everywhere, all
through your organisation, and the sad thing is they are often not
recognised. A creative person is anyone who thinks differently. Yes, I
admit that some people are more creative than others (and we should
be very glad of that) but that doesn't mean you should exclude and
overlook the talents of everybody else. To do so is limiting your
organisation's creative potential.
2. `creative culture'
Another reason for the `Creativity Gap' relates to an organisation's
culture, or more specifically, lack of a culture that supports and
stimulates creativity. We asked a number of questions relating to this.
Here are the main three.
`Do people feel they have permission to be creative?'
Yes
58%
Somewhat
34%
No
4%
Not sure
4%
`Do people feel they can put an idea on the table without fear of
ridicule?'
Yes
64%
Somewhat
32%
No
3%
Not sure
1%
`Are failures and mistakes openly discussed?'
Yes
52%
Somewhat
39%
No
8%
Not sure
1%
These are important questions because if people don't feel they have
permission to be creative then they won't be. If they don't feel they
can voice their ideas safely then they won't voice them. If they don't
feel they can try something new and fail, then they won't try.
Looking at the responses, the outcome here is pretty good. But even
though the majority said `Yes' to these questions, there is a large
percentage of `Somewhats' which could easily be converted. With
the right support and direction from leadership and by focusing
on areas such as collaboration, workplace environment and use of
time (creativity doesn't work 9 to 5), the percentage answering `yes'
would increase.
3. creative Process
The other contributor to the gap is lack of creative process, or
perhaps the process. Because creativity is often seen as an intangible
thing, in an attempt to make sense of it, organisations tend to adopt
one of two approaches. They implement restrictive, cookie cutter
approaches which only limit and constrain creativity. Or they let it
go unheeded, with no process at all to guide, so it goes unchecked,
unstimulated and undirected. Truth is creativity thrives on structure,
but you have to get it right.
When asked `does your organisation have a clearly defined creative
process?' only 17% of respondents said `yes'. That's way too low.
Having a good creative culture is one thing but you need to direct and
focus creativity.
The good news is that of those who do have a creative process 89%
have one which is flexible, or it has a loose/tight structure. That's
great because you need a framework that knows when to turn on and
turn off the creative controls.
If your creative process is too controlled and too restrictive then it
only limits the very nature of creativity. On the other hand, if your
creative process is too loose then it will flounder with no direction or
purpose. So there's a balance to be found. A balance between having
a structure that focuses and directs creativity but at the same time
allows it the freedom it needs to flourish.
I'm a big fan of structure but that structure and process needs to
support the very nature of the creativity itself and not constrain it.
When you think about it the process of creativity is like a big funnel,
which is why we created and use `funnel thinking'. See diagram
It works like this...
1) You need to set clear and concise objectives and then establish
parameters and boundaries to work within that gives you
direction. It's one of the great ironies that creativity thrives when
it has boundaries and parameters to work within.
2) You then enter the top of the funnel the `blue-skying' phase.
This is where you play, explore and let creativity do its thing.
This is where you open up to all possibilities. What's vital here
is not to judge your ideas and thoughts because rarely is an idea
born fully formed, it needs room to grow and evolve. So don't
kill it off just yet.
3) At the bottom of the funnel you evaluate and filter all your
possibilities and ideas until out of the bottom comes a range of
practical ideas and workable solutions.
So it's a tight / loose / tight structure, (objectives & parameters / blue-
skying / filtering) which allows creativity to play but at the same time
directs and focuses it, because that's where the gold is.
the verdict
All in all it's a positive result. It appears that as a group NFPs
understand the importance of creativity and mostly there are cultures
in place to support it. Having said that, there is certainly room for
improvement by allowing greater permission to play, be creative
and to explore. And with the adoption of a good creative framework
(one that lets you turn on and off the creative controls) creativity will
thrive within your people and as a result within your organisation,
delivering valuable outcomes and results.
Full report
If you wish to obtain a report of the full results and findings, please
visit www.nigelcollin.com.au/360NFPN.html n
Nigel Collin specialises in creating synergy between business
and creativity. For more information about his business `Leading
Creatives', `Funnel Thinking' or the full `360 degree Creativity Health
Check' email 360@nigelcollin.com or visit www.nigelcollin.com.
INNOVatION
INNOVatION
the 360-degree creativity health
check.
Creativity is a major business driver. No argument
there. It delivers ideas, outpaces competition, reaches
markets, improves systems, and creates leaders of
industry. In the competitive world of not-for-profit it
helps streamline systems, create strategies and find new
ways of reaching people. Creativity delivers real value
on many levels.
However, in an attempt to harness creativity many
organisations are not fully utilizing the creative
talents of their people and as a result there are lost
opportunities.
So how do you improve your organisation's creative
fitness? Well it's a bit like when you join a gym. The
first thing that happens is a fitness instructor sits you
down and does a full fitness appraisal so they can
devise the appropriate strategy. You could of course
start without that, but chances are you'd be working on
the wrong areas, focusing on the wrong things, or even
worse, ultimately doing damage. So the first thing to do
is figure out how creatively fit your organisation is.
Recently we undertook a short `360-degree Creativity
Health Check' on how the not-for-profit sector utilizes
creativity. Although not a full assessment, the results
were both interesting and telling. And although it
covered the sector as a whole, rather than individual
organisations, it certainly highlighted some trends and
areas of focus. Here's what we found.
the creativity gap
Firstly it's apparent that creativity is alive, well and
valued within the sector. When asked, `in business
should creativity have a commercial value?' 67%
answered yes and when asked `should creativity
be strategic?' 60% answered yes. And although it
would be great to see that figure creep upwards,
this certainly indicates that most people see
creativity as an important element.
However, when asked `do you fully
utilize the talents of your creative
people?' Only 47% of people
answered yes!
So there's a gap between the
value an organisation places
on creativity and its ability to
utilize it (although I admit
I have seen bigger gaps,
so the news is not all
that bad). On one-hand
most people agree
How's your
creative
fitness?
utilizing the creative talents of your people is key to fully realizing
the creative potential of your organisation. Nigel Collin looks at
how well the not-for-profit sector does just that.