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RISING consumer expectations, intensified competition and constant change are forcing companies to equip themselves with new weapons to fight in the marketplace — creativity, curiosity and candidness.

Creativity in today’s business world means coming up with ideas that are unique and relevant, make money, win business and make the competition shake in its boots.

Why some bosses fear new ideas

Traditional organisations do the same thing over and over again, and expect a different result. Many companies try something that was successful in the past and expect to get something new out of the process. But to be creative, you need to reach out into the unknown and imagine something that does not currently exist.

How many times have you heard these remarks during meetings?

• “We can’t do that.”
• “Your idea is stupid. Don’t waste our time.”
• “It does not make any sense.”
• “We already know that. Don’t reinvent the wheel.”

Fear is paralysing. The fear of being judged, looking stupid, being wrong or feeling like a failure can take away all your creative energy.

Some managers feel threatened by new ideas. They tend to promote an environment in which employees do their jobs and nothing more. This atmosphere hinders creativity and induces fear in employees.

Companies must make an effort to provide opportunities for employees to demonstrate their creative talents.

What is stopping you?

Common personal barriers to creativity are:

• No sense of personal responsibility — “I don’t feel responsible for the results of my work.”
• Fear — “If I contribute new ideas, people will think I am a trouble-maker.”
• The usual solutions — “I am encouraged to take a conventional approach in solving problems.”
• Narrow-minded peer acceptance — “My colleagues are not open to new or wild ideas.”
• Over-confidence — “At work, I am pretty sure that my approach is the right one.”
• Red tape — “I don’t bring up my ideas during meetings because they would violate our policies and procedures.”
• Bipolar thinking — “I look at two alternatives. I thrive in terms of an ‘either-or’ solution.”

Break down the barriers

To overcome barriers to individual creativity, management needs to encourage employees to focus on action, not their fears. People should not think that conceding to opposing views will weaken their own convictions.

Managers should lighten up and give their subordinates the green light to do the same. It does not follow that just because the subject discussed during a meeting is important, everyone needs to be serious. A little bit of humour goes a long way.

Make everyone adopt the corporate mantra: “I am open-minded. I have good ideas. I am a creative problem solver. I want to break boundaries.”

Change your established ways of thinking, and allow flashes of inspiration to come. Like any new skill you want to learn, becoming more creative takes time and effort.

Creativity is not just the domain of a talented few. It can be fostered and revived. You just need to start working on it right now!

Article contributed by N S Kumar, an executive consultant with the Management Development Institute of Singapore, which offers management consulting, training and academic programmes from diploma to doctorate level. Website: www.mdis.edu.sg.

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