TIPS FOR CREATIVITY

Author: Rajeev Sethi

(Condensation by K.V.Suresh, Manager (Training), SBLC, Tiruchirapalli)

If you are looking for an increase in the creative activities of your

group, then you have to become a part of the process of change, a mere
instruction or command will not produce the desired result.

Being hounded by your problem and not being able to shrug them
off is a positive sign. It is more important to come up with new ideas,
convincing others about them can take a back seat.

Good ideas are ahead of their time and simply because of this
reason they may sound strange and out of place. If everything had been tried,
tested and declared impractical, would innovation and creativity exist?

If you are tackling a problem by following a certain approach and

it does not work then quickly re-orient your thinking and try a different
approach. Collect as many facts as you can, solutions tend to become skewed
on occasions because of the discovery of a new fact. Similarly additional facts
can also get you a solution which is more effective, compared to the apparent
solution you had earlier.

Try voicing opinions, once in a while, even at the cost of putting

some off. Develop your creative senses dont suffocate in your own illusions.
Dont run a tight ship in your office. On occasions it may be useful to look at
the mental barriers that managers have created which prevent them from
being creative.

Creativity is also the ability to think of different ways of doing the

same thing more effectively. Get a small percentage of your staff to regularly
devote some part of their time brainstorming for ideas. Your ability to
question others will always help you a becoming more creative. Creative
questioning will help you discover new possibilities for doing things in a better
manner

As the head of a division, department or organisation, do you

know how to reward creativity? Most creative ideas may not seem practical at
the outset but may be worth looking into. Creative subordinates will always
want to do the impossible and creative managers will help them in seeing the
right from the wrong and create an environment which is supportive.

Exert pressure and make generation of ideas a norm. You can

increase and maintain the generation of ideas in your group by telling them the
areas in which you require ideas. Use of metaphors is more common with
people whose thinking is not clear. Creativity is not a trait that is found in a
selected few, it is there in everyone. Some are however more creative than
others.

Be highly sensitive to esthetics. Some situations may make you

feel inferior, dont avoid them. They can change your outlook most of the
time, besides the feeling of inferiority doesnt last too long once you take the
plunge. Respect those who strive for perfection, they are the wiser of the lot.

It is not necessary that crazy ideas are impractical ides. Feel free
to ask questions even at the cost of sounding ignorant. Develop within
yourself the ability to be able to anticipate solutions for the problems which
come your way. If you are putting together a creative team, choose people
who are interested in being a part of the team because of the long term impact
their ideas will have and not for short term rewards.

Never try to check or control your inner impulses. Dont take

everything too seriously. Life is full of its mysteries reach out and feel them.
Be so proactive that you anticipate your problems and begin to work on their
solutions at a stage when the problems can only be sensed but not expressed.

Creativity generally does not cut any ice with managements which
are more concerned about the bottom lines and short term goals. The best
way to keep natural creativity alive within ourselves is to grasp and use our
creativity for constructive and positive objectives. Try to understand the
nature of the person behind a face.
 Increase your potential by visualising what you want to become
and then hang on to that vision or goal. We first need to know what we are, it
is only then that we would understand what others are. If the reward for a
good idea is higher than the time and opportunity lost if one had worked on a
current assignment then the flow of ideas will be greater.

The manner in which the management behaves and acts largely

influences the quality and quantity of ideas that are generated. Reward and
publicly recognise people who generate good ideas. Circumstances permitting,
allow an idea generator to work on his idea as a project. Ownership will be
better and chances of success even brighter.

Too many lower level personnel are not fully utilised simply
because their potential was not recognised, encouraged or developed. Expand
upon the successful ideas of others and look for newer applications. See things
with an attempt to look for areas of concern and situations which can be
exploited. Being tolerant about things which are complex or in disorder are
the qualities of a creative individual. The key words for a creative person
would include, adapt, use, alter, weigh, substitute, combine, reverse, who,
what, when, where, why, how etc.

Change can be risky but there is no harm in taking a risk for the
better. It is not necessary that a person who had contributed a good idea once
is a creative person. There may not be another idea forthcoming from him for
quite some time. Be on the lookout for new creative talent. Look around, you
may find a few good ideas floating around, pending action, simply because, no
one in the company took up the responsibility of acting upon them.

It may be worthwhile to review the skills of people in relation to

their jobs. A match between the demand of the job and the skills of the
employee are important. Before you give up an idea which could have proved
cost effective or improved productivity, have you fully convinced yourself that
it wouldnt work? Both competition and development around your
organisation will make it necessary for you to identify and exploit creative
managers.

A pre-determined procedure or process through which the ideas

generated by employees would be considered for implementation should be
put in place and maintained. Any creative manager would know that he is not
supposed to have the answers to all problems, at some stage or the other he
has to rely upon others. Whenever you are stuck with a problem, never feel
frustrated. Stop, think and let your insight guide you. If you are rejecting team
members idea, you owe him a full explanation, so dont hesitate in offering
one. Managing creativity of employees can be a difficult task in a well oiled
organisation. Selective cultivation of, human talent can be the best solution
for such environments.

In short creativity is creating what is not in existence, a true

creator would enjoy doing so merely with the intention of seeing what
happens. Dont be too surprised if you find a creative person to be a social
stand alone. To identify creative talent in your organisation first set down the
criteria that you would for such an identification. Are you aware of how you
are encouraging people to play around or experiment with new ideas?
Regularly hold both, structured staff meetings for reviewing progress and un-
structured brainstorming sessions for idea generation. It is necessary to first
have long range corporate objectives and them to nurture their realisation by
maintaining regular focus on them and investing both time and money in
them, as and when required.

Creativity suffers the most during recession or when the going is

tough, remember that if this happens, innovation will suffer the most when the
going great and new products and ideas are required. As a boss, if you spend
more time in thinking or worrying about problems, you are more likely to have
subordinates who would not be creative, simply because they would not like to
risk creating another problem if their creative ideas was to fall flat. Fast track
managers, an integral part of large organisations, do not see the need to be
innovative. This is a fact recognised by the managers and the organisations
which assign them to short term jobs within the organisation.

The tendency for large corporations to acquire smaller ones

through takeovers gets them ready made business ventures but this has a
negative effect on creativity. A group exercise in trying to brainstorm the
actions which stifled creativity in your organisation may be a good starting
point. Develop strong discussion skills, these will help you in maintaining your
viewpoint on an idea even when the resistance to change or accept the idea is
high. Do not overload a project with too many costs, give it just what is
required, the success and failure of a project may be seriously effected by the
costs involved.

Creativity should exist even in a demanding environment. Accept

nothing but the best. A creative subordinate in your tem would often use you
as a person he can bounce his ideas off, be supportive. Many an idea got lost
with the wind of time simply because it was against company policy. All
considerations given due consideration, if everything had to be considered
before acting upon on idea, would you like to consider what would happen to
the idea you started off with. Do you really think you should build upon
someones idea, dont you think it may bias his thoughts?

Increase your creative interaction with your customers, hidden in

their needs are the seeds for your ideas. Never bother yourself with what
others would think if you took it upon yourself to act upon an idea. Later one
would certainly wish one could read their thoughts if the idea worked.
Everyone can see things from the other persons view point but can you see
beyond what the other person can see. Creators have in built strengths of
being precise and methodical.

Analyse your problem and gather data carefully, even it if takes

extra time. You can work faster and gain from the invested time when you
come to point, where work has to begin on the solutions. Listen carefully,
many a good idea was lost in the distance between a speakers mouth and a
listeners ear. Where there is self sufficiency, self direction and autonomy,
there is bound to be creativity. As a leader of a creative team you will have to
develop your skills of quickly evaluating ideas and providing feedback. Creative
subordinates can be a very impatient bunch.

There are many occasions when ideas are conceived by people

who neither know their real value, nor do they have the authority or
responsibility to develop them. Even though you are an employee in an
organisation, develop the instincts of an entrepreneur, because of this quality
alone, you will stand out in a crowd. Free flow of information, open
communication and access to data are things which facilitate creativity in an
employee.
 Just because you have done something in a particular way for
years, it doesnt mean that it has to continue in that manner. A persons
creative skills can be judged by evaluating his mental abilities or personality,
but it is the organisational environment around him which will determine the
degree to which these skills can be utilised. Always be receptive, appreciative
and respectful to a subordinates ideas. A leader who helps foster creativity
will always be willing to cover up for risks taken by his subordinates. Risks and
ambiguity allow a creator to venture out and he actually feels comfortable in
such situations.

Are you more interested in what is already there in the market or

are you more interested in what is new? Organisation politics effect
innovation negatively. Do you have a marketing department which follows the
trends in the market, or is it department which leads the trends? In an
organisation where the control systems are only financial, creativity is likely to
take a back seat unless a conscious effort is put into promoting creativity. Lack
of follow up can let an idea rest in peace.

As a creative person you would find yourself managing frequently

without the support of others. Working within an environment one tends to
lose the perspective with which an outsider would have seen things. Ever tried
posing problems to persons outside your work environment? You may get an
idea which actually works. Give it a thought, market research into a project
may on occasions cost more the project itself, furthermore research may
produce data which may be incorrect, misleading or of no use for initiating the
project.

While listing the essential and desirable qualities that a candidate

must possess for being selected for a certain position, dont forget to include
the creativity required, either in the essentials or in the desirables. If you have
company policies which are restrictive in nature them people will tend to be
less creative simply because they will fear failure. Creativity has a tendency to
decline as one grows older or as one gets biased with more education.
Educational qualifications should not be the only criteria for selecting an
individual for a job.
 Have confidence in yourself, you could make that special
contribution to the world. If you have a difficult problem to solve, sleeping
over it is fine, but dont lose focus on it over a longer period of time.
Irrespective of your profession, imagine yourself as an explorer who is always
keen to venture into the realms of the unknown. Increase your powers of
reasoning by collecting facts. It is not necessary that your work must influence
the thinking of other people. Play around with new ideas, not everything will
give you a positive result in the end.

Mix with people who are outside your group, social circle or class.
New ideas do come from new environs. A hunch can often be a good guide to
finding a solution for a problem. Keep an open time slot in meeting agendas,
use this slot to get people to throw up ideas about a specific or common
problem. However save the evaluation for later. Carry a small notebook or a
scratch pad with you and in it note down your ideas, observations and
conclusions. Spend some time each day meeting your target of brainstorming
five or ten new ideas and jotting them down in your notebook.

Creativity is not something which thrives under controlled

conditions or can be manufactured under specified circumstances. Time spent
on analysing your failures is time wisely invested. Let your intuition prevail,
there are occasions when you may find the solution for a problem, as a bright
spark, without understanding all the pieces of information before you. Your
intuitions come to you as a result of your physical, spiritual, mental or
emotional awareness. Develop these awareness skills to your best of your
ability.

Before looking for the solution, define the problem as best as you
can. If the problem, once defined, looks too large or complex then break it
down into a number of problems and tackle each one independently. Ideas
cannot be marketed, it is the end result of these ideas, a product or service,
which is sold and that too after years of research and effort. Have around you
an air of curiosity, openness and flexibility. A flexible mind which is capable of
finding relationships between the unrelated and rearranging the insignificant
to form something useful, is the biggest asset of a creative individual.
 Changes which take too long may be a result of a bad idea. It is
not all together a bad idea to make the submission of ideas a part of a
subordinates job description and performance appraisal. Most ideas tend to
drop out in the initial stages simply because their implementation would mean
first selling them to someone who may or may not be receptive. Dont let your
idea die out for this reason. Generation of ideas is influenced to a very large
extent by what you communicate and to whom you communicate. It may be
worthwhile to distribute a list of problems which could not be solved, as a part
of regular functioning, to all employees so that they can use their ingenuity in
finding solutions for them.

How many times have you seen your idea die simply because you
discussed it with someone and he in turn gave you a number of reasons why it
could not be implemented or why he did not concur with it. Be a team player
but once in a while there is no harm in taking up a particular assignment all
alone. Be ready to forego short term benefits in order to achieve your long
term goals. Turn unpredictable and uncertain things to your advantage.

Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. It will help you

understand yourself. While attempting to arouse your creativity dont be
disheartened if no new ideas come to your mind initially, creative geniuses can
go on for days without any bright sparks. Make it a habit to do something
difficult each day, that way you will ensure your growth. If we believe
something is possible, we will achieve it. A person who is a good salesman and
has high levels of creativity would be more successful than a person who is just
creative. Selling an idea is as important as getting it in the first place.

If you have generated an idea, it is you who should have the final
word on when to drop it. Rigidity, caution, evasion and suspicion are barriers
to creativity. Adoption is as important as innovation. Both, those who
innovate and those who adapt are creative problem solvers. Know the
surrounding which is conducive to your creativity. To get your idea across
effectively be aware of all its aspects, present it effectively, answer all queries
during the presentation and feel free to gain time for queries which cannot be
answered.
 As a manager, spontaneity in your decision making will boost
creativity. There will never be enough manpower, budgets, time or focus in an
organisation for creativity. Hear the other person out before you criticise his
idea, premature rejection of an idea is neither good for the organisation nor
does it help the employees creativity in any way. Creativity and courage go
hand in hand, you need to be both to be seen as a person who is creative.
Learn from your mistakes without wasting too much time on them.

An individual would be more prone to submitting new ideas only if

he or she feels that the idea would be perceived to be relevant by the
managers. Never drop an idea if you feel it is not appropriate at present, there
could be a time in the near future when you could use it. Try not to
underestimate the potential of others you could inhibit their development. A
creative person would not generally have an air of authority about him.

As a manager or as the head of a team, your creativity also lies in

determining, not only, how things can be done better but also in prioritising
what needs to be done first and what should follow through. When faced with
a problem, first define the problem in detail based upon the gathered facts,
then determine the options available, finalise upon an option and finally act
upon it. There may be occasions when you are not regarded as a good team
member, nevertheless let creativity prevail.

A creative individual would always like to have the freedom to ask

unique, awkward and at times disturbing questions. Be patient with such a
person, he is your bright spark. Try not to take the obvious for granted,
question it even to the extent of challenging its existence. Spend more time
analysing the problem but quickly synthesise the information gathered.

Invention and innovations go hand-in-hand. Invention being the

creation of something new and innovation being its commercialisation.
Simply put it also means one creates and the other exploits. Your creativity
and intuitive ability is very much like an iceberg, it is usually one tenth above
the water and nine tenth below it. Make sure you do what you believe is right,
it is not important that it should have the approval of others.

What is not known cannot be a part of your job, therefore every

new idea would not be a part of a job description and someone would have to
take up its definition and implementation. If you have an idea and you dont
start work on it immediately then when do you propose to start? To foster
creativity try looking at areas where more risks have to be taken to get the
desired results. Once you have found them, reassure the employees working
in these areas that failure will not be seen negatively. If the inventors of our
time had listened to people who had tried to discourage them, some of the
basic things including the telephone and the light bulb would never have been
invented.

A creative person would devote most of his energies to solving

problems which are personally fulfilling and gratifying for him, such jobs would
not be tiring, on the contrary they would rejuvenate him. Try to get out of the
syndrome that everything has to be done in a logical manner, creativity has no
limits of barriers. Ideas tend to get lost in transit between departments,
possibly because the department which thought of the idea could not
effectively sell it to the department which was to implement it.

Sleep over a problem, your sub-conscious mind may throw up a

few solutions you wouldnt have thought of otherwise. As a business executive
you have to find new ways and means out of existing solutions, you will be
successful if you can find these original modifications to conditions existing
around you. There are occasions when creativity takes a back seat simply
because it may undermine an existing product, which is a roaring success.

When you evaluate information, the content should carry more

importance than the source of the information. Remember whatever you do
next will be based upon the content. Develop your ability to concentrate, relax
and listen. Being receptive in the right frame of mind helps you absorb a lot
without reacting to it emotionally or letting your ego intervene. As a manager,
if you are not too creative, the least you can do is create an environment
where the ideas of your subordinates are encouraged and acknowledged. Use
your human resource effectively.

Unrelated ideas conceived by separate individuals could be

synergised together to give you something which could work. If something is
not in its place, it changes the layout of its surroundings, thus giving you a
new perspective about everything. Try it with your thoughts once in a while.
Most decisions are made by managers. Try asking a few of your subordinates
to decide on occasions, things may work out better.

Ideas dont cost too much it is our premature opinion of the costs
involved which bury them before they see the light of the sky. Whenever you
are faced with a problem remember to refer to your notes or idea bank, you
may find a solution there. Ideas collected and stored are useless unless they
are evaluated and implemented. You can categorise them into possible,
probable and impossible. Nothing can ever be done as it well should be, so if
everything can be improved why not attempt to find creative solutions which
improve things.

Is your organisation so big that small ideas no longer make a

difference? If so, how big was the idea which got you started in the first place?
Try not to follow the usual solution to a problem approach blindly. Look for
innovative ideas thrown up by your subordinates and peer group. Let there be
an environment where everything can be discussed. A lot of sifting and sieving
is required before one comes up with an idea which is worth working upon.
Discussion can also trigger new ideas.

We always think in two ways, one being the logical thought

process and the other being the thought process which generates ideas freely.
Dont let the former process filter the flow of the latter. Lack of experience
leads to lack of confidence which in turn puts the fear of being ridiculed in a
person. Develop your confidence if you want to develop your creativity and
take ridicule in your stride. Make it a habit to collect ideas and solutions, the
larger your collection, the better are your chances of finding something which
is workable or can be applied to a particular problem.

The behaviour of a group is always guided by the feelings,

opinions and attitudes that members of the group share. Do any of these
restrict creativity in your group or organisation? Hard work is the prime
contributor to success. The best way to manage creativity is not to manage it
at all, let it flow freely. Try to adapt the habits, routines and practices of
successful leaders in your organisation. Your premature opinion about an idea
may result in its premature death.
 Managers often fail to delegate either because they dont know
how to do it or from the fear of being replaced, either way they reduce the
creative potential of their subordinates. Do you do the same as well? Build
within yourself the ability to be able to understand and compare multiple ideas
and then synthesise them together. Select a job for yourself where the work
interest you, a genuine interest in your work increases your creativity.

We know ourselves more than we know others accordingly if we

underestimate our own potential, we would never know the potential others
possess. A creator tends to get fed-up and bored very quickly with what goes
on around him and would, always be on the lookout for greener pastures.
Have you really believed in the fact that a lot of people can perform at levels
which are far beyond their responsibility, authority or potential?

If you are sure that you have identified a person who is more
creative than others, because you have seen his ideas work in the past, then
relieve him of some of his routine work pressures. This would not stem his
creativity. There is a difference between a genius and a creative individual. A
creative person is more like an explorer, forever ready to venture into
uncharted territory. Once in a while let your intuition show the difference
between right and wrong.

If you relish and enjoy your job, your creativity levels will be
higher than others. To effectively sharpen your thinking improve your skills of
visualising images, allow your mind to venture out on its own and finally take
your own sweet time. Ideas cannot run away. Logical methods which have
pre-defined steps in them may not always be the best answers to a problem.
Provide support to and work with people who might have a partly developed
idea which may be good.

Frequently try to work on a problem without following the correct

and accepted procedure. Even though people may think otherwise, creativity
can work and time and money can always be found for that additional
project. As a person who is managing a creative team you would be required
to do fine balancing act between giving your subordinates freedom and
maintaining process discipline. If you are a senior manager, remember that a
creative subordinate would prefer recognition as a reward.
 Creativity has a direct relationship to productivity since it provides
better quality solutions for problems faced by an organisation. Facilitate
creativity it is not something for which you can demand reports. Just remove
the barriers. The higher the creativity, the higher the anxiousness is. Be on the
look out for employees who have high levels of resourcefulness and a
tendency to work outside their areas of responsibility. They ban be
encouraged to generate some good ideas.

There can be members in your team who can have good ideas but
may not be able to express or present them, help such team members.
Remember to let them have full credit for their idea in the end. Theoretically
there will always be better ways of doing things. The question is, has someone
actually tried some of the worst ones. Always be enthusiastic about things you
do or want to do. Creativity is not only a part of the job description of Junior
Managers, it is something which must flow downwards from the upper and
middle management.

Ideas which help in improving the effectiveness, efficacy and

efficiency of an organisation are the creative ideas. Every success has a trail of
failures behind it. Never have a resistance to change. There is no timing for
good ideas they just pop out of nowhere, it is the sensible manager who
adjusts his timing to the creative need of the hour. Encourage people to
experiment, do not give them your opinion on an idea till they have worked on
it.

If you are able to ask the right questions, you will be able to solve
a problem much faster. Remember that no person has ever fully exhausted his
or her potential. Respect yourself as self respect carries weight over the
respect you get from others. A creative person will stand out as a person of
independent judgement who is capable of deviating from the way things were
working in the past and the way they are working in the present. Belief in your
own potential will lead you to set stretching goals for yourself.

Accurate and strong observation powers boost creativity. To

understand the source of your intuitions, make a note of them as and when
they come along with the source. A review of the sources after a period of
time would tell you where you get the best intuitions from.
 Whenever you want new ideas, get your team together and ask
them to brainstorm. In other words ask them to speak out their thoughts and
list them irrespective of their being logical or relevant. There can be many
approaches to tackling and solving a problem. So dont fix yourself to one
approach, you could find the solution from another perspective as well. Be
sensitive to problems, accept that they exist. Never let your thoughts be
obscured by misconceptions, misunderstandings or lack of facts.

Inspire other people around to be more creative by implementing

their ideas and letting them take the credit for it as well. Respect even those
individuals who are not sure of what they want to do. Dont spend time
thinking what other people would be thinking of you. Creativity stems from
appreciation and encouragement and an environment where failure is taken as
a part of the job. They say curiosity killed the cat, but to a business executive
curiosity can be the basis of new ideas, even if it means wanting to know why
something is done the way it is done by someone else.

Avoid anxiety, tension, fear, etc. These are barriers which block
creativity. Intuitions must provide impetus to most of your projects. The four
principal characteristics of creativity are flexibility, fluency of ideas, originality
and a sensitivity to the problem and these traits can be developed in everyone.
Once in a while try to ask questions without hoping for answers and see what
you get as a response. Let your ideas flow out of you even when you are not
doing anything specific.

Being creative is a state of mind. Think creativity and you will be

creative. If you have thought of every possible solution to a problem, you are
most likely to find the solution which is best for the problem. To be able to
have a free flow of ideas, first get together as many of them as you can
without trying to filter or evaluate them. Later sit down with your team and
decide which ones to apply.

If you are faced with a problem which is likely to take time solving
then set a deadline, it will help you push yourself mentally. Look for people, in
your organisation and outside, who can help others recognise their creative
potential. Innovations which prove to be profitable have their seeds in
creativity. Creativity has a rejuvenating effect on motivation and personal
skills. Employees can effectively support each other in enhancing creativity.
Support from ones peer group is accepted more easily. Where you feel
innovation is taking a back seat, do not hesitate in communicating clearly that
innovation is expected.

Too much of observation, too much of direction or too much of

reporting can all be deterrents to creativity. Resistance to creativity can only
be overcome if you remain patiently persistent in encouraging creative
behaviour. There would be lot of things around you which take up a lot of your
energy, time and resource in maintaining, get rid of them. If you think it
necessary to budget your resources to ensure proper allocation to all heads,
why not put aside some, of both, time and money for creativity?

If you can effectively match the interests of an individual with the

tasks he is assigned to, you can foster creativity. Remember creativity stems
from ones interests. Find out what motivates a subordinate to over achieve,
meet that need and you will have a more creative person in your team.
Actively promote maturity in your subordinates. Motivation, commitment and
autonomy will flourish automatically. Are your subordinates stuck in routine
and mundane tasks, or have you provided them with work which gives them a
sense of accomplishment?

A good way of providing a challenge is by assigning a subordinate

to a task which is a little more than what he or she can otherwise handle. His
attempts to complete it will encourage his creativity. Do your subordinates see
problems as problems or do they see them as challenges? Do you often let
your personality or attitudes stifle the creativity of your subordinate? Use your
skills and potential to achieve your goals. Roles are of no relevance, in fact too
much attention to roles can have a negative effect on your creativity, not to
mention the hurdles it would create, before you achieve your goal.

How often have you tried to find the most creative way of
completing a task? As much as ideas have a tendency to pop out of the blue,
some of them need to be nurtured over a period of time. When you indirectly
persuade or lead people by suggestion, you ensure that their creativity and
ownership to a task, problem or situation is maintained at its best. It is not
necessary to define the problem very precisely or specifically to a creative
subordinate. A broad definition of the problem would provide sufficient
challenge to his creativity.

A subordinate who spends most of his time finding solutions to

problems which he did not foresee in the first place, in other words one who
spends his time fire-fighting, needs to be watched. If information is not
available in the right form at the right time and in the right place, then it can
nip creativity in the bud. If you have a tendency to look at what is bad about
an idea, rather than find out what is good about it. The bad aspects will only
lead you to reject the idea even before you see the bright side.

Create around you an atmosphere which is facilitative, trustful

and cooperative in nature. The ability to tolerate mistakes will help you in
fostering creativity. Reduce the fear of failure in your subordinates. An idea
which has not worked is not necessarily a wasted one, it could work well in a
different time and different situation. Once in a while let your subordinate try
out an idea without any criticism from your end. How can you be really sure in
the first place that it would not work, or for that matter would not lead to
something which could be used?

Too much of caution or constructive criticism do not go hand-in-

hand with creativity. Expose your subordinates to programmes, seminars or
other experiences which enrich their creativity. Given a choice avoid being a
contributor be a catalyst. That way, you maintain your entity but help the
other person in developing himself or in developing an idea. Loyalty stems
from mutual respect & acceptance and from it comes a cooperative attitude
which leads to sharing of power and this ultimately leads to self-reliance and
creativity.

By acting like a shield between outside forces and your

subordinates, you are able to deflect a lot of issues or problems which could
consume your subordinates vital time. Try your best not to take decisions, get
others in your group to do so. Seniority given due regard, promotion should
also be on merit. Creative efforts should not go unrecognised, commendations
from the top executives of the company go a long way in fostering creativity. If
your company has a public relations department, ask them to provide
recognition and publicity to creative individuals.
 Help creative individuals in your department interact with their
counterparts in other departments. Ever thought about asking subordinates to
offer ideas or suggestions about tasks, activities or projects outside their direct
line of work or reporting? Convey good ideas to the top management clearly
highlighting your approval and support for ideas. Let your subordinate who
contributed a good idea have an informal interaction with the senior
management. You may have the odd man in your team, who is not responsive
to circumstances around him, look into his situation and see how you can
improve it.

Be creative always!

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