Creativity as a Skill
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
- Maya Angelou
My mother is a self-described, “non-creative person.” Someone who I have regularly heard say the phrase, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.” I always felt a twinge of disagreement with this growing up, but it made sense in a way. She is a retired accountant that lived her professional life in those little squares on a spreadsheet. However, going home for the holidays, we sat down in the living room and a friend of hers asked if we saw what she made? Feeling surprised, my mom excitedly walked my wife and I over to the entryway wall with two frames containing Christmas Trees – that she explained were crafted from the jewelry of my passed grandmother and aunt (her mother and sister). They are beautiful. These ornate, gleaming pieces of familial art are set in a dark shadow box with a light at the top that makes the individual pieces of jewelry shine, while also connecting them as a whole, glowing piece. A beaming tribute to lost family members. It was moving to see not only the beauty of these treasured items, but also the pride she took in them, pointing out little details and the moments of life they recalled.
Who should be Creative?
That experience (especially paired with my first semester of design school) has reinforced a deeply held belief of mine, that everyone is, and perhaps should be, creative. To perceive what exists around us, physically or otherwise, and take part in the act of transforming that infinite world of what could be into the absolute world of what is, to me, is a core part of the human experience. An experience however, that the world we built constantly tries to and often succeeds at stamping out of us.
I believe we’re at a place and time in the world where creativity is crucial, yet has never been more stifled. Huge transformations are needed or are happening to us in multiple areas of life, and to meet those challenges, a myriad of creative solutions are needed. However, when I speak with people in creative jobs their work has never felt more commoditized and mechanized; and for those in government, the solutions seem like re-treads of old ideas. In short — this is the “creativity crisis” that I believe we’re currently facing.
My Theory
In my post last week, I mentioned three guiding questions that are helping me frame the problem and therefore my research. However, I also have a hunch about the solution, as well, which I’m thinking of as a guiding hypothesis, something I’m seeking to prove or disprove. My working theory is that creativity is a skill that people and organizations can and should seek to intentionally practice. In my view, this practice, while yet to be fully fleshed out, should:
Create dynamic, psychologically safe structures within organizations for their employees to flourish
Inspire teams to be brave, take smart risks and collaborate richly together, and with others
Build leaders that are confident, courageous and lift up their employees
Develop skills at an individual level to deftly navigate future uncertainty for themselves and their organizations
In that one act of creativity, my mother embodied the love and connection she has for her family and expressed it in a way that surprised and delighted. Through a regular, sustainable creative practice I hope we all can bring more surprise and delight to our work, our lives and the world we create together.
If you have any questions, would like to chat more about creativity or any of the other topics discussed here, I’d love to hear it. Send an email or a note on LinkedIn and let’s start a conversation. Also, a few folks I’ve spoken with missed the first post, so I’ve also added a section below to follow along in your email inbox.
