BLUF

Organisations face a dilemma; they need creative people to grow and develop—however, they consistently fail to create an environment where creativity is encouraged, let alone allowed to flourish.

Summary

Recent surveys reinforce creativity and innovation as critical components of business success: 

This article identifies three misconceptions that managers must overcome to build creative cultures :

  • The Productivity Illusion. Trying to resolve things too quickly is detrimental to innovation because you fall prey to premature closure. 

  • The Intellectual Illusion. When presented with a potential solution, it is easier to drill down on one aspect and discover ways that it might not work. 

  • The Brainstorming Illusion. Creation can be limited in group settings because many participants do not communicate their ideas. 

These creativity fallacies can be overcome by leaders being more creative themselves, allowing people more time and being prepared to accept a degree of risk.

Learn more about how business can nurture people with creativity.

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