6 Ways To Frustrate Creative People
Creative people work and think differently. Unfortunately, by failing
to understand that fact, business leaders often frustrate creative
people and fail to tap into their true genius.
Here’s a list of ways to absolutely frustrate creative people and in
the process kill off their creativity and passion, as well as any innovative outcomes. Guaranteed! Sadly,
these things are seen all to often, so there are some tips on how to
overcome them.
1. Tell them how to do something!
Creative
people hate being told how to do something. They do however love to
know what needs to be done and what the parameters are. As soon as you
tell a creative person how to do something they’ll switch off - so just
give them the ‘what’. Direct them, steer them, guide them and lead them
BUT whatever you do, stop micromanaging and don’t tell them how to do
their job!
2. Don’t respect them!
Creative
people love to be respected for their talents and abilities. And yes
they need to be told. In a recent survey we conducted, lack of respect,
came up as one of the major frustrations creatives have, working for
organisations. I’m not saying swoon all over them or dribble on their
work, but I am saying let them know you appreciate them. But don’t do it
because you’ve read this, do it because you really do, genuinely
respect them.
3. Give them loads of red tape!
Creative
people hate red tape! They tend to not be very good a detail. Now that
doesn’t surprise me at all because it restricts your creative flow. If
organizations bog them down in admin and bureaucracy then how are they
meant to do the creative stuff?
4. Don’t tolerate their mistakes!
Having
a workplace culture that tolerates creative risk and failure is
paramount for creative people to thrive. Again one of the biggest
frustrations of creative people is working for organizations that don’t
tolerate mistakes or failure. Tata Group fosters a culture of sharing
and learning from mistakes and failures. That’s where greatness lies. So
creative people need to feel safe to throw an idea on the table without
fear of ridicule.
5. Lock them into a finite process.
One
of the great ironies is that creativity needs structure to thrive but
that structure also needs to allow creative freedom. It’s a kind of
loose/tight quality. Unfortunately business likes certainty and method
and so in it’s quest to make creativity work it often implements cookie
cutter processes that only inhibit creative flow. You need to have a
framework that knows when to turn on and off the creative controls and
direct creativity to your desired outcomes.
6. Lock them into 9 to 5!
Creativity
doesn’t work 9 to 5. The creative process needs time to do it’s thing
and so leaders need to harness it’s potential by providing environments
that let our people be flexible with time. Am I saying come and go as
you please? No. However, remember creative people like boundaries but
within those boundaries they also require freedom. So a workplace
environment that allows freedom to utilise time to get results is where
you need to aim.
Nigel Collin is a chapmion of creativity. He helps organizations capitlalize on creativity in order to drive and profit from innovation.
He realized that the real challenge facing businesses with creativity is not in finding
creative people or teaching your people how to be more creative, it's in
knowing how to lead your creative people and innovative thinkers. It is
knowing how to tap into their talents, harness their genius, and direct
it towards viable commercial results.
For more details visit http://www.nigelcollin.com
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