Recognize This! – Creativity is not enough without delivery on the promise.
I’ll hazard a guess that 100% of my readers watched the Olympics opening ceremony, at least in part, or read about it, or saw elements of it on news coverage.
What did you think of it? Most feedback seems to range from “spectacular!” to “what just happened?” Setting aside personal feelings and reactions to the opening ceremony, I think we could all agree that the effort and ingenuity required to deliver something that comprehensive, grand, and exciting – and keep it a secret for many, many months with thousands of volunteers involved – is nothing short of a miracle.
So how did director Danny Boyle do it? How did he create a culture of creativity? Frank Cottrell Boyce, the writer for Boyle’s team, gives us a glimpse in this article. The secret seems to be in a two-step process – eliminate all barriers, then put them back in place.
Step 1: Eliminate the Barriers for Creativity to Flow
If you really want to set people free to come up with something new, give them free rein to do so. Don’t put false boundaries on people like, “That’s not your specialty. Focus on what you’re good at.”
Instead, free everyone to explore, to share, to – yes – innovate.
Step 2: Resurrect the Barriers to Deliver on Creativity’s Promise
The creative process itself cannot go on forever. At some point, we all must return to our specialties to make the dreams reality. Someone needs to take the reins, and everyone else needs to focus on what they know best to deliver results.
If you’re looking to create a culture of creativity in your organization, ask yourself these questions:
1) Are you giving people to step outside their job roles to safely and comfortably express creative ideas?
2) Are you empowering the right people at the right time to take control and bring about delivery on the creative process?
3) Are you recognizing and rewarding people for both being creative and taking the reins to guide the team or project to success?