The creative mind-set in organisations
Creative mind-set in organisations. A mind-set represents one’s worldview, and it is influenced by knowledge and beliefs. It is a cognitive process that determines how we receive, filter, and react to information.
Our mind-set determines our biases, assumptions and the way we do things. Sometimes, business problems or challenges arise, and employees need to step up and be creative to solve difficult problems.
Creativity is more than the cliché of “thinking outside the box.” An employee needs to know when to stay in the box and when to get out of the box. They also need to know how to get outside the box and what to do outside the box.
This article about creative mind-set looks at ways you can improve employee creativity in your business.
Here are ways to help yourself and your employees to receive, process information, and produce new types of solutions to ongoing problems.
Creative mind-set in organisations – asking the right questions
We typically ask questions in the form of what, how and why.
You know what you do as a business. What-type questions can be understood by, for example, stating your organisational goals, objectives and vision.
An example of a how-type question is answered in your unique value proposition statement.
Although, many entrepreneurs and small-business owners, and their employees know what they do, and how they do what they do, they sometimes fail to ask the required why-type questions.
Why-type questions are very specific. An example of an answer to a why question is your mission statement, that is, the reason your business exists in the first place, the reason you wake up and open your doors everyday.
In order to encourage the creative mind-set in your organisation, you need to encourage the asking of why-type questions.
Obstacles can become solutions when you ask such questions. Why-type questions encourage creativity because they help us find concrete solutions.
Creative mind-set in organisations – recording ideas
I remember while writing my PhD, that I always had something nearby to take notes. If my phone wasn’t close by, I’d have a pen and paper close to me – even when sleeping.
An organisation consists of more than an individual and there is the potential of producing a lot of creative ideas.
These ideas need to be captured or else, they may be lost. Therefore, you need to record and share ideas.
Creative mind-set in organisations – revisiting ideas
Some ideas come ahead of their time and one of the benefits of recording ideas is that if they are not viable at the present, they may become viable at some point in the future.
Whenever there is a need to tackle a challenge, there is already a bank of ideas you can revisit.
Creative mind-set in organisations – expressing of ideas
In the workplace, it is important to create an environment that nurtures and encourage the expressing of ideas. Sometimes, due to fear of criticism, employees are unwilling to express new ideas.
Great organisations not only create the right environment for expressing ideas but also nurture ideas and allow ideas to fully develop without criticism
Creative mind-set in organisations – thinking in new ways
Encourage yourself and your employees to think in new ways. This involves new ways of approaching and looking at the problem of providing value-creating products or services.
Creative thinking is about asking the why-type questions and finding many alternative solutions. It is about asking the RIGHT questions and choosing the BEST answer.
Creative mind-set in organisations – tolerating creative behaviour
You need to tolerate creative behaviour by nurturing the creative mind-set in the workplace.
Creative mind-set helps to improve productivity and can be applied in different areas of the organisation.
Tolerating creative behaviour is possible only if the entrepreneur or managers themselves develop this mind-set.
In addition, it involves encouraging employees to freely express their ideas and giving them time to reflect about problems at hand.
Organisations that tolerate creative behaviour do not fail to tolerate the “odd” suggestions from employees and do not limit creativity to a narrow area of expertise.
Creative mind-set in organisations – keep trying
Many people mistakenly think that they are not at all creative and some fail to wish for more. Developing the creative-mindset and thinking creatively can be easy and simple but, it requires a mind-set of not giving up.
Sometimes, people are confronted with creative blocks when attempting to provide new ways to create customer value. The trick is to keep trying, and it begins with not being satisfied with the way things are currently.
When you are satisfied with the way things are, you will not be able to look for new ways of providing value to customers. The surest way not to destroy the creative thinking process and provide value to your customers is to keep trying.
Creative people do not give up!