Creativity - Going Beyond Courage To Be Yourself

Let’s be clear: You Are Creative

The number of definitions on creativity available in the market cannot be compared to the wealth of definitions that people like you and me espouse, understand and live by.

Research conducted in Singapore (and the USA)* shows that different ethnics group subscribe to different meanings regarding creativity. Whereas Chinese and Indian Singaporeans make the closest connection to novelty, Malay Singaporeans connect it more often to art.

On the other hand, academic research has also evolved over time. Even though there is greater consensus around the concept of generation of novel and useful ideas, the measure and analysis of the level of creativity (how creative we are) has been transformed toward the type of creativity (how we are creative). This second view assumes that we are all creative in one way or another.

These definitions reveal a couple of common elements:

1) The outward perspective. This concerns all factors and behaviors that produce a creative outcome. For instance, the assessment of creative personalities, creative thinking preferences, thinking tools and physical and psychological factors that foster creative behavior all are outward focused.

2) The inward perspective. Creativity viewed as art and the definition and use of a variety of creative types point towards a deeper inward connection between who we are and the work that we do (creative in nature). Thus, if creativity is an authentic expression of our own personality and we do not exhibit it, there must be something hindering it.

We need to go beyond Courage to be Creative

As a consultant one of the comments often heard about students is that they lack formed opinions. Employees are very often looking for a suitable candidate that has the ability to form reasoned opinions about the reality around him. That entails, at its base, a creative effort of connecting your personality to the outside world.

Candidates have to move from the “right answer” mentality to ‘my viewpoint (in a variety of viewpoints)’. One of the ways to achieve this is to move from the idea (or value) that ‘difference’ or ‘disagreement’ is necessarily offensive (“I differ against you”) to become positive and cooperative (“I differ for you”).

If you discover who you are as a creative person you can go beyond courage to be creative. There is no need to overcome opposition because there is not opposition. Strategies to achieve this include:

a) dismantling the “voices of judgment” that hinder you from expressing yourself. For instance, when you come up with a creative idea, instead of dismissing it as impossible, ask yourself “why not?”,

b) communicate diplomatically. Using suggestive language such as “could it be that…?” instead of “it shall/should/must be…”

c) provide positive, constructive statements that align to the purpose of the company first. Then reframe negative comments as areas for improvement or further research.

d) give reasoned answers by analyzing the way you think. Look for common understanding among your colleagues. Is there anything important that you are missing in the communication of your ideas?

Be Yourself: Discover, understand and communicate

One of the ways to self-discovery, understanding and expression of your unique personality is living everyday. The same way we learn to walk by walking, we learn about who we are by our interaction at work, with your families and friends. Regarding perception writer Anais Nin ads some light commenting that “"We see the world as 'we' are, not as 'it' is; because it is the "I" behind the 'eye' that does the seeing." Moreover, Charles Peirce remarks the importance of interaction by saying that "You don’t get meaning, you respond with meaning."

Reach out and compare reality with yourself to understand how you see reality. Comparing and contrasting are two automatic cognitive processes that we automatically perform and we derive meaning from it. Creative personality lies in identifying the difference. For instance, if in the world there were only Spaniards what would being a Spaniard mean? Perceiving, understanding, thinking and communicating about the reality around us is a start. So, if you want to really find what is most important to you question yourself. If you want to see things differently, ask your colleagues around you until you understand how they see things. Moreover, develop a passion for your mother tongue. Our inability to communicate intelligently comes from lack of practice. Read actively, learn new vocabulary, and write a journal. All those habits will increase your creative and communicative potential. Finally, your clarity and self-expression of creativity will come from connecting the heart of the challenge (outward discovery) to the challenge in your heart (inward discovery).

By connecting these two perspectives in practice we can define creativity is the intersection between the expression of your personality (uniqueness) and the optimal use of your talents (abilities). Moreover, working in the wisdom of self-knowledge and skills you can leverage on your entrepreneurial drive and also automatically perform creatively for your company.