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Unlearn to Unleash Your Creativity door Tom Laughon

by Tom Laughon.

“The creative adult is the child who has survived.”
--Ursala K. LeGuin, author

I am a professional “creative guy”. As such, I have made a living proffering strategic solutions, ideas and innovations. My favorite definition of creativity is original ideas that have value. And, honestly, for a long time I thought I was blessed from above to be one of those rare, anointed “creative guys.”
People would ask me how I came up with whatever it was I came up with and I would answer with, “aw shucks, I don’t know … I just did.” Or, my favorite answer was, “they come to me when I take a shower.”

My provincial notion was that you were either born creative or you weren’t. In the not so distant past, my perspective dramatically changed. I started teaching creativity courses at Florida State University. And, it was then that I stopped taking creativity for granted and started looking at what was going on in our education system and in our workplaces.

Creativity – From Kindergarten To Seniors in College
I love the first day of class! My college students arrive on time and are sure to attend in order to not be dropped from the roster. Their heads are just above the radar--enough to be counted as present--and just below enough to hopefully never be called on for the entire semester. It’s eerie, but by the time I get them, they are very well practiced.

I visit my grandkids in kindergarten … what a dramatic difference! I would love to be a kindergarten teacher. Who can dance? All my students would be jumping and spinning like whirling dervishes. Who can sing? A cacophony of sound would erupt … different rhythms, rhymes, keys and words … but it would all be magnificent. Who’s a poet? Who can paint? Who can slither across the class like a worm? And so it goes.

Now let’s skip to sixth grade. First, you can count me out as the teacher. I wouldn’t want the job if you paid me big time. Who can dance? Not a foot is tapping in the room. Who can sing? Unless you count the sound of silence as a song … nothing gives.

What happens between kindergarten and 6th grade? Peer pressure for one. “You couldn’t carry a tune if you life depended on it.” “You call that dancing?” Parents and teachers are no better than peers. “You may want to stick with math. I just don’t think art is your calling … or even if it is, it won’t serve you well in the long run.” “You’re no Einstein.” “You’re no Leonardo DiVinci.”

We Have To Unlearn What We Were Taught
So, when I really started to look at the dynamics occurring in my classroom and in the organizations we consult for, that’s when my perception of creativity changed. I realized that it is quite possible that we are all born creative. We are all highly talented, brilliant, creative people. The problem is we have been relentlessly taught how not to be creative. What I learned is that in order to be creative, we have to unlearn what we were taught.

My biggest concern with our education system is that it teaches our students what to think, not how to think. When I tell students I'm not going to use the bubble tests that they fill in and forget the minute they walk out the door, anxiety sets in. When I tell them that I'm going to give them a problem and over the course of a semester they're going to solve it without me telling them step-by-step how to solve it, panic sets in. However, at the end of the semester, when they've nailed the assignment, I see how fired up they are about what they've accomplished. By giving them a project that allows them to exercise their brain, genius is unleashed.

Warning: If someone in the lives of these students hasn’t “untaught them,” then they have more than likely been educated in an environment that doesn’t remotely resemble creativity. So, it’s going to be up to you.

We All Say We Want To Be More Innovative
As a consultant, one of the most common things I hear from organizations large and small is, "we need to be more innovative, more strategic, more creative and more competitive."

There is no need to ask you if you want employees who can and will think in unconventional, unencumbered ways. The real question is, how will you do it? Is your work environment that much different than the education system? Are you willing to give your team freedom to think, be creative, problem solve and invent new ways to do things. How will you teach thinking skills?
Here are some of our tips to help you unleash your employee’s creativity:

• Step 1: Create environments that will help support and nurture the creative process. When asking someone to be creative, it is critical that you understand the importance of and know how to create safe environments in which people feel comfortable taking risks and sharing ideas. All too often, someone finds the courage to share an idea only to have it criticized. There is a time to evaluate and prioritize your ideas, brainstorming is not that time. Also, recognize that some people need more time than others to process their thoughts and generate ideas. Also, make your environment sensory stimulating … toys, chalk boards, note pads for doodling; dart boards…items that get the creative juices flowing. If space permits, you may even consider setting aside a room creatively decorated, with these and other items where individuals and teams can go to “be creative,”.

• Step 2: Learn the processes, skill sets and mind sets needed to be consistently creative. One of our favorite creative processes is Six Hat Thinking by Dr. Edward DeBono. We are certified in this process, believe in it and use it because it is a technique that helps hold emotions and egos at bay and allows everyone to be on the same page at the same time which significantly reduces the argumentativeness found in creative meetings.

• Step 3: Determine which ideas have the most potential value and learn how to bring that value to market in the form of innovation.

• Step 4: Unlearn all the things that created the inhibitions and unwillingness to take the risk inherent in creating something new or a different way to look at something. In other words, rediscover the kindergartner you once were.

• Step 5: Recognize and reward creativity.

• Step 6: It takes leadership to unlearn and unleash the power of creativity … it’s up to you!

Have Respect For Creativity
Invest the time to rethink creativity the way that I did. If you consider yourself to be creative, ask how you stayed that way? Try considering the notion that we all have the potential to “relearn” how to be creative. And, if you’re really serious about creativity and you are successful at creating a more strategic, more creative and more innovative workplace … don’t say “aw shucks, I don’t know” when someone asks how you do it.

As a professor, entrepreneur and consultant, Catch Your Limit's President, Tom Laughon, has immersed himself in studying the dynamics of organizational thinking, creativity and innovation.

Bron: www.catchyourlimit.com