- Dien S Yuen
I do not consider myself a very creative person but sometimes, I have to be creative and innovative on how I approach my work in attracting new clients that use our international philanthropic services. During these tight budget times, we all have to innovate with the resources that we have. We also have to create our own opportunities so we can continue delivering high impact services that exceed our client and donor expectations. As a leader, how do you lead and manage creative people? How do you create an environment that encourages them to excel?
Harvard Business Review has a series of articles on Leading Creative People. In their research, they found that a "handful of creative people whose inventiveness leads to innovation are the ones that bankroll the organization for years to come." The authors found these creative people:
1. Do not want to be led. I have realized that the most creative people I have worked with in the nonprofit field march to their own drummers. They do not like being micro-managed and certainly do not want someone constantly "checking" in with them on their work.
2. Do not care about titles and promotions. Titles and financial gain are not the reasons creative people want as rewards. In fact, many of those that go into the nonprofit field see these as secondary rewards.
3. Are easily bored. The day-to-day, same old way of working is not attractive to creative people at all. In fact, you will hear these phrases from them: why, why not, what's more, so what and let's try this.
4. The process by which they pioneer new insights and ideas is complex and chaotic. I get my best ideas when gardening, pruning my plants, weeding and turning my compost each weekend.
So how do you turn creative ideas into business opportunities?
1. Know when to impose controls on the creative process. Requiring constant "creative moments" can be draining. I have also found that creative people hate details. They are idea generators and not implementors.
2. Convince people that they won't be punished or humiliated if they speak up or make mistakes. Remember the comment - there's no such thing as a dumb question?
3. Ensure that all managers do hands-on work. It seems so much easier to talk about an issue or an idea if the person you report to also understands the work well. It also feels good when there appears to be a "democratized" process in the workplace.
From my own experiences, I can say that I am most creative when I am confronted with a problem or issue. Like an architect that must work within certain spaces and within certain guidelines, I find that boundaries help me generate ideas. But I don't want to feel restrained - I need the freedom to be able to find the solutions in my own way. Another characteristic I have noticed is that I am emotionally attached to what I come up with. It takes alot of convincing before I can back down from the ideas I generate.
How do you generate ideas? How do you help your staff be creative and innovative? The nonprofit field is full of creative people - now is the time to nurture those key individuals in your organization in order to create the social change necessary.
Photo courtesy of James Jordan
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