Creativity: The 21st Century Skill We Actually Need
Whether you’re a salaried employee or a gig worker, a member of the C-suite or an entry-level workhorse, the odds are pretty high that you’re currently drowning in a sea of reskilling and upskilling buzzwords, most ending with the letter -y.
Agility, empathy, integrity, flexibility, adaptability, transparency, sensitivity, accountability, sustainability, resiliency, digital literacy: best to possess some or ideally all of them if you want to be future-ready (another one!) in the volatile professional landscape of the 21st century; or so I’ve been told by every business and management magazine worth perusing when procrastination on social media or reading a real book just don’t seem to do the trick.
Not commonly mentioned among these archetypes, core competencies and must-have leadership skills — not all of which have any practical bearing on the daily necessities of life and work for professionals on planet earth, that is — is creativity. The reasons for this omission are as numerous as they are complex.
Let’s start with the most obvious connotation we have of creativity: the stereotype of the entertaining, mildly eccentric but also starving artist. Yes, creativity is commonly associated with the arts, especially the performing arts. Who could possibly exude more creativity than the jazz saxophone virtuoso improvising in a packed to the brim, smoke-filled speakeasy well after midnight? What about the brilliant painter who puts herself through art school by setting up shop next to popular historical landmarks on weekends, working away on her latest creation in full unimpeded view of curious pedestrians and no(i)sy tourists? Or how is it that even after 23 seasons of The Voice we’re still in awe of the sight of the struggling singer-songwriter sensation who’s persevered through unimaginable hardships yet is lighting up the stage with their amazing vocal talents?
The point here is that most of us have typecast creativity. We think of artists, authors and performers, not people in the professions, possessing and doling out our daily dose of creativity. Even more rarely do we tie our own personal and professional identity and aspirations to such an intangible artistic ability. Ponder this. When was the last time you described your actions or achievements to others as creative in the hopes of eliciting positive feedback? Or better yet, when did you last refer to yourself as a creative unironically?
A less obvious takeaway from these earlier scenes of artistic creativity is that we seem to have no issue recognizing and appreciating the trait in others, even when it strays far from its original context. The world of professional sports is perhaps the best example. Try sitting through a Kansas City Chiefs game without hearing the announcers praise Patrick Mahomes’ quarterback play for being creative and crafty at least a few dozen times. The same goes for former Barcelona great now American import Lionel Messi. While some athletes possess that indefinable split-second creativity that can turn around a game, others have used theirs to redefine an entire sport. Think of the “Sparrow from Minsk,” Belarusian gymnastics legend and 3x Olympic gold medal winner Olga Korbut, whose dazzling acrobatics brought the sport into the mainstream.
But what exactly is creativity? How do we define it? My doctoral supervisor and others who’ve spent long hard years training me would shudder at such a belated introduction and explanation of this article’s key concept. But ignoring conventions and using a bit of creative licence on where to place my definition of creativity is a perfect, albeit extremely geeky, illustration of what it means to be creative.
Far from being unmanageable and elusive, creativity is, according to my own and my company’s interpretation, a universal human trait that can be harnessed and taught. Creativity is much more than a sudden flash of brilliance, a single triumphant Eureka moment, that is often difficult to explain and even harder to replicate. Nor is creativity reserved only for special times and occasions, for moments of artistic brilliance or scientific breakthroughs. Broken up into its constituent parts, creativity becomes something that can be attained by just about anyone: a useful tool to navigate the mundane and the extraordinary.
All creativity starts with interest and curiosity, followed by efforts of varying lengths of time at understanding that what has captured your interest and piqued your curiosity.
Once the rules, patterns, and relationships of the subject of your fascination become intelligible, creativity then demands of its practitioners to be willing to transcend tradition, to have the courage to sidestep or outright ignore the status quo. Creativity, up until this point, is therefore as much a conscious and subconscious learning and observation process as it is a shift in mindset.
Curiosity, understanding, and courage is then followed by experimentation. In order to improve the present state of affairs we are confronted with or affronted by, new ideas, alternatives, and solutions have to be generated. This can be done by modifying and manipulating the existing pieces of puzzle. Let’s look at my favourite example: creativity in the culinary world. Chefs typically spend years learning and honing their craft before they can get truly creative. At one point in their careers, first-rate chefs will start tinkering with the cooking techniques and recipes they’ve been taught, putting their own unique spin on old classics, or even creating an entirely reimagined dish, cuisine, or dining experience for their customers.
We all practice creativity daily. We just don’t take the time to acknowledge its presence or retrace its origin. We find alternative routes to work when an accident shuts down the street we usually take. We redecorate our homes to address our current living or remote working situations. We adjust our resumes to make ourselves more hireable for the job we’re eager to land. We sometimes go to great ingenious lengths to steer clear of situations and people that bring us discomfort. We use a 7-iron for a bump and run onto the green instead of opting for a regular wedge shot.
If this last example hasn’t made you want to click the exit button on your browser, you may wish to stick around for this last part.
Even though creativity is ubiquitous and of immense value for managing complexity and navigating much smaller moments of adversity and opportunity, it remains unevenly distributed in the world of work and across organizations. While the design industry or marketing departments are often but not always replete with creative talent, other arenas remain virtually untouched by those who either know how to use creative problem-solving, non-linear thinking, and abductive reasoning, or those who can recognize and reward good new ideas and alternative possibilities when they’re presented to them.
Creativity, it bears remembering, need not be purely generative after all. When curiosity, understanding, and courage is paired with an ability to spot productive departures from the business-as-usual trap, particularly by those in decision-making positions, creativity has the power to help any organization unleash their innovative potential.
