Creativity in the Workplace: Self-Reflection
Alex Sigurdson
At what point in the course did you feel most engaged?
During the entirety of the course, I felt like the different units all challenged me in different ways and I felt like I was engaged all throughout. In the first unit I would say that I felt most engaged going through the unit 1 project because I felt like everything that I had learned all came together which helped me look at the “big picture” instead of just focussing on each individual module. Once I was able to put all the different modules together and see it in one big project, it helped me understand the modules more and how they connect to each other. Although each module teaches something different and I learned something different from each, they all are important to each other because they supplement each other. In unit two I felt most engaged during the class tasks because there were certain activities that my group members and I had to work on together. For example, the card game “cheat” that we played was a fun activity that allowed me to build a stronger connection with my group and allowed us to put the learnings of the modules into play. I think being able to work in a group for these assignments really helped me stay engaged in the course because it allowed me to expand my creative abilities and learn more about myself and others. It helped me understand the modules better and when I was struggling, my group members were able to help support me and find a solution. During the third unit I would say that the lemonade simulation was extremely engaging because it allowed me to put what I learned throughout the unit and the course into action. It gave me more of a “real life” aspect to the modules and kept it interesting. As someone who struggles with reading lectures and understanding based off just listening, I really loved the group work as well as the different activities we had to do throughout. This kept me extremely engaged and helped me understand the course content better.
What skills, abilities, and concepts will you take away from this course?
There are many different skills and abilities that I have been able to take away from this course as we learned so much throughout the modules and activities. Using the What, So What, Now What Reflective Model, there are multiple modules that helped me grow my creative abilities (Kenny, 2014).
Some important skills that I learned include problem solving, reflection, growing my creative abilities through imagination, learning from my failures and being more courageous in my work.
Learning From Failures & Being Courageous in my Work
I learned that I have a fear of failure and it has been holding me back previously, but I know now that failures are important to learning. In module 18 we learned that all of us fail at one point or another and that the main reason we are able to learn so much from these failures is because they are emotional experiences that challenge our assumptions (Hans, 2020-b). There is so much growth and learning that comes from failing. In unit two when we had to plan out our solution, I ran into a couple blocks that stopped me from succeeding, but instead of giving up I learned to grow and push through it. I also learned from my failures in the lemonade simulator because we had to do it multiple times which taught me to use what I learned in the first run and become even more successful in the second and third attempt. So what? This matters because it helped me grow my creative abilities and use my failures to become even more successful. This helped me grow academically in this course and even helped me become more successful in my other courses. Now what? As a result of learning from my failures I am going to become more fearless in my work and put myself out there more often. I am no longer going to allow the fear of failure take over and hold me back from success. Failure is not something we should fear but something we should use to power our creativity.
Imagination and Good Health Powers Creativity
I have learned that there are so many important aspects to powering your creativity that I did not know before taking this course. I have learned that your physical and mental wellbeing can take a part in how you perform creatively. I learned that finding new creative outlets and taking breaks when I need them is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength and learning this helped me get through the semester. I learned that it is important for us as students to take care of ourselves by taking adequate rest, getting enough sleep, eating healthier foods, engaging in physical exercise and have a healthy variety or activities in my life. (Hans, 2020-a). So what? This matters because it has helped me grow creatively and academically throughout this course and has also helped me become more successful in my other courses. I have been able to tap into my imagination much more than I ever have before because I know the tools I need to use to get there. Now what? I am going to use my imagination to power creativity not only in my future schoolwork but also in my daily life. Creativity is very underrated I have learned, and all workplaces need to be working towards promoting creativity in the workplace instead of hiding it.
What have you learned about how you learn in this course that you could use in your future courses? In your career?
Everything that I have learned in this course has helped me grow not only academically but also in my personal life and my work life. Learning about how creativity in the workplace can be beneficial and truly make a difference has made me want to take these learnings to my workplace and implement them there. Being a manager at a fitness studio, I want my staff to feel confident and courageous in their work just as I have learned to do in this course. I have learned that I need to have a positive attitude so that I can implement courageousness in myself and in my staff, I need to believe in myself and teach others to do the same, and finally I learned that I need to face challenges with courage so that I can be a better leader to my team. (Hans, 2020-c). I want to be able to empower them, so they feel as though their work is important. I never want to be the type of boss who blocks their employees from being creative and using their imagination in the workplace, which I have learned through the units how this can be avoided. Working through the problem and solution in Unit 2 and 3 has really helped me develop the skills and knowledge on what to do if I ever run into an employer who will not allow creative freedoms in their workplace, and I can hopefully make a change for a better workplace. I think that this course has taught me invaluable lessons, especially for my future career in management. I feel like I see things from the bigger picture now in comparison to January when we first started this course. I am excited to see how I can use my new creative abilities in the workplace and future courses and see where it takes me.
References:
Hans, K. (2020-a). 13 good health powers creativity. Medium. https://medium.com/creativityintheworkplace/13-good-health-powers-creativity-2018598fd512
Hans, K. (2020-b). 18 learn from failures. Medium. https://medium.com/creativityintheworkplace/18-learn-from-failures-2b2ce5d02d02
Hans, K. (2020-c). 26 courage powers innovation. Medium. https://medium.com/creativityintheworkplace/26-courage-powers-innovation-81657b63bec
Kenny, N. (2014, July 30). The what? So what? And now what? Of critical reflection. The University of Calgary. http://connections.ucalgaryblogs.ca/2014/07/30/the-what-so-what-and-now-what-of-critical-reflection/
Sigurdson, A. (2022-a). [Photograph of self-doubt quote]. Canva.com
Sigurdson, A. (2022-b). [Photograph of success takes care of itself quote]. Canva.com
Sigurdson, A. (2022-c). [Photograph of failure and success quote]. Canva.com
Sigurdson, A. (2022-d). [Photograph of imagination quote]. Canva.com
