There is a widespread belief that creativity is inborn and cannot be practiced. Creativity is generally characterized as the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and useful, but innovation is when these ideas are put into practice and then commercialized. In that sense, is talent and inborn quality, or is it something that has been acquired? It has also been shown that creativity is improved by a slow-thinking process, rather than a fast-paced approach. Creativity is also viewed as the convergence between the arts and sciences as it embraces diversity.
As any other talent, the ability to be creative and empathetic may be improved. It calls for being conscious, disciplined and honest with a greater intent. In today’s digital world, giving more attention to listening and ignoring annoying things has become a matter of critical importance. Because, if anyone thinks about communication skills, it’s the idea of speaking and not listening that conjures up in mind, and that’s not exactly right.
Indians are also shown to be content with imperfections. A jugaad only serves as a band-aid for a crisis, but should not be considered as a permanent remedy. A jugaad can’t be a routine, because if it is, no one will have the motivation to care about changing the process and consequently the results. However, you also don’t need creativity to solve a 2*2 multiplication problem for the simple reason that the basic solution has been known for years. So you need to find the best dilemma to utilize your creativity. We have a variety of problems in our culture that need innovative solutions. However, our approach to generating them is similar to the 2*2 multiplication problem.
Creativity springs from slow thought and sticking to the problem by deferring judgment or the need to fix the problem. This impulse leads to improvisation, not creativity, which disincentives consciously thinking about developing procedures and results. It is well known that creativity without empathy is a false beginning, and empathy without creativity is a dead end. Hobbies are, thus, perfect opportunities to introduce yourself to other personalities, circumstances and difficulties, and to give self-confidence, new insights and compassion.
There are some cognitive biases that often act as a barrier to creative thinking in organizations. There are five cognitive biases, i.e. basic attribution error, sunk-cost error, confirmation bias, group think, and bandwagon impact. Contrary to common opinion in thinking in groups, there is even a downside to the same matter.
Another aspect that enhances innovation and creativity at the workplace is the creation of robust routines. It has been observed that habits, when made effective, appear to play a more important role than creative talents themselves in promoting innovation. Such organizations are often guided by unestablished timing rules. Creativity often includes the ability to concentrate on long stretches of time and listen intently. To leverage creativity, you need to open a flow channel for which it is sometimes essential to embrace boredom. You also need to be politically astute to reach a consensus on your idea by highlighting the criticality of the problem for which a solution is being proposed.
To build talent for innovation, look for a T-shaped personality, i.e. a person who honors multiple affiliations as essential ideas, is born at the intersection of disciplines because ideas must be of use and novelty. “Who are all of you?” It can be handy to initiate an interview process as it helps to gage someone’s imagination.
