These five tips evolved out of a post on LinkedIn and subsequent conversation with consultant Grahame Darnell of Darnell Consulting.

It got me thinking that we need to consider the process and conditions for fostering creativity, because not everyone can turn creativity on an off like a tap. If someone works in a command and control or hierarchical environment don’t be surprised when the anything goes ‘creative’ session doesn’t deliver the goods.

So here goes – my five tips on creativity:

• If you’re trying to spark something in your team, then you should really think about and know their make-up – skills, backgrounds, competences, personality types, perspectives, life experiences – and how they respond to each other. Essentially start by asking yourself is there enough difference looking at the task?
• Facilitation is not often considered when it comes to these things, but to capture and document the flow of ideas and make sure you’re getting contributions from everyone, not just the confident outspoken people is key and is a skill – so think who is best placed to do that role?
• The conditions: are people working in an environment that encourages honesty and humility where people can disagree without censure? Plus, who might respond better with advance notice of the task and or also works well away from group settings - how do you bring out the best in them?
• Is everybody clear on the brief/purpose? If our leaders are looking for ideas that they agree with, that might not be the same thing as a creative idea – just a better way of doing the same old thing.
• Finally, as a leader share the credit, make sure that everyone feels they’ve been part of the process – otherwise people will disengage from the next ‘creative’ process.

Some other thoughts to leave with you– look for some external contributions, ask another team / department, with a fresh perspective to be involved. So in conclusion you need to fundamentally think about and plan the process of being ‘creative’ and think about how diversity can bring a different perspective. #creativity #diversity # fundraising #leadership