Like it or not, we have to move with the times and keep up with the pace at which changes are occurring. We need to be creative in managing our work, teams and, indeed, ourselves.
Creativity is inherent in all individuals. How this is germinated, grown and harvested very much depends on the initiatives of managers, who may or may not recognize the importance of creativity and innovation to organizational survival. Gurteen (1982) considers creativity as the process of generating ideas. Creativity and innovation are concerned with the process of creating and applying new knowledge. Such knowledge is then used to initiate the development of new products and services, and also to enable an organization to learn better and faster than competitors and to gain and sustain competitive advantage.
Organisations wishing to mobilise creativeness in its employees must nurture a climate where creativity and empowerment are valued and encouraged. A creative culture will support an organisation’s quest to gain and sustain competitive advantage from its intellectual capital assets.
Organisations can create a supportive culture by:
- Developing a culture that facilities creativity, trust and empowerment,
- Providing a flatter, flexible, decentralized organization,
- Creating and utilising multi-disciplinary teams,
- Implementing knowledge-sharing systems such as suggestion schemes and IT information banks, and
- Forging external partnerships with suppliers, customers and competitors.
(Adapted from an article by Jacqueline McLean in Manager, November/December 2007)
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