There are some places where it seems that being creative is frowned upon. Unfortunately for many people, one of those places is at their job. While working hard always seems to be a necessity, thinking creatively is often not a high priority around the office. But promoting creativity in your company can be incredibly valuable. Here are some of the biggest benefits:
A Break from Routine
There are plenty of ways to change the daily schedule and re-energize your team. Trying to stimulate their creativity, though, can not only can be the most rewarding, but the most productive way to pull them out of their usual 9-to-5. If you drag your employees away from their spreadsheets and give them a problem to solve, it will be a refreshing, and fun, distraction that can reap some amazing results.
Friendly Competition
Looking at the history of music and art, friendly competition is often at the root of people’s excellence: they’re impressed by someone else’s work and strive to top it. When you place problems in front of your employees and ask them to figure out solutions, the energy really begins to flow when coworkers are challenged by each other. As long as you make sure that this competition does remain friendly, many team members will go above and beyond just to come up with the very best idea.
New Perspectives
The only way for a company to move outside of the box is to have outside-of-the-box ideas. But, with a little encouragement, you can find many of these ideas are being crafted inside the office. These are people who know the business, who face difficult tasks every day. Inspire them to voice their ideas and you may find solutions to issues you didn’t even know existed.
A Judgment-Free Environment
Mistakes in business are often made not because of what we say, but what we choose to keep quiet about. In an office environment some people may tend to build walls around themselves, worried their ideas aren’t good enough. But when you try to spur on creativity, you make people not just comfortable with their ideas; they also become more comfortable with themselves. When workers begin to express themselves they begin feeling more confident, which can then lead to even bolder ideas and a greater potential at growth.
Happiness
Multiple studies have shown that people who are allowed to live more creative lives end up with a greater sense of overall purpose and drive. A necessity for successful companies is to hold onto the best and brightest you have. And one of the easiest ways to retain those employees is to make sure they’re satisfied and fulfilled when they stroll into work every day. Tapping into their creative sensibilities is one of the most surefire ways to keep the stars of your team engaged, satisfied and intent on continuing to create new ways for your company to succeed.