How to support creativity in your team

Creativity and the ability to come up with new solutions are characteristics that hardly any team nowadays can do without. And this does not apply only to obviously creative or artistic fields: it is equally true of highly technological sectors where the pace of development is increasing every day and teams have to adapt so as to avoid stagnation. A good manager should therefore support creativity in their team. This article will look at how this is done.

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In a Forbes article, author and leadership expert Dene Henley mentions three steps that should be taken by any manager who wishes to support creativity within their team.

Suppress your ego

First of all, you must suppress your ego. Team members cannot be creative if they are led by someone who thinks they themselves see and do things in the best and only way. Providing room for creativity means suppressing your ego, accepting the fact that other people may have better ideas than you, and listening properly to others' opinions. Nor should you always have the main say and last word. Sometimes you need to accept a compromise that may not correspond fully to your wishes but needs to be accepted in the name of creativity.

Do not stick to the status quo at any cost

Creativity requires certain risk-taking and above all a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. In order to find new and better solutions, you must constantly re-evaluate old systems and orders, and not be afraid to abandon the old ways even if they might still be working okay at the time. Conservatism and creativity do not go together. If you want a more creative team, you can't cling on to the status quo at any cost.

Give room to your employees

Finally, you must give enough space to your team members. Let them work on their own, trying out their own methods and solutions. Creativity cannot thrive where everybody is bound by strict rules and limitations. You have to allow your employees room for making certain mistakes. These, of course, cannot be fatal but, at the same time, team members must have some leeway to err without fear of reprimand: keep in mind that a person learns through their mistakes.

 

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Article source Forbes.com - prestigious American business magazine and website
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