Recently, it has been shown that creativity is the most important soft skill in business. 64% of employers say creativity is crucial when hiring candidates. Yet, a lot of employees leave or perform below par due to the manager’s type of leadership hindering the team’s creativity.
As much as companies want more creative persons in the field, there is a lot of news about quiet quitting, layoffs, and harnessing AI for creative jobs. When these cross the line, it becomes disastrous for the employee’s creativity. Moreover, employees enter an organisation, not the other way around, so the culture and leadership of the organisation are essential to foster creativity.
Are You Hindering Your Team’s Creativity?
76% of employees leave a company due to horrible bosses, according to Vanguard. Good leaders don’t manage creativity; they create room for creativity to grow. How do you know if your leadership skill is hindering your team’s creativity? Find out below what you’ve been doing wrong and how to correct your leadership style.
1. You don’t encourage and enable collaboration.
Creativity can grow when teammates are encouraged to leverage each other’s strengths to produce better-quality work.
The ability to work alone is great, but fostering teamwork among your team members is even better. While you should recognise your team member for their talents, understanding that team collaboration is important will prevent individuals from restricting themselves, and they will contribute to the team’s goal(s).
2. You don’t hire diverse individuals
Different backgrounds and experiences can help individuals notice other processes for accomplishing a goal.
Because these individuals grew up differently , their ways of thinking differ too. As a result, patterns that may have gone unnoticed will be obvious to them due to a different perspective.
Leaders can accomplish this by hiring diverse cultures and allowing team members to air their views. Otherwise, company projects would all seem similar and not be distinctive.
3. You never motivate your employees
When people are motivated, they are more likely to put effort and creativity into making a project sound.
While some might argue that this is a sustainable process, it does help to get the team started. And once your team sees your support, it’s easier to keep the project running because they know their leader is rooting for them.
4. There’s no room for failure
There are people who struggle to start because they are afraid to fail. Or, they set a low achievement bar for themselves, knowing they will crush that level. It gives them a false sense of accomplishment even though they haven’t produced their best.
The fear of failure is common in different aspects of life, and it can be crippling. But once the possibility is accepted as normal (if their best is put in), there’s the freedom to be as creative as possible, coming up with different innovations to accomplish their tasks.
Suppose you give your team no room for failure, even in projects with low chances of success. In that case, you might be hindering their creativity.
5. You don’t set clear goals
Leaders who set clear goals for their team can provide a sense of direction and purpose that can fuel creativity. When employees clearly understand what they need to achieve and why it matters, they are more motivated to find innovative ways to reach their goals. With proper goals, your team can also track their progress and be sure they are on the right path.
6. The team has no access to helpful resources
Leaders who provide their team with the resources they need to succeed can help to remove barriers to creativity. For example, you can give access to training, tools, and technology to help employees think more creatively and find new ways to solve problems.
7. You don’t recognise the team’s achievements
Leaders who recognise and celebrate their team’s achievements can create a sense of pride and accomplishment that can fuel creativity. When employees feel that their hard work is recognised and appreciated, they are more likely to be motivated to continue exploring new possibilities and finding creative solutions to problems.
8. You never provide good feedback
Leaders who provide feedback can help their teams improve their ideas and build on their successes. A study by Harvard Business Review found that feedback is critical to learning and growth. With feedback, the employee can identify places to work on or discard if the situation arises. In addition, as a manager is usually more experienced, feedback can help to strengthen strategies or processes.
Conclusion
Several factors can influence creativity, and individuals can sustain their muse through different means. However, as a leader, you can hinder your team’s creativity if you don’t lead properly. So, take note of the points above to be a better leader of your team.
