There's a problem with the C word...
- Camilla Young
- Jul 25, 2023
- 4 min read
And if I'm honest it's something I puzzled with as I was planning to launch Rebel Spark. People just seem to really struggle with the word 'Creativity'.
The first time someone said to me 'oh you're so creative' I was confused too. I worked in commercial which, for those not familiar with selling consumer products to supermarkets, meant the majority of my time was spent in spreadsheets and databases crunching numbers. It's just not something I ever associated with creativity, to me that was 'the arts'- painting, music, the theatre maybe. They noticed my surprise, and clarified 'I mean, you know, commercially creative'.
They were right, I had a knack of spotting new opportunities within the numbers, my breadth of experience in different businesses meant that I had a back catalogue of ideas that I could recombine to create new ones, and I was confident in speaking up and sharing them. Not only that, I had a higher than average level of comfort around risk- not in a kamikaze way, I'd learned from experience that it pays to be optimistic in sales. I'd seen many failures, and knew that there would be a way through them, and as someone who's always been a bit different I just seemed to have less fear of judgement than my colleagues.
As a sales person, creativity was hugely beneficial. It helped me to identify a unique customer angle on marketing initiatives, find novel solutions to long running strategic problems and overcome deadlock in negotiations. I also developed quite a reputation for being able to 'rummage behind the sofa' at month end to come up with ways to close the gap in the number.
But in my experience creativity just isn't something that's high on the agenda. I don't think I've ever had any training on it, and I don't recall ever being asked the question at an interview. We touch on it, with competencies like 'taking initiative' or 'problem solving', but we avoid going all in. This is despite the fact that the World Economic Forum cites creative thinking as the #2 most important skill for employers.
I was sparking about it with one of my friends and they said they get 'creative thinking' but they just don't associate with creativity. I found it puzzling, what's the difference? Well, the way I'd describe it is that creative thinking is the ability to think differently: to see a problem or issue from a new angle or perspective. Whereas creativity is the ability to make something new.
So that sparked my curiosity, what is it about the act of turning our thinking into something new that we find so challenging? Here's a few thoughts based on my own experiences:
There's a lack of optimism. We're really good at taking an idea (whether our own or someone elses) and picking it apart. Pointing out the bits that won't work, and the potential for failure. We're often very risk averse, particularly in business. We worry about losing money, or not demonstrating a strong enough ROI, and we know that any failure will be remembered and replayed to us long after anyone recalls the people who didn't try. In a society that often places a premium on success, the prospect of stumbling or making mistakes prevents people from going boldly into the unknown.
Striving for excellence can be a driving force behind creativity, but often perfectionism becomes an obstacle. It's difficult to get something perfect the first time you try it, so people hold back. Waiting until it's perfect, and when perfect doesn't come dismissing the whole idea altogether. Even when an individual or a team strive to push past their own perfectionism to launch something 'good enough' we see those ideas shot down by their peers (see point 1 re: lack of optimism!).
There's also an ever present pressure to conform. Fear of judgement at work leads to self-censorship, we hold our tongue and try not to 'stick our head above the parapet'. On social media our lives are being published for all to see, comparison and judgement is seemingly unavoidable. We've learnt to follow 'influencers' and gravitate to whatever service or product they're pushing.
We also lack inspiration. We're crying out for fresh ideas but we've yet to crack genuine diversity within our businesses, and we end up recruiting and promoting the people who most fit the mold rather than anyone who might break it. We focus hugely on talent retention, but don't question the impact of that on breadth of experience. On top of that, technology is making our worlds smaller. The algorithms serve up content that's most similar to our interests. We're finding it easier than ever to gravitate towards 'people like us' so our social circles are shrinking and becoming more homogenous.
Then we add stress into the mix, we're 'always on'. Back to back in meetings, and constantly stimulated by our palm held computers, flicking between emails and bombarded with notifications. There's no time for us to observe the world around us and we don't allow enough space for the ideas to spark.
So I get that the c word is challenging for people, and that in the short term that means Rebel Spark may take a little longer to resonate. However, I'm committed to championing creativity, and to helping people overcome the blockers that are holding them back in pursuing it. I'm all too familiar with the challenges, but I've also got a heap of experience and ideas on how to overcome them. I'll be using this blog, and my instagram account to share my own creative struggles, inspiration and creativity hacks.