About Creativity

I have just been to a project management class on creativity. The class was mostly about convincing people that they are creative machines. It was a series of quotes from motivational speakers and of exercising designed to convince us we can be creative and think out of the box. The presenter was very likeable and had some nice stories and jokes. The course created a few reactions for me.

• The presenter used some of his life experiences to make a point, I was then again reminded how we learn better through storytelling. It makes the material more enjoyable and easier to remember.
• It is really a shame that people need convincing they are still created. The presenter was agreeing with Sir Ken Robinson, one of my favorite presentation from TED talks, people are educated out of creativity.
• The course tried to convince us we are creative, but it did nothing to tell us how to cultivate it and and to create an environment of creativity in our own environment. That is a bit of a shame.
• He said he loved project managers and that we would be the ones to get the economy back on its track. That was a bit of a cheap shot, I suppose that might be part of the plan to make people feel good about themselves. Still the thing about project managers is that when something is wrong, it is all your fault but when all is good, it is thanks to the team. A project manager is nothing without his/her team, in the end, they are really doing the ones doing the work.

I think, with my limited experience, that the best way for us to encourage creativity is to create a safe environment where it is acceptable to make mistakes and fail sometimes. Especially if you are trying something new and out of your comfort zone. Of course you want to make sure the consequences of the failures are not too dramatic and affect the project. But then again, there is always something going wrong. During the course, someone mentioned that when something bad happens, they do not blame and address the issue. In a way it sounds nice but I also believe in accountability, I am not sure how to reconcile the 2 at this point. I think it is ok to tell someone they made a mistake and move on. The issue should be looked at to make sure it can be avoided in the future and does not become systematic. Sometimes it is just a mistake and there is really nothing to do beyond acknowledging it happened.