Essay Sample on Unlock Creative Potential: Strategies for Overcoming Distaste for Creativity

Introduction

Jennifer Mueller uses Chapter five of her book on Creativity Change to uncover critical strategies that can be used to overcome their distaste towards creativity. People tend to be biased in their responses, depending on the current environment they operate. To avoid such biased responses, Mueller advice for an environment that is fit, joyful and that which enables people to broaden their thinking, a strategy the author coins as FAB (Fit, Aha and Broaden). The strategy makes a person to be interested in the presented ideas, believe in them and even expands their understanding of the topic. It implies, that, non-verbal communication that makes people comfortable around someone or a new idea is critical to the response that the respondents will give. The opposite of such a FAB environment is frustrations, anxious and bored people who at that time tend to provide negative and biased responses.

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For an idea to be fit, leaders are required to be not only creative but to understand the definition of creativity to their audience. Different people have to define creativity differently, and therefore, the interest captured by creativity in creating a fit feeling should represent that of the target audience. After making the audience feel fit, it is crucial to let the audience participate in idea expansion to evoke their insight on the idea. As such, the audience finds joy or the "aha" feeling even when embracing the concept. More so, broadening a plan is a strategy that can be used to find a solution through the participation of the audience. Brainstorming is a creative way of getting feedback from the audience to solve a problem. A leader presents a challenge to the audience and initiates an idea generation discussion then requests for feedback. Or the leader may create a narrative similar to the current situation provoking ideas, which leads to broadening of people's thinking.

When a leader presents the audience with the need to change, and make the change seem possible, people will act towards achieving that change through creativity. The interaction between a leader and the group through a question-feedback session, have a positive impact on the group as they are aware that the leader recognizes their contribution, hence embracing creative change. As Mueller points out, "People make a creative change only when they realize their current definitions are blocking them from achieving what they want."(Mueller, 2017, p. 200). Mueller's FAB strategy not only makes the idea accepted but also enhances the audience creativity as well as redefine their way of solving problems.

Cultivating Creative Change in Your Organization

Organizations undergo phases of change from time to time; therefore, the creative difference is crucial in any organization. In Chapter six, Mueller discusses organization cultures and strategies of promoting creative change in an organization setting. Each organization has its own cultures that it operates on. Cultures are created and practised in organizations, but also they can or cannot be changed. Loose cultures can be changed and are easily broken and replaced. On the other hand, strong cultures are rigid and hard to change. Loose cultures encourage creativity as they call for deliberations on making new ones while strong cultures kill creativity as Mueller puts it, "A strong culture is one of the most powerful vehicles enforcing the status quo bias. [A] strong corporate culture is often a creativity killer" (Mueller, 2017, p.320). Evoking the people's positive feelings and curiosity on a new idea, one requires to incorporate creativity at an organizational level. Creativity change is only possible when regulatory barriers are broken.

Defining problems within the organization is one way of initiating creative change by identifying the cultures that hold back the organization. This chapter explains that to make a creative change by shifting from entrenched cultures requires building in course corrections. In cases of unproductive definitions among people, use of FAB methodology will yield significant differences. Additionally, the chapter highlights a strategy on how to handle conflict without communication. Communication is critical in conflict management and resolution in any organization. A conflict that erupts from different creativity may make people involved feel disheartened and rejected primarily due to lack of communication. In such a case, Mueller's strategy is to reduce conflict and encourage communication concerning creativity in idea generation. Disputes cannot be resolved unless the conflicting parties reach a point of the agreement through negotiation, which is done through conversation. One of the strategies in approaching this challenge is to comprehend different definitions of creativity among people. Besides, making one's definition clear to other people leaving no room for confusion, encourages people to accept the idea. Communicating one's definition to other people in a precise way, enable them to understand why they should take your concept, hence, promoting creative change.

Similarly, creative change can be enhanced by ensuring accountability for creativity, which improves checks and balances. Most of the organizations in America make decisions without considering the whole group of people that are involved. Improving checks and balance means that all opinions are reviewed while making a decision. After all, views are highlighted, the stakeholders come into a consensus on which opinion(s) best suit the situation, through communication - failing to incorporate people in decision making result in failing o projects. The chapter looks at the accountability of creativity as a solution. Providing a joint decision-making authority to leaders and creatives is also a strategy of balancing the organization's checks. This involved giving authority to two different decision-making counterparts who have different interests and let them come into a consensus after communication. This way, a balance is a strike as each party keeps the other on the check; hence, creative change can be realized.

Overcome the Bias Against Creative Leadership

According to Mueller, leadership in the American organization has lacked to recognize creative leaders that endorse creative change. Creative leadership fosters effective leadership in a diverse group that exist in a complex and volatile world of today. Recognition is one way of communicating where people feel that their efforts are worth it. Recognition results in a commitment to one's responsibilities; hence, creative change is realized in an organization. The process of recognizing creative leaders will solve the creative crisis that exists in the country. Mueller suggests defining leadership to understand and appreciate the diverse meaning of the word. Different people define leadership in different ways, but only creative leaders communicate the true meaning of leadership through their leadership skills. Considering leaders that are confident and curious to learn more from others allows self-disrupt from leaders that pretend to know-it-all.

Similarly, creative leaders can be identified through recognizing their ability to move the group forward by asking relevant questions, creating new and productive directions, and solving problems. However, one challenge that hinder creative leadership is the expectation of people from their leaders. People expect leaders to know everything and give little room for their own creativity. Mueller notes that "We want our leaders to know the answers. We want our leaders to be experts. We want our leaders to make us feel less uncertain about the world, not more uncertain. ..." (Mueller, 2017, p.g 620). Consequently, there is less creative change that take place in the absence of a creative leader. Therefore, recognizing creative leaders in and organization is crucial in cultivating leadership. Creative leaders are aware when the group requires to be disrupted as they can quickly realize when members are losing the course. According to Mueller, the state at which group polarize, creativity is restricted; there is a need for a creative leader too take charge and rejuvenate the creativity for change.

Similarly, Mueller notes that "Creative leaders ... bring their groups back into balance by asking questions to disrupt and focus them" (Mueller, 2017, p.412). Asking relevant question triggers creativity in the verge of finding a solution to the status quo, which is the need for creative change. By asking questions on the topic at hand, the leader disrupts the minds of the group members which may have diverted to unnecessary issues. Besides, an innovative leader will know which question to strike and when. The relevant question will trigger to recap the problem at hand, the solution is found and in which way. Consequently, the group will get back in the right direction.

Conclusion

Communication is a crucial element of change in any organization. Creative change relies on effective communication for it to take shape in an individual, group or organization. Providing a comfortable environment that enables the respondent or audience to be happy and broaden their thinking removes biasness in creativity. Also broadening of their thinking encourages open mind that allows people to think creatively and understand well the idea that is put across, hence embracing it.

Creative change can only occur where an organization's cultures are loose and can be changed. Loose cultures allow for communication between the management and other stakeholders. Communication allows replacing bad cultures with better ones through deliberation between stakeholders. Conflict management and resolutions are cultures within an organization. Conflict is caused by a difference in creativity among people; hence, communication is essential in solving these differences. Overcoming biasness against creative leadership calls for communication to mend the loopholes between leaders and creativity. Real creative leaders understand diversity among the audience and communicate the importance of creating change through redirecting people to the right path in case of polarization. Creative leaders interact with the group members by asking them relevant questions that make them think creatively towards a solution.

Communication Skills like negotiation, understanding and listening to other people enhances creative change as it removes barriers such as conflict, biasness, bad cultures that hinders creativity. The new insight is crucial in organizations where there is diversity, and people are required to have a common interest, which is achieving the organization goals. As such, using the new strategies, it is easier to lead a group that is ready to embrace creative change and encourage creative leadership through communication.