I think that we can all agree that we could use a little bit more creativity in our lives. A recent LinkedIn workplace study found that creativity is the single most important soft skill that business leaders want from their employees. The question for business leaders in HR is how do we foster grow and encourage creativity in the workplace. That’s what we will be talking about today.
Before we get started I want to give a special thank you to my podcast sponsor, ClearCompany.
Episode 172: Fostering a Culture of Creativity at Work with Christiane Michaelis (@DirtyEasel)
Today, I’m joined by Christiane Michaelis. She’s the founder of the Dirty Easel. Her business is focused on developing a creative culture. Creativity is a differentiator in businesses as mentioned in the earlier LinkedIn workplace study. These soft skills are a challenge because they are muscles that take time to build and grow. I asked Christiane if she agreed with more if she felt like only certain people are born as creatives. She also shared that increased need for creativity as a skill in business in part due to increased reliance on artificial intelligence, technology, and automation.
[bctt tweet=”The rise of AI is only making soft skills increasingly important, as they are precisely the type of skills robots can’t automate. That’s why 57% of senior leaders today say soft skills are more important than hard skills.” – LinkedIn Learning” username=”workology”]
How Creativity Is Impacted By the Pace of Innovation at Work
Everyone seems to be so busy these days and it’s hard to find time to practice creativity. Christiane says the pace of innovation has changed exponentially in the last 10 to 20 years. She says she started her life without internet, without cell phones, and personally witnessed a lot of this of this huge transformation that really changes the way we live our lives. Not just our work lives, but also our private lives and how we make connections. It changes how we find friends, time spent when we are together with our friends, and how we get together so the pace of innovation is growing rapidly.
Christiane says this makes the need to be purposeful with your creativity even more important. She also walks us through how creativity is essential for a healthy workplace culture. A company culture that encourages experimentation and failure which are forms and outcomes of creativity is important to encouraging constant growth, self-improvement, and forward-thinking which are important skills for your employee population and critical for business success.
Creativity, like any habit, needs to be intentional. I do believe that creativity is present in every person although it is easier for some to bring out and foster creativity than others. Creative ideas and innovation are critical for success in business. I hope that you encourage your leaders to foster creativity whether it’s part of a formal corporate initiative or informal process.
Connect with Christiane Michaelis.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
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- The Dirty Easel ~Christiane’s business
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*A special thank you to my production team at Total Picture Radio.
