An important component of the well-rounded leader is his or her ability to not only be creative but to understand the importance of nurturing creativity from those they are leading. Creativity almost always accelerates a team’s successful completion of a task, objective or overall mission. Truly successful leaders know that it takes creativity to be truly innovative and it is that innovation that separates successful teams or organizations from the rest. If we take a quick look at the creative process, we find that it is closely linked to two modes in our minds, intelligence and intellect. Intellect is connected to “facts” and being very “active” whereas intelligence is designated as being “receptive” and influenced by “feelings” and emotions. Both work in concert to help us determine what is true and real.
Using the foundation of intellect and intelligence, creativity starts by having a clear understanding of a given problem, task or challenge and the ability to clearly understand, state and communicate it to oneself or the team. The operative thinker begins by focusing on the general structure of the problem rather than jumping into all the technical details. This approach helps to quickly produce any number of potential solutions. These potential solutions come from our permanent memory, knowledge and experience and can be complemented by other sources of external input such as, reading, external data sources and ideas from others. The creative mind continues by logically processing, associating, sorting, and aligning potential solutions while looking at significant evidence and variations of alternatives ultimately selecting those concepts that lead to new ideas.
Transformational leaders know in their gut that creativity is the lifeblood of their team and organization. Every leader must continually search for ideas that are better than the ones the team or organization is currently committed to. Leaders must promote creativity and innovation by using initiatives that create an environment that stimulates the team to be more creative and innovative. This approach transforms followers into willing, rather than merely compliant, subordinates. New creative and innovative ideas lead to superior outcomes.