Innovation and creativity are pretty big buzz words right now. Read any leadership book, and you’ll find stories of leaders like Steve Jobs using their creativity to transform not only their business, but also their industry.

While these stories are inspiring, they can also be overwhelming. We may see these innovations as something practiced by an elite few leaders, way beyond our reach.  

But we all have the ability to release our creativity. We just need to give ourselves permission.

Embracing creativity

In reading John C. Maxwell’s book, How Successful People Think, I was reminded how the key to being a successful leader is to embrace and explore creativity.

So, what does this mean? John C. Maxwell writes about first recognizing that your ideas matter and valuing these ideas. Creative people don’t have all the answers, but they are open to and explore the options, looking for new ways to connect ideas (not always their own). They don’t fear failure, realizing part of the creative process is trying out new ideas, experimenting, seeing what works and what doesn’t.

It’s also about letting go of the rules, processes and old ways of thinking. Taking the time to explore, question, reflect and create – without a set outcome in mind.

Many of the leading tech companies set out space in the work week for their employees to be creative. They realize this creative process looks different for each person. It could mean going for a walk, reading a book, playing a sport or taking a yoga class. There are no expectations of a product being produced during these unstructured hours. Rather, staff are given not only the space, but permission, to explore, create and let ideas percolate.

These companies have also embraced failure. They realize that 95% of ideas will fail. But without giving space for creativity, the 5% of successful and innovative ideas would have never seen the light of day.

Small step

Embracing failure can be a hard step for many of us to take. We work so hard being good at what we do, and showing people how we have all the answers. Stepping into an area of uncertainty is uncomfortable and can be downright scary.  

By giving yourself, and the people around you, permission to be creative you will foster more creativity. And the bi-product of creativity is innovation. We all want to be innovative, but to be innovative we must first be creative.

John C. Maxwell recognizes it can be a big leap for leaders to embrace their own creativity and foster a creative friendly environment. This is why he’s created a new online course – How Successful People Think.

This 13-module course is a great way to understand, and implement, models used by successful leaders. Creativity is just one of the models to explore.

As we want each of you to succeed, we are offering access to this online course for $99US. This price is available until February 28, 2020 when it will increase to $197US.

This is a great opportunity to continue your leadership journey.

The best is yet to come. It starts with you.
Your friends,
The UpCloseTeam