Creativity is an individual’s ability to think of ideas and make them come to life. Creativity may be manifested in many different ways. Many people may not consider themselves creative in the arts, but are creative in the field of speaking. It is also the ability to think and come up with ways on how to solve problems, and to adapt and find ways to survive unfamiliar environments. This is what makes it a very important trait that every leader must possess.
Selected or Developed?
I personally believe, that though some people are born with creativity, some could also learn the trait of being creative. The ability to be creative is a very subjective and personal trait. An individual may display a great deal of creativity in a different way from another person. A person may consider something as a product of creativity, while others may not. Creativity can also be considered as thinking out of the box. One must be able to devise a way of solving things that are different from the ideas of others.
Creativity, I believe, is an inherent trait of every human being. Maybe it just needs to be awaken. Nowadays, we are living in a fast-paced world. Developments in Science and Technology have resulted to a shift in modernity in almost everything. As the world becomes more developed and advanced, the problems that we may encounter in this life also becomes more complex. The innovations that experts have done are a result of the solutions of the complex problems that they have once encountered.
This is where a healthy dose of creativity should be used. A leader must be able to think of many ways and plans to solve any problems that may arise within his/her group, or even within him/herself.
I was able to say that creativity can be developed in a leader because as human beings, we are made to experience a multitude of things. This is the exact answer why creativity can be developed by a leader. Through his/her past experiences, an individual will begin to make and formulate patterns of thoughts on how certain things work, and what are the possible ways of solving any problem that may arise (Ackoff & Vergara, 1981).
Achievements and problems can both refine and develop a leader’s sense of creativity. Because the minds of every individual is different, each individual will also have a different approach or way of dealing with things.
A leader’s creativity is also heavily influenced by his/her environment. A leader in either a good or bad environment can develop a good sense of creativity through the course of his/her experiences. A leader is expected to think rapidly, accurately, and spontaneously.
Creativity Block
There are many ways on how an organization might suffer from creativity block. The first is when the members are being too pessimistic. Being negative in all things will cause an organization to be able to think of anything at all. This is because they are too afraid that they would fail. This will hinder the team from expressing free-flowing ideas. Second reason, is when an organization is becoming too ambitious. Being too ambitious may lead an organization to think unrealistically, therefore lessening the chances of actually being able to put up something (Balt, 2014).
References
Ackoff, R. L., & Vergara, E. (1981). Creativity in Problem-Solving and Planning: A Review. Retrieved May 2, 2016, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0377221781900448/part/first-page-pdf
Balt, A. (2014, April 25). 5 Causes for Creative Block & How to Walk Through Walls [Web log post]. Retrieved May 2, 2016, from http://www.andreabalt.com/5-causes-for-creative- block/
