Creating an Environment That Fosters Creativity

            I believe everyone is creative. However, most don’t believe it. So, how do you create an environment that fosters creativity? Let me share some pointers.

REMOVE FEAR

            The worst car I ever bought was a ’77 Malibu. The car had been mistreated before I bought it—a fact I didn’t learn until I owned the beast. The previous owners had not changed the oil as they should. The passages that allowed the oil to flow through the engine had become blocked. Oil was sitting on top of the valves. This caused serious oil burning.

            After the passages were cleared, the car ran better and used less oil. It only took a little sludge to cause massive engine problems. The brain has a sludge that blocks the flow of lubrication through its engine. That sludge is fear. Ever have to give a speech and your brain freezes? Ever see people freeze in an emergency situation? Ever had to write a paper and you can’t think of a word? In all these cases, it’s fear—fear of public humiliation, fear of injury, or fear of the instructor’s red pen. When afraid, the brain goes into survival mode and creativity suffers.

            To foster a creative environment, fear must be eliminated. This is so contrary to the education system, where the fear of the red pen is often the prime motivator. It’s also contrary to the work environment, where fear of unemployment is often the prime motivator. As a society, we teach students and motivate employees based on fear. But, why do we do this?

ELIMINATE THE EGO

            So, why do people use fear to motivate? They’re insecure. They don’t believe they have the ability to persuade others. So, instead they use intimidation. Some simply don’t care as long as they get what they want. Much of our education system and industry is based on intimidation. The underlying principles of most of these systems of intimidation are based on reward and punishment. Do what I say and you’ll be rewarded. Don’t do it, you’ll be punished.

            Such external systems of rewards and punishments are only good at one thing—producing compliance. Everyone conforms and creativity grinds to a halt. But, then the buts start:

            “But, if I don’t punish N then X, Y and Z will happen.”

            “But, if I don’t reward N then X, Y and Z won’t happen.”

            And, you’re right. I know what you’re thinking. “So, if I remove rewards and punishment, then people won’t do what they’re supposed to do. But, this is what you’re recommending to foster creativity?” Yes, it’s what I’m recommending. So, how do you break this doomed-if-you-do, doomed-if-you-don’t paradox?

RESOCIALIZE THE MASSES

            We need to understand why removing rewards and punishments doesn’t work—at least initially. People have been conditioned through rewards and punishments. It’s the cornerstone of much of our education systems, our employment systems, and even many of our religious systems. People know the rules of those games. And, they follow those rules.

            What happens when you throw people into a new game? They don’t know the rules and they freeze. Initially they look either like slackers or vagabonds. You need to give them time to adapt to new rules. And, what are those rules:

· Worth is based on humanity, not production. Seems weird, but it’s really just the principal of love. Love people and they’ll produce more. But, it can’t be the fake love that some employers mimic. It must be genuine.

· Rewards are given for challenging the system. New ideas, even if they are wrong, must be rewarded. People need to be free to fail. Once people feel free to fail, they often come up with the best ideas—the ones that lead to success.

· Everyone is creative. This must be preached. People don’t become creative until they believe they are creative. Once that belief is set, creativity explodes.

· People must be secure. This rule is going to bite Corporate America in the butt. People can’t be creative when they’re not paid enough to meet basic needs. People can’t be creative when they don’t have a balance of work and home—one that allows them to take care of themselves and their families. People can’t be creative when they are constantly confronted with inequality and injustice. Corporate America views workers as pieces in a machine. Because of that, it will receive mechanical thinking.

            If you want more creativity, you must change the rules—from rules based on external systems of rewards and punishments to rules based on internal motivation. It’s not easy. You’ll need to drop your insecurities. You’ll need to open up to others and care. You’ll need to give them time to adapt to new ways of working and thinking. But, in the end it will be worth the effort.