The Creative Environment
What characteristics exemplify a creative workplace? Does your organization's work culture and environment support creativity? If so, how?
In my opinion the chief characteristic of a creative workplace is the lack of a fear of failure. During my career I have found that by removing fear from the creative process people have achieved more that they ever believed they could. Fear of failure is stifling and it causes people to pause in their creative process to consider the ramifications of exploring new ways and ideas.
When I first arrived at my campus the culture was one of rules and rules for rules and there was Zero creativity. We have labored to introduce a new way of approaching work. Based on the FISH philosophy we began to encorporate play into our day to day activities. We became customer focused, took responsibility for our own attitudes and worked to "make each others day and our students day". Since the relaxing of the strict rules and initiating the FISH culture our school has doubled in size.
David,
I think that you are right on target. Creating an organizational culture that rewards innovation and creativity can make a huge difference in organizational performance as you have seen with the attitudinal change in your campus. I think the innovative process needs to be coupled with clear role definitions and accountabilities as well.
How do you balance the consistent application of policies and procedures required from regulatory bodies like the Department of Education and the accrediting bodies (rules that must be adhered to) with an innovative and creative environment that focuses staff on continuous improvement and service to students?
So far as the ultimate balancing act is concerned.... It is always a tightrope that we walk however, as accreditation teams have visited us they all have said they wish they worked here. The students are happy and prosperous and the employees are fully engaged in working with the students.
We use the rules and regulations as our boundries over which we cannot cross. Aside from those things I encourage full exploration of alternative ways of approaching things. To give you an idea of how effective such things can be we have gone from an attrition rate of 28% 18 months ago to a 4% attrition rate currently. Our students love it here.
One last comment on the benefits of the culture that accrediting and regulatory bodies have liked is we have zero employee turnover. Our employees are able to bring their entire selves to work and in doing that they find satisfaction. I think the key there has been showing them the boundries and making certain they understand where those boundries are and why they are there. Aside from those rules our people are free to explore and experiment. It seems to be working incredibly well.
David,
Very well said. I think you have captured in your organization the key elements and balance that promote ongoing high performance and sustainable growth. If you haven't already you should consider presenting at CCA or other forums about this topic. Many folks struggle with creating the culture you have at your campus and it sounds like you are doing some things tha could really benefit other directors.
Nice work.
A creative environment requires balance. It is very easy to sacrifice order on the alter of creativity. I worked for a school in the past that had so few rules for discussion and innovation that nothing ever got done. The lack of rules allowed those in charge to lay in wait for someone to bring up a creative idea, only to be squashed down by those around him. Soon no one wanted to bring anything up for fear of laying waste to their career.
Pamela,
Many companies talk about valuing innovation and creativity but the actual culture does not support and reward innovation and creativity. A culture based upon fear is not conducive to creativity.
What could the school that you worked for previously do differently to increase creativity and innovation within the school?
A creative workplace in my opinion is very open to suggestions and ideas including the time and space needed to complete projects. being able to brainstorm with others in your department and outside your department creates this atmosphere. When they are a vast amount of meetings on a daily basis, this can hinder your ability as a leader to inpsire your team to be creative.
Andrea,
This is a common challenge in organizations. One suggestion may be to visit with other leaders in your organization about building time in the multitude of meetings you have to occassionally set time aside to brainstorm, generate new ideas from a diverse group with different perspectives. A collaborative culture is fostered by this process. It does take time so you sometimes have to pick your spots but in the end it builds buy in from employees and also leverages the knowledge and great ideas from the entire organization. Have you ever read the book Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni? It is a good reminder of defining a clear purpose for meetings and not just meeting to meet!
Also, in regards to your question on your staff being in a rut and how to get them out of it, I would suggest setting some time aside to have a short planning session with your group to get their input into what needs to be done for the group to acheive their objectives, overcome challenges they may be facing, etc... Taking time for this collaborative session may help rejuvinate them and help you build consensus among the group on what needs to be done and how the group is going to get there. What have you tried to get them out of the rut they are in?
I worked in a call center where motivating agents to meet goals was very challenging for management. To overcome this challenge I created an Incentive Program. This provided for prizes and rewards for meeting goals other than what was required for the Company's bottom-line. We rewarded agents for reaching certain training / learning levels. We rewarded and recognized agents for overcoming challenges they had in their own performance. It might sound simplistic, but a little recognition goes a long way. Plus, making it personal and meaningful to the individual also matters. You can only win Employee of the Month so many times before it loses it's appeal. Not all employees care about that type of recognition so it becomes a personal slap in the face every time the new winner of the month is called. Recognize individuals as being individual and celebrate diversity.
I think you can balance both, but management has to be very clear as to what "in-house" rules are and what policies / guidelines must be adhered to for the bigger reason. Additionally, work with employees in cross-functional teams. Break-up the IT Team, the Facilities Team, the Academic Team, so on, and create teams that include members of different departments. Sometimes academicians have tunnel vision; break them up. Sometimes IT can only think in black and white; break them up. You would be suprised how shaking things up actually creates balance because it evens-out the type and style of thinking. This creates great innovation.
A creative workplace is one in which people feel free to express contradictory opinions in such a way as to further discussion and problem solving. It is one in which contribution is encouraged and participents in the process share goals and understand the strengths and talents of their co-workers. The culture at my workplace is not a creative one. It is managed in a very top down fashion and input is often discouraged because my manager is incompetent.
Jerry,
I think you have hit on a couple of the key aspects of developing a creative environment.I believe creativity and innovation are more essential in higher education now then perhaps ever before as all sectors of higher education are really in the midst of transformative change. Optimizing continuous improvement in student outcomes require this environment as do other areas. Working for managers and leaders with different styles can be challenging but also good opportunity to continue to shape your own management and leadership style and philosophy.
The organization I work for does support creativity. When materials are ordered for labs, our staff(the instructors) are fully encouraged to create new lab projects with different and new components. This really keeps things interesting and fresh.
I would say some of the most important characteristics of a workplace would be management creating a climate where people feel safe to voice their opinions and ideas, a platform to do so, and management taking these ideas or concerns seriously. I would say that my organization could use some work on not only establishing regular meetings but keeping up with them as well.
Pamela,
An open and collaborative culture are imperative to fostering creativity and innovation. Creating this culture needs to be intentional and consistent. What ideas do you have that would help foster a more collaborative culture?
Dr. Blake Faulkner
In my opinion, the ability to allow employees to speak freely and share their ideas is key to instilling a creative environement. As a leader, you need to be comfortable with your own weaknesses and use other indivual's strengths to drive creative solutions. A leader doesn't need to have all the answers, but, it is his/her responsibility to engage the team to drive to those ideas.
My organization's culture supports creativity by soliciting ideas from all levels in the organization. The organization understands that the "front line" folks on many occasions have ideas to drive efficiency and service, by tapping into those resources the company as a team generates creative ideas.
Steve,
It sounds like you have a collaborative culture that promotes creativity at all levels of the organization. How does your organization move from someone having a creative idea to implementation of the idea? I ask because it sounds like you may have some insights here that would be very helpful to others taking this course.
Dr. Blake Faulkner
I work in a Career College in the Industry Relation department. I find that our team is constantly dealing with many different people, in different industries. I truly value the work space, in our work place. It is physically organized in a way that promotes communication and interaction. Due to the growth in the company, our team had the option of moving locations..away from other departments that we work with on a daily basis. My manager made the decision to stay--working quarters is just as important as the ideas that flow between them. So I would say physical space exemplifies and allows for a creative work place.
The work culture and environment at my company really does support creativity. We have a more level system where hierarchy doesn't flourish. Managers and directors constantly ask for feedback from employees, and they provide us with opportunities to help strengthen areas we feel need improvement. I realize from reading this thread that I'm lucky to have the support I do at my college.
Christine,
Well said Christine. It sounds like your organization has created an environment both in physical proximity/space and culture for creativity and collaboration to thrive. Innovation can flourish when these foundations are in place.
Dr. Blake Faulkner
