{"id":4716,"date":"2020-03-09T09:48:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T06:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/?p=4716"},"modified":"2020-03-09T09:59:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T06:59:26","slug":"how-to-get-your-team-out-of-a-creative-rut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/how-to-get-your-team-out-of-a-creative-rut\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO GET YOUR TEAM OUT OF A CREATIVE RUT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lack of inspiration can be your worst enemy,\nand it can hit you anytime. Teams get stale from time to time for all sorts of\nreasons. After all, everyone is looking at the same data, interacting with the\nsame people, and having the same conversations. So, it\u2019s no surprise that the\nideas coming up feel as though they\u2019ve been done before. If you want to unlock\nyour employees\u2019 creative potential, try these simple tips.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

  1. SWITCH\nUP THE ROUTINE<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Routine, although structuring, can easily become mind numbing and consistency can morph into complacency. In the process, employees can consciously or unconsciously forgo the possibility of further progress or change and in turn lose their sense of creativity. Sometimes, all you need to boost innovative juices, is change things up a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Have your employees participate in workshops, courses, seminars and read materials that are outside the scope of their area of expertise. From time to time, have them volunteer, participate in team building & training exercises <\/a>and even travel to different countries. The more they can get out of their routine, the better it is. They will be exposed to completely different ways of thinking. This will greatly boost their creativity and problem solving capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And\nremember, creativity doesn\u2019t come from doing the same things the same exact\nway. Getting a little\nuncomfortable even in small ways can help spark your employees\u2019 creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. ENCOURAGE FRIENDLY COMPETITION<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Competition\nis a big driver of motivation, creativity, performance, and innovation. It\npushes people to be better. A little competition among the employees would not\nhurt. A competitive environment is a productive environment. Encourage\nemployees to participate in competitions or challenges as it\u2019s healthy from time\nto time and may actually lead to increased camaraderie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Friendly\ncompetition amongst teams helps with employee engagement and employee\nparticipation. Additionally,\nthe more competition influencing your employees to accomplish something, the\nmore motivated they will be to head to work each morning and think up new\ninnovative and creative ways to stay on top. Incentives push people to become\nmore creative and find new ways of doing things. Competing with each other will\ninspire employees to get creative, put in more effort, work harder, and become\nmore productive.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        When\nyou hear the word \u201cbrainstorming,\u201d what comes to mind? People in a room yelling\nout random thoughts? Chaos? An exercise for designers and creative types? In\nother words, something OPD (other people do\u2014not you). Maybe it\u2019s time to give\nit a second look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Brainstorming\nis typically conducted in a facilitated session or workshop environment to\nstimulate creative thinking, to create novel or innovative solutions to a\nproblem, and to introduce “controlled chaos” into the thought\nprocess. It is the most widely used technique to cultivate ideas. It is based\non the principle that “many brains are often better than one.”[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Brainstorming\nis a business technique that can work for any department, in any type of\nbusiness, especially HR. Schedule\na meeting with employees to bounce ideas around. Having regular idea-generation\nsessions keeps the flow of inspiration and creativity going. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. EMBRACE FAILURE<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          \u201cRecently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training<\/a> him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?\u201d \u2013 Thomas John Watson Sr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          No\none truly likes to fail. It can drag you down mentally and physically. At the\nsame time, failure gets a raw deal. Even though it hurts, it\u2019s one of the best\nand most effective ways to learn and grow. Don\u2019t be afraid to let your employees\nexperiment and try new things. If something doesn\u2019t work, they can learn what\nwent wrong and try again. Who knows? The second time around, they may knock it\nout of the park. But the truth is that they may not have been so successful if\nthey hadn\u2019t stumbled during their first attempt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          This is where managers and senior leaders can play a key role in helping change attitudes by sharing their own blunders and mishaps. Just because you\u2019re in a senior role doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re immune to mistakes either. The difference though is how you deal with it afterwards, and that\u2019s the point to be made.[3]<\/a> Changing your attitude towards failure<\/a> will switch up your employees\u2019 thinking, and show them the benefits the inevitably bumpy journey will bring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. ENGAGE THE SENSES <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Employees are most engaged when all five senses are stimulated. Most creative experiences come from combining two seemingly unrelated ideas. Encouraging the flow of non-sequitur ideas through sensory experiences can help employees find new inspiration.[4]<\/a> When you deliver a sensory experience to the workplace, you transform purely functional spaces into energising environments where employees find more meaning, fun, success and fulfilment in their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            For\nexample, you might hang thought-provoking abstract art on the walls, regularly\nfill the office with new scents or play unconventional music through your\nloudspeakers. Doing so will help employees think in new ways and become more\nstimulated by their environment. As an added bonus, most of these additions\nhave a calming or satisfying effect on people — so your team will feel happier\nand will be more productive in addition to being more creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cYou\ncan\u2019t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.\u201d- Maya Angelou <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Inspiring creativity within your team isn\u2019t a luxury<\/a>. It\u2019s imperative if you want to boost employee productivity and stay top of mind with your customers and thrive as a business for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Mshimba Michelle
            <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n\n\n\n

            [1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.hubgets.com\/blog\/healthy-competition-improves-productivity-atwork\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            [2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.projectmanagement.com\/wikis\/233029\/Brainstorming<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            [3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/voicesfromeurope\/2018\/12\/03\/why-embracing-and-discussing-failure-is-good-for-your-company-culture\/#4a5a03b068ae<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            [4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/271905<\/a>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Lack of inspiration can be your worst enemy, and it can hit you anytime. Teams get stale from time to time for all sorts of reasons. After all, everyone is looking at the same data, interacting with the same people, and having the same conversations. So, it\u2019s no surprise that the ideas coming up feel as though they\u2019ve been done before. If you want to unlock your employees\u2019 creative potential, try these simple tips. SWITCH UP THE ROUTINE Routine, although structuring, can easily become mind numbing and consistency can morph into complacency. In the process, employees can consciously or unconsciously\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[74],"tags":[81,76,67,79,65],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":5}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4716"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4721,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716\/revisions\/4721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}