How Do You Encourage Creativity at Work?

Not all businesses are defined as ‘creative’ companies, but all companies need to be creative. Creativity is what keeps you agile and allows you to keep innovating, inspiring and staying ahead of the pack.
Creativity can be found in many different areas, but essentially it simply means having an open mind, looking for new ways to do things and coming up with novel ideas.
It exists in all companies, small and large, but in very different ways – and can be increasingly hard to inspire and maintain the bigger your business becomes.

What are the barriers to creativity in the workplace?

The issue that companies have as they grow is that politics develop, hierarchies emerge, the workplace itself becomes over-familiar and routine becomes embedded.
These are barriers to being creative. A lot of creativity stems from people’s mindset – how energised they feel and how inspired, and frustrations or boredom in the office can inhibit this way of thinking.
Personal inhibitions and insecurities can also prevent people being as creative as they’d like to be. Make your office environment an inclusive one and give all your colleagues the confidence they need to feel like their contribution is valid, creativity will ensue.

How can you inspire your team?

Putting everyone on a level playing field is the only way to bring out the best in your colleagues. Easier said than done, but the stronger the relationships between staff, the more comfortable they are with each other, the more naturally this will arise.
Encourage face to face communication, rather than simply over email where intentions can be misconstrued and misunderstandings occur.
Working in a tight-knit team, as is the basis of a start-up, is a way that small companies naturally avoid these pitfalls.
An away day can be a great way to re-energise your team and get the creative ideas flowing again. Change the backdrop as often as you can.
Whether that means doing a brainstorm meeting outside the office, having a catch-up down the road, organising an away day or weekend or just changing up where people sit, all these things can contribute to more energy in the office.
Hand the control over to your employees and colleagues. Give your employees responsibility and flexibility. Having faith in their abilities and trust in their work ethic can inspire the best results.
It encourages an attitude of loyalty and a desire to go above and beyond – all of which can also equal creative thinking.

Get creative now!

There are so many ways your business can keep itself creative. Creativity is linked to where you work, the structure of your company, the people who work there and, most crucially, the way these people feel.
At HeadBox, we are passionate about the power of creativity and helping to inspire it. We’ve got a huge selection of venues for all kinds of events, including plenty of offsite meeting rooms, Spaces for workshops and away day ideas, that will help to keep you and your colleagues feeling creative!

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