How to fully unleash your creativity!

Ms. Fritze, you are an author, organizational psychologist, and expert in motivation and creativity. Do you believe that there is a creative mind in each of us, we just have to coax it out? All people have the potential to be creative. The only difference is how strong or weak the expression of this potential is and in which areas it is easier for you to be creative. Think back to your childhood. As children, we were all more creative than we are today. Remember the fantastic games you could play in your imagination. Or how much you enjoyed and eagerly painted. Or the creative ideas that came to mind when you wanted to craft something with simple items. Everyone has been creative in some way in their life. Unfortunately, many people forget this. The problem is: we often are just not used to being creative anymore and we unlearn it more and more. And because we do not train and experiment with our creativity, we believe that we are not creative. This starts a vicious cycle because when we believe that we are not creative, we don't even try to be creative anymore. And we unlearn it even more.

What conditions should be present in a company to create fertile ground for creativity?

Creativity needs a space free from fear and pressure. If you want to be creative, you need a space free from fear and pressure. There shouldn't be anyone behind you who shakes their head disapprovingly at every brushstroke you dare to make. And if ideas are to be developed, even unusual or seemingly nonsensical suggestions must be allowed without immediate criticism. Most creativity techniques work with strict rules that enable a fear-free phase of idea generation and development. What are the natural enemies of creativity? Creativity is primarily hindered by pressure and structure. On the one hand, many companies are already under economic pressure and therefore need predictable successes. Almost like innovation with a guarantee of profit. And quickly! Therefore, concepts that seem secure are preferred over those with higher risks. The path of least resistance is taken. A trend that has already proven itself in the market is picked up or the competitor is simply copied. This pursuit of security leads to more of the same. Consumer saturation occurs more quickly, products become obsolete faster, sales figures and margins decrease, and economic pressure returns quickly. A vicious cycle. On the other hand, most corporate structures are simply not designed to drive radical innovations forward: they are hierarchically structured, divided into different functional areas, have clearly defined responsibilities, communication, and decision-making structures. All of this is good for advancing operational daily business and achieving a high level of continuity, quality, and stability. However, these structures are exactly the opposite of what creativity needs: creative thinking can hardly develop if you spend 90% of your day on routine tasks in fixed structures. Creativity is hindered by linear structures. Creativity needs iterative structures. Not one step following the other but one step forward, two steps back, two to the side, two to the right, back to square one, completely different again... Iterative processes require a high degree of agility and flexibility, and teams must be open to new impulses and think outside the box. And speaking of teams: ideally, during creative processes, there is always at least one outsider present who has a completely different view of the whole. And by outsider, I mean someone who does not belong to the company and preferably does not know the industry at all. What helps you the most when your own creativity is sometimes a bit hesitant? Do you have a secret recipe? Last but not least, we also need a dose of courage to be creative. Courage to step out of our comfort zone again, to think and do things that are extraordinary. To engage in something that is not entirely under control. Therefore, my tip: Do something extraordinary once a week - on a small or large scale. Try new things, talk to strangers, change perspectives, explore new paths, face new challenges. Whether it's trying out a new restaurant (have you ever eaten pasta with grasshoppers?), taking a new route to work (maybe even cycling again?), or sleeping on the other side of the bed. Or explore a new city without a map or Google Maps. For more information about our Top100 speaker Nicola Fritze, click HERE More articles on the topic: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreativit%C3%A4t http://www.br.de/telekolleg/faecher/psychologie/denken-problemloesen106.html