We all know that for a business, creativity is essential for survival. In fact, a recent study by IBM revealed that it is the number one quality that owners look for in a new hire. Therefore, for marketing and creative leaders, ensuring that their team’s creativity is not being smothered in the daily routine tasks and workload is very important. More often than not, these leads tend to overlook the need to provide space that is so essential for the creative spirit in the team to thrive.
So if you find that your team is looking haggard and have lost that “spark” that they used to have, you need to ask yourself a few questions.
What are you focusing on?
Do you want a team that is working all the time – one that is always busy? Or do you want a team that is actually creative? If a creative team is your focus, you need to realize that you need to give them space for them to think, and engage them in new and unfamiliar experiences.
We are not saying that you turn a blind eye towards the daily workload – rather, providing them with different opportunities that would explore their creative side and would actually give them a bit of a breathing space.
Is it you?
That is something that you actually need to ask first. Are you modeling the sort of behavior that would promote creativity? Think about it – if you are demonstrating a careless behavior, then that is hardly going to motivate your team, and the reality is that they are actually taking their cues from you – their lead.
Have you been overlooking their issues?
You know when you are faced with deadlines, you tend to overlook everything else and get caught up with meeting those deadlines. But if in that process, your team has any issues and you fail to address them, then that will not only bring them down and lower their morale, but it will also affect their overall work performance.
Does your team feel unsafe?
Do they feel secure about their job? Are they losing interest in their work? Making sure that your team feels safe and secure when it comes to their work and their position in the company is something that you need keep a check on.
All these questions are something that you need to regularly ask yourself to make sure that your team stays motivated and deliver creative results along with improved work performance.
