Wondering about how to make a supersonic creative breakthrough for your charity or business? Siobhan Meaker from Better Strategic Consultancy ponders the space needed to unlock the creative gold.
Flying is the safest form of travel. Long-held fact.
But every time I land at my destination, I feel a gigantic swell of relief. I don’t feel like that after I’ve crossed the road - even though pedestrian mortality in the UK rose by 5% last year*.
I guess that when I juggle risk in my head, I really don’t fancy my chances in the middle of the Ocean with a whistle and light. But there’s more to it, it’s something about the whole process. The checking in, the crowds, the pressure building up in my ears as the plane takes off, the ridiculously over-priced mini-tubs of Pringles. None of these things put me at ease – even if a lovely week in Portugal awaits.
Walking for me, however, feels benign and it’s something I get to do every day. I normally have some choice over when and where I walk and who with, and having written my dissertation on Public Information Films, I fancy my chances with the Green Cross Code.
Which got me thinking about how taking daily steps that build psychological safety at work is so important. Teams where people can speak up without fear, people own mistakes and leaders model vulnerability. Spaces where people don’t second guess if the idea they’re sharing is ‘the right thing to say’ or not. It’s these safe spaces that foster creativity.
And if your workload is overwhelming and you’re working with no relief from the constant hum of pressure, you’re also going to struggle to think creatively. You’ll be too focused on just getting there and landing that plane, so that the good stuff, the tangents, the ‘how abouts’ get lost in the A-B.
There are lots of great idea generation tools and activities that can help with the creative process. But if people feel worried about what they say or are too consumed with the pressure of the day-to-day, you’ll always get a diluted response.
Carving out time and space where people genuinely feel safe is critical to your organisation’s success. It’s like a first-class departure lounge in the whirl and hubbub of business as usual. And it can supercharge your results.
At Better, we’re expert at helping you shape your team’s culture and explore creativity with purpose and goals in mind. Which means better teams and better outcomes all round.
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