What it means to champion creativity

Championing creativity is about encouraging individuals to be more creative by giving them space, inspiration, and confidence to explore new ideas. After all, creativity is not just an inborn talent - it can be developed with the right support.

Ways to champion creativity in others include:

• Encouraging curiosity: Asking questions, exploring different viewpoints, and learning new things help spark fresh ideas.
• Providing time for reflection: Creativity often happens when the mind is free to wander, so encouraging taking breaks and stepping away from tasks can be useful.
• Reducing fear of failure: Helping individuals see mistakes as part of learning allows them to take more creative risks. You can support this by sharing your experiences of this and modelling taking risks that might work or not. 
• Offering inspiration: Exposure to new experiences, such as books, art, nature, or discussions with others, can generate fresh ideas.
• Creating a space for creative work: Having an area free from distractions, with materials for sketching, writing, or brainstorming, can encourage creative thinking.

For example, if individuals are struggling to come up with ideas for a new approach to a challenge, encouraging them to step away, look at the problem from a different angle, or gather inspiration from unrelated areas might help spark creativity.

Why nurturing a culture of creativity is helpful

Nurturing a culture of creativity is helpful as it:

• Encourages new ideas and problem solving: Creativity helps individuals and groups develop fresh solutions and adapt to change.
• Promotes different ways of thinking: A creative culture inspires people to experiment, take risks, and explore new possibilities.
• Supports collaboration: Sharing ideas and working together leads to stronger, more refined innovations.
• Turns mistakes into learning opportunities: Encouraging creativity allows people to learn from failures and improve ideas over time.
• Makes innovation a continuous process: Creativity ensures that progress keeps happening, rather than being a one-time effort.

Boosts motivation and confidence: People feel more engaged and empowered to contribute new ideas when creativity is valued.

How to create cultures of creativity and innovation in groups 

For creativity to thrive in a team over the long term, the environment must encourage innovation. Ways to build a creative culture that values ideas include:

• Encouraging experimentation: Giving people the freedom to test out ideas without fear of criticism.
• Recognising creative contributions: Acknowledging and rewarding creativity makes people more likely to keep generating ideas.
• Allowing time for creativity: Having dedicated time for creative thinking rather than always focusing on immediate tasks. Alternatively, this might mean ensuring a period for discovery and prototyping in projects, rather than rushing to implementation.
• Encouraging collaboration: Making it easy for people to share ideas and work together.
• Providing access to resources: Offering tools, materials, and learning opportunities to support creative development.

By supporting individuals, fostering creativity in groups, and building a culture of innovation, it is possible to create an environment where creativity can flourish.