Fast Company has a brief story on creativity in the workplace, and myth-challenging findings of at least one researcher. Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School asked over 200 workers to keep daily diaries, and then coded the results for creativity issues. Her discoveries suggest that our common knowledge about creative energy isn’t entirely true, and that the ‘creative class’ is more inclusive than we think.
Here are three of the six myths identified in the article, with supporting quotes by Amabile:
- Myth One: Creativity Comes from Creative Types
”The fact is, almost all of the research in this field shows that anyone with normal intelligence is capable of doing some degree of creative work. Creativity depends on a number of things: experience, including knowledge and technical skills; talent; an ability to think in new ways; and the capacity to push through uncreative dry spells. Intrinsic motivation — people who are turned on by their work often work creatively — is especially critical.” - Myth Two: Money is a Creativity Motivator
”Of course, people need to feel that they’re being compensated fairly. But our research shows that people put far more value on a work environment where creativity is supported, valued, and recognized. People want the opportunity to deeply engage in their work and make real progress.” - Myth Three: Time Pressure Fuels Creativity
”In our diary study, people often thought they were most creative when they were working under severe deadline pressure. But the 12,000 aggregate days that we studied showed just the opposite: People were the least creative when they were fighting the clock….Time pressure stifles creativity because people can’t deeply engage with the problem. Creativity requires an incubation period; people need time to soak in a problem and let the ideas bubble up.”
The article ends with an affirmation from Amabile:
”My 30 years of research and these 12,000 journal entries suggest that when people are doing work that they love and they’re allowed to deeply engage in it — and when the work itself is valued and recognized — then creativity will flourish. Even in tough times.”
It also probably helps to have computers that work, enough printer paper, and an organizational mission that isn’t larger than life.
