Successful teams usually share a few common traits: they’re goal-oriented, mission-focused, highly collaborative and productive. Unfortunately, creativity, a core part of high-functioning teams, often gets overlooked.
If your team doesn’t value a creative mindset, you’re also missing out on effective problem-solving, innovation, ideation and brainstorming.
In our most recent Supervisors in Government Community of Practice online training seminar, Sally Mayberry, Employee Engagement and Communications Manager, National Park Service, highlighted why creativity should be a focus on your team.
Below are a few key takeaways from that session, as well as the on-demand video.
- What IS creativity? Creativity, at its core, is the ability to generate novel and valuable ideas, explained Mayberry. “It’s problem-solving in innovative ways and moving beyond conventional solutions to create meaningful change. It’s being flexible and resourceful to navigate uncertainty.”
- Why should people care about incorporating creativity in the workplace? Mayberry said that creativity helps solve complex problems that don’t fit neatly into a framework because “sometimes, traditional solutions don’t meet your agency’s needs.” She used budget shortfalls as an example, and said at the National Park Service, they utilize partnerships like the National Park Foundation to optimize resources and do more with less.
- How can you cultivate creativity in your team? It starts with you, she said. “As a leader, employees look to and learn from you. You need to let people know it’s OK to brainstorm and provide a safe space for them to do so.”
Don’t forget to join us on Monday, April 28 at 4 p.m. ET for our next Supervisors in Government Community of Practice, How to Be Productive Without Burning Out.
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