Work

How Leaders Can Help Their Creative Employees

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Companies are now doing their best to increase the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of their employees. As we change our operational models to allow for more freedom, we want people to become more innovative.

Although this is a great aim, we should not forget that creatives also need support too. Research has found that creatives work best alongside another individual type called a catalyst.

Creative catalysts are:

“Employees who are perceived by their coworkers as contributing to their creative thinking process through direct interpersonal interaction on a specific task or project.”

These types of individuals provide informational and emotional support to creatives. In doing so, they improve the quality and quantity of ideas.

Therefore, it is in our best interest to ensure that both competencies are developed. We want people to be creative, and we also want catalysts to emerge. When we have an imbalance of the two, we tend to end up with too much information or not enough good ideas.

Here are three ways leaders can develop creative catalysts in their organisations.

Developing Creative Catalysts

Creating a Culture Where…