Reasons creativity often fails

Ever wonder why teams don’t get the result they want when they’re trying to do something creative?

Organisations fail at creativity for three main reasons: fear of judgment, overreliance on data, and goal fixation. Often more than one of these roadblocks is present.

Fear of judgment.  Creativity involves taking risks - putting forward unconventional ideas, trying untested approaches and sharing unfinished work. But we’re often afraid of being wrong or sounding ridiculous, especially if we believe that we are being paid to find solutions to problems. When we avoid sharing our initial ideas, we miss the opportunity to get feedback early on which holds back progress.

Data-only approach. Relying only on quantitative data gives an incomplete picture. Numbers on their own can’t capture the nuances of how and why humans behave in the way they do. When we understand the story behind the data, we can unlock insights that help us to solve problems more creatively.

Goal fixation. Goals are excellent for achieving a particular outcome efficiently. But this can stifle creativity, especially in the initial stages when we are generating new ideas. Creativity needs divergent thinking to explore multiple possibilities. Goal-focused behaviour relies on convergent thinking to find the ‘best’ solution quickly. Being too goal-oriented early on can make us reluctant to ‘waste time’ on ideas or approaches which could be irrelevant, but this is often how novel solutions emerge.

Is one of these roadblocks holding your team back, or is there something else that is stifling creativity?