Four ways to reignite your team’s creative spark

Creativity is a valuable asset that’s always in demand in the workplace. So when it suddenly stops flowing and your employees are struggling to think of the next great activity for aged care residents or a new marketing strategy to build brand awareness, that’s a problem. 

Managers and team leaders are in a great position to reignite the creative spark, though. When staff hit the wall you can step in and break it down to help them discover new ideas. Here’s how you can achieve it.

A change of scenery

Physical environments have an incredible impact on the way we think, feel and act. An office space can be restrictive if it’s four bland walls with no glimpse of sunlight, while a busy cafe might be too overwhelming and stimulating if there’s no way to hear your own thoughts. That’s when a change of scenery is necessary, according to Leadership Right Founder & CEO Adam Danyal.

“A change of scenery and fresh perspectives are rocket fuel for creativity. Organise an offsite meeting in a stimulating new locale. Visit an art museum together or take a hike in nature. New sights, sounds, and [meeting new] people refresh tired neural pathways,” he said.

If a hike or a day trip isn’t practical, even a quick walk around the block can do wonders for the brain. There’s a true sense of freedom once you walk out of the office and a team stroll can spark new topics of conversation that could lead to the exact solution you were after.

Try a different approach

While it may seem obvious to try a different approach to solving a problem or producing new ideas it can be hard to break out of an established routine and do something new. Less experienced employees may not have the knowledge or tools to shake up their habits, while more experienced staff may be entrenched in theirs. Someone else has to shift their perspective.

So what could you do?

• Put yourself in their shoes: Are you trying to think of a new activity for aged care residents, or perhaps a new way to attract website/social media visitors? Think about what you would engage with the most and transform that answer into an effective solution related to your target audience.
• Think fast: If an individual thinks they have a bad idea it’s often dismissed before others can even have their say. So, bring your team together and brainstorm. Introduce a ball that colleagues pass to one another and as soon as they catch it they have to share an idea that’s put up on a whiteboard or computer screen. Once you have compiled your ideas you can refine them, or reject those that don’t work.

Add new voices to the conversation

Colleagues, stakeholders, clients and residents are perfect sources of inspiration when you’re stuck in a rut. Even if they don’t have industry expertise, you might find their thoughts and ideas are just what’s needed for an upcoming marketing campaign or project.

Involving new voices could be as simple as walking up to someone and saying “I’m struggling to think of new ideas for our website/to engage with our home care clients/to attract job applicants, do you have any suggestions on what we could do differently?”. 

Consider stepping out of your comfort zone too. Bring in contrasting viewpoints that will challenge your team and their current work methods. As Mr Danyal expressed, “the cross-pollination of diverse worldviews generates creative friction” and that’s something any team can benefit from.

Find inspiration from unlikely sources

When you spend so long focusing on one specific industry – such as aged care – you can lose sight of what else is out there. That’s why it always helps to look outside the box. 

“Learn from innovations outside your field. Look to cutting-edge creations in the arts, sciences, and culture. How can your team emulate these creative breakthroughs? Every innovation holds a potential spark for your work,” Mr Danyal added. 

• For anything related to residents and clients, such as new activities, technologies or care models, you always want to keep an eye on what competitors are doing. You might even find a competitor open to collaboration if you approach them wanting to learn more about how they organised a certain experience or event.
• Marketing and communications professionals should keep a close eye on what’s trending, pay close attention to other ads on television or radio and inspect the latest campaigns from well-known marketing agencies. 
• Leaders, CEOs and managers can find plenty of inspiration by following new voices on social media. If your business, department or team is struggling to remain creative or engaged just look to global leaders with a track record of success with innovation and inspiration.