What can We learn from Business Leaders about Creativity?

Creativity and Aging

Here is some good news for Third Agers (those between 45 and 75) like myself.  In his book, The Creative Age, Gene Cohen shows a clear link between developing creativity and having a joyful, enriching midlife and beyond. He asserts that creativity has immediate, long-lasting results for anyone having midlife crisis symptoms. He claims that creativity 1) strengthens your morale in later life, 2) contributes to physical health as you age, 3) enriches relationships, and 4) is the greatest legacy you can leave your children.

My colleague, Dr. Sylvie Labelle (www.syllab.ca/en), has done some interesting research on how top business leaders develop their creativity.  She interviewed 19 top Canadian business leaders, both female and male, across the business spectrum. As a Third Ager, I write for people like my self at http://www.happiness-after-midlife.com suggesting midlife crisis coping strategies. What can we Third Agers learn from her work about becoming unstuck and attaining new creative levels?  I would like to share some of her findings with you.  They have made a difference for me and I hope they will influence you as well.

Inventing a New Future

Many business experts say success depends on how we deal with change.  Abraham Lincoln once said, "I will prepare myself and my hour will sound."  Thus, the practice of change begins within your self. The common wisdom is that being open to ideas and trying new approaches are essential to success, both professionally and personally.  However, Dr. Labelle's research shows that this involves more than just adapting to one’s environment or reacting to a situation of crisis but being able to invent the future.

For me as a Third Ager the message is that I can indeed invent my own future, if I have the right mindset. It is not about solving problems; it is about opening myself to a world of possibilities.  It is about coming to the realization that I am responsible for my life and I can create my own future.

Developing Creativity

Dr. Labelle goes back to the Renaissance in discussing the origin of the concept of creativity.  People talked about a clear link between the talent of the artist and that of God.  It was not until 1969 that researchers came up with a scientific definition of creativity; now there are more than 100 definitions of the term.  The Center for Creative Leadership, for example, offers this workable and pragmatic definition: "new ideas which are useful." 

Researchers have found that creativity develops by using it and nurturing it.  However, there is no one way to becoming a creative business leader.  It is an expression of the unique character of each person. Creativity depends on one’s personal orientation, environment, interests, attitudes and talents.  For some it might involve a useful association of new ideas.  For others creativity means being released from the ordinary. 

As a Third Ager, writer, infopreneur and a college teacher, I am constantly opening myself to a world of possibilities. I am always looking for new, different ways of engaging students in the day's subject matter. I find that being creative and trying new approaches bring a whole different level of energy to the teaching and learning experience.

How Business Leaders View Creativity

In asking business leaders how they view creativity, Dr. Labelle came up with a variety of descriptions and definitions.  She found that there is no one way of thinking about or approaching creativity. Here is a sampling of what elite business leaders said about creativity: 

* Creativity requires effort and discipline.

* Creativity has to be pleasurable and fun.

* Creativity has to do with an idea which emerges from nowhere or everywhere.

* Creativity is a mixture of instinct and knowledge.

* Creativity is the capacity to solve problems; it begins with intuition or inspiration.

* Creativity is a way of thinking, a state of mind.

* Creativity is making something of nothing.

* Creativity is achieving one’s objectives in an agreeable way.

* Creativity is about having an attitude that is open to change.

* Creating means adapting to the needs of tomorrow's world.

As a Third Ager, I am struck by the importance these elite business leaders give to pleasure, fun, openness, and adaptation in being creative. This is remarkable because I have met very few business leaders where these values are present; they tend to focus on being productive and on looking at mostly the quantitative aspects of business.  In my dealings with my family, friends, and business associates, I focus on bringing these qualities and attitudes to all my conversations and actions. So can you, if you work at it.