Creativity In The Workplace Fundamental To Success

• Formal creative meetings ineffective.
• Organic creativity from “informal encounters” matters.
• Creative leaders make for better business.

Creativity is key to improving company productivity and success. That’s according to new research from Aalto University School of Business. Through its Creative Leap Project spanning two years, Aalto has found organisations with “above-average individual creativity and an organisational culture that supports creativity” had better financial performances than industry averages.

Creativity was found to have a direct link to business performance and productivity, with most successful companies exhibiting great creative ability. However, a large percentage of these could generate even more innovative ideas in their solutions and products than their current output.

Aalto’s research revealed that creativity is typically found in informal settings, rather than more formal meetings set up to ‘find’ such ideas. Essentially, creativity can not be forced and tends to arrive organically.

Ana Paula Lafaire, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Management Studies in the School of Business, said: “It is precisely in these informal encounters that the ‘magic’ happens, creating an environment conducive to creativity. It is fuelled by spontaneous encounters in the hallways, a sense of humour, and a shared understanding that uncertainty is part of the process and failure is allowed.”

“It’s about the little things that disrupt the established rhythm of work – that’s when creative ideas are more likely to emerge and flourish.”

Companies are more likely to perform better financially if they have above-average individual creativity at the board level, whereas businesses with lower scoring creativity levels often under-performed.

Leadership essential for workplace creativity

At the core of a successful organisational culture that supports creativity is the leadership culture. Nevertheless, even if leadership is considered weak, highly creative employees can overcome this shortfall, able to boost company performance against the odds.

“Leadership is the strongest factor in strengthening creativity. If leadership is strong but the atmosphere supporting creativity is weak, the company will perform less well financially – good leadership alone is not enough,” explained Eeva Vilkkumaa, Associate Professor at Aalto University’s School of Business.

Janni Vepsäläinen, Creative Director at IITTALA, Fiskars Group, believes that “creativity keeps companies relevant, aligned with the times, and adaptable to change.” According to Vepsäläinen, creativity is the foundation to long-term success for businesses.

“The world around us is constantly changing and through creative thinking, companies can stay a step ahead of change while interpreting the mega-trends and subtle signals shaping our environment. In the future, creativity will play a primary role in business.”

Without creativity, the potential of businesses and their employees is likely remain untapped. As the Creative Leap project shows, creativity provides businesses with a measurable competitive advantage.

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