The full actualization of these potentials through constructing a creative and transformative educational and leadership effort is our opportunity. Breathing Life Back into Creativity at Work. Despite billions of dollars and countless hours invested in talent development, businesses still struggle with unlocking the creative potential of employees. Innovation has suffered and employees have disengaged from their work. Creativity is deeply undervalued in America today outside of a tiny few university and business enclaves. Only 9% of all public and private companies do any sort of innovation. Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA. To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all APA citation guidelines, see the. For some, art is a hobby, and for others, a way of life. Find art schools, programs and scholarships and learn about art careers in our comprehensive art schools guide. We value excellent academic writing and strive to deliver outstanding paper writing service each and every time you place an order. We write essays, research papers, term papers, course works, reviews, theses and more, so our. Dartmouth Writing Program support materials - including development of argument Fundamentals of Critical Reading and Effective Writing. Mind Mirror Projects: A Tool for Integrating Critical Thinking into the English Language. Our best schools teach the tools of efficiency and analysis. Yet we know that creativity increasingly is the greatest value- generator. Creativity is the lifeblood of healthy companies and healthy employees. Resuscitating our capacity for creative expression at work requires a conscious shift in how we think about what creativity is, where it comes from, who has it and how to evoke it. The good news is that creativity exists in abundance in every human being on the planet (Cameron, 1. Harmon & Rheingold, 1. Rogers, 1. 96. 1). The Gifted Education Resource Institute. Centered at Purdue University, GERI is an innovative center dedicated to the discovery, study, and development of human potential. Founded by John Feldhusen in 1974, GERI's mission is. 1 Disclaimer: This document is prepared as to assist child care programs in developing a staff evaluation and professional development plan. The performance evaluation section is designed to demonstrate an outline of important. Theses and Dissertations Available from ProQuest. Full text is available to Purdue University faculty, staff, and students on campus through this site. Off-campus Purdue users may download theses and. In a summary of scientific research into creativity, Michael Mumford suggested: 'Over the course of the last decade, however, we seem to have reached a general agreement that creativity involves the production of. The bad news is that actions taken by business people within the workplace often undermine the factors that support and evoke creativity (Amabile, 1. At the heart of creative expression is vulnerability, which is often at odds with the pressure of a competitive, results- driven work environment. People tend to protect and hide their creativity to avoid making mistakes or looking bad in front of leaders and peers (Brown, 2. I begin by posing a provocative question for leaders. Instead of the relentless pursuit of productivity and performance, what if we focused on designing an environment conducive to creativity and let productivity be the result instead of the driver? We have squeezed out just about all we can get from employees by focusing on cutting costs, being more productive and efficient, and making the quarterly numbers. In the process, we have also suffocated joy and creativity, leaving employees feeling spent and disengaged. There is nothing wrong with wanting to increase productivity and performance. They are important factors in business success. However, pushing for higher and higher levels of productivity and efficiency or driving for ever- increasing financials isn? We are innately creative beings with the built- in drive to express our unique creative potential. By recognizing and aligning our innate creative strengths with our professional work, our ability to contribute expands. As leaders and managers of people, if we can help each of our employees tap into their creative potential and support them with an environment where they are encouraged, recognized and feel safe to express their strengths, we can begin to access the creativity that lies dormant within our organizations. Due to their relationship with employees, managers are key to unlocking the creative potential of our human resources. They have a direct influence on whether that untapped potential becomes organizational capacity for performance or remains unexpressed, suffocated under the weight of doing more with less. It may seem obvious that the manager. Not only that, managers are held accountable for getting the work done, which is not the same as being responsible for recognizing and developing employee potential. There is a gap between the competencies managers are expected to have with regard to employee development, engagement and creativity and their actual ability to put those competencies into practice and drive positive results. This article will explore the building blocks for greater employee engagement and creativity through an original concept I have developed called The Joyful Work Model. I propose that by recognizing and aligning to the unique gifts and strengths of the people in our organizations and creating the environment and opportunities for creative expression, we will be able to generate a new level of business innovation and performance fueled by the passion and realized potential of our human resources. Because managers can directly impact these factors, I also invite organizational leaders to adopt a new vision that re- imagines the higher purpose of managers and equips them to step up to their role as the cultivators of creative potential. The Joyful Work Model. Joyful Work does not mean that people will always feel joyful about their jobs, but instead that on a very consistent basis, they feel good about the jobs they are doing, have positive feelings for the company they work for and the people they work with, and are intrinsically motivated to . Not only are they empowered in their work, they are also embodying their potential. The Joyful Work Model, shown in Figure 1 below, illustrates the connection between individual engagement, creative expression, and joy, and how this can be supported in a professional capacity to generate positive outcomes for both the individual and organization. Figure 1. The Joyful Work Model. At the center of The Joyful Work Model is an individual with unique strengths, gifts, and talents. With the opportunity to use these strengths, the individual becomes more engaged. Feelings of joy are generated from the expression of this creative potential, and self- actualizing growth occurs (Rogers, 1. If we view the model from the outside as a leader wanting to more fully leverage the organization. The more we create alignment between the individual? The Joyful Work Model is underpinned by the philosophy that the essence of every human is innately creative and yearns to be expressed through the gifts and talents that are unique to each individual. This is our soul, and our purpose is to bring to fruition the full potential of the creative capacity that flows from here. It is not that we do not engage minds; it is that we need the soul engaged as well to unleash the synergy that emerges from aligning our thoughts and actions with our unique creative capacity. When we embody a rich integration of mind, soul, and heart, our creativity is nourished and our imagination comes alive. The building blocks for engaging the hearts and souls of people through their work are: Strengths: We need to deeply understand and value the innate strengths, gifts, and talents of each individual. Meaning: We need to find what employees care about and match them to meaningful work that puts their strengths to good use, is appropriately challenging, and is valued. Support: We need to actively support employees by giving them enough time and resources to do the job, recognizing their efforts, providing guidance, and granting them autonomy. Progress: We need to make sure they are able to achieve progress on a daily basis with minimal blocks and setbacks. Connection: We need to help people feel like they belong and help them make the connection between their contributions and something bigger. We need to show them how their role adds value in combination with others in the working community. Positive environment for growth: We must create a positive environment for growth that is conscious, empathic, and potentiating. It is imperative to remove toxicities including dysfunctional competition, backstabbing, politicking, ethical issues, dishonesty, and unproductive criticism. We need to teach integrity, empathic communication, good will, collaboration, compassion, courtesy, and kindness through our own actions. These building blocks of Joyful Work lay the foundation for employee engagement and creative expression. Without these fundamental elements, people are just biding their time until something better comes along. Until their job becomes a joy, people will not be willing to put their heart and soul into it. Managers: The Imaginers of Potential. Managers are a vital catalyst in creating Joyful Work. The traditional model of management in use today places tremendous pressure on managers, especially in the middle- to- lower levels (CIPD, 2. Not only are they accountable for producing business results, they are also expected to be effective people managers, as well. In reality, managers are only held accountable for their output and the output of their teams, not whether they are nurturing and growing their employees. The definition of managers. Organizations need to say that managers will be assessed on how their people grow, perform and advance in their careers. I have personally experienced the soul- crushing effect of what happens when a talented individual contributor is promoted and becomes a manager who focuses on output, but does not understand her impact on the team. In the pursuit of perfect outputs and productivity, this manager did not recognize that her higher purpose was to draw out the talent and creativity of her team. Instead, she worked to mold the team to her vision of perfection, rather than seek to understand and embrace their unique nature and gifts. Her fear of losing control of the outcome caused her to micromanage, criticize, and disempower her employees. As a direct report to this manager, I experienced a lack of support, frequent harsh criticism, and roadblocks to progress. Eventually, I began to lose confidence in my abilities and started to second- guess myself. I had to emotionally disengage in order to survive what I felt was an attack on my integrity and contribution. It was nearly impossible to summon my creativity because I felt that my individual gifts and strengths were not valued. It was only her vision that was . There was no room for co- creation, and though I tried hard to hold on to my creativity, it was less painful to just fall in line. In psychological terms, the lack of empathic response to my authentic contribution caused the creation of a false self in order to survive the rejection (Firman & Gila, 2. When this happens, both the creativity and the pain are repressed. This kind of wounding and repression is common in business, resulting in a chronic disconnection with the source of individual creativity.
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