The Obstacles to Stimulating Creativity in the Workplace

Creativity is deemed to be an essential skill for the future. So why do so few organisations truly stimulate it?

Creativity has been labeled as one of the top skills that leaders and employees alike should be mastering. Several studies have pointed out the ways in which creativity trumps other skills, including more traditionally valued skills such as strategy-setting or operational management. Yet, many professionals feel that the workplace is everything but a place where creativity is rewarded. Organisations can often be a place where originality fades in front of bureaucracy and old ways of approaching new problems. This begs the question: if creativity is such an important skill for the future, why do so few organisations truly stimulate it?

3 Facts that Placed Creativity at the Top of the Skill Hierarchy

#1 It’s Seen as The Single Most Important Leadership Competency

In 2010, IBM published a study based on more than 1,500 face-to-face conversations with Chief Executive Officers around the world. One of the key findings was that CEOs identified creativity as the single most important leadership competency. Why? It was seen as the one skill that can help leaders and their teams navigate…