The Hindu Business Line : Creating an environment for creativity

“People, it has been said, can be placed in three classes: the few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen and the overwhelming majority who have no idea what has happened.” — Nicholas Murray Butler

Business structures have evolved with time, economic development, expanding size, technology and management practices. Through much of history, businesses were shaped like a small ball atop a large oval. The small ball represented a small owner-management group, which dominated the firm and who were the sole decision-makers. The thin line between the small ball and the oval, referred to the few specialists and middle managers. The larger oval indicated the majority of employees. Today, organisations have adopted a new shape (a small pyramid atop a larger pyramid) and provided corporate ladders for employees to climb up to top management positions and be wholly involved in the organisational processes.

The management comprising top managers, middle-managers and first-line managers plays a key role in any organisation. There are many perks and responsibilities that come with management positions, but the most challenging task they are faced with is problem-solving. The existence of divergent interests within an organisation makes it difficult for the management to unite everyone’s efforts towards the common goal.

There are stereotype formulas to solve issues and some managers consider this a labour-saving device. Learn to use the formula, wait for problems to come to you, apply the formula and everyone goes home happy. Theoretically it sounds right, but real-life managers today have deadlines, costs and pressures that render prior decision precedents inapplicable to many situations. Managers are forced to think out of the box and make changes work positively for them.

Last summer, a friend who runs a small organisation, told me he had changed his office hours to 8am to 4pm from the regular 9.30 am to 6.30 pm. Why? To beat the summer heat! Don’t we all strain, huff and puff during the summer. By starting your work day earlier, the heat and strain will be less obvious. Their simple logic worked. Employees still worked the same hours and they noticed that productivity also increased. This to me was such a simple and obvious idea. It’s not textbook material or a concept conceived by Einstein, but common knowledge! In short, they identified a problem, came up with a solution (without spending a rupee or over-stretching their team), making sure everyone went home happy and early! This is thinking out of the box.

Creative managers have more energy, are impulsive and more responsive to emotions and situations around them. It is important for organisations to appreciate, understand and create an atmosphere that enables employees to coherently define their problems, develop alternatives, execute possibilities and rejoice at the consequences. The solutions may not always result in a dramatic change in the organisation, but it can make a marginal improvement in everyday functioning, which in the long run will prove beneficial without doubt. The climate for creativity within an organisation can be established. A few changes to existing structures will encourage managers to adopt a creative and practical approach to problem-solving. Here are a few to start off with:

Honesty: The organisation has to first accept that there is a problem which requires a solution. It should have provisions for internal and external critics, where uncomfortable questions might be asked followed by demoralising answers.

Open communication: No access to information, within or across departments, will hinder the creative process. Managers should be well aware of the organisational structure and issues around it in order to identify problems and generate solutions.

Cooperation and support: Innovative solutions can only arise in a cooperative atmosphere; the biggest boon for the creative manager is support and intellectual collaboration. Bringing together a diverse group with a variety of skills and experiences can enrich the working atmosphere. The diversity by itself breeds new ideas.

Delayed criticism: Eventually all innovative or traditional solutions must be valid in the real world. But, premature criticism can affect the whole plan. Neglecting ideas outright can put an end to what could have been the answer to many questions. The management should protect the creative team from untimely pressures to produce results.

Partial isolation: Partially isolating creative managers from the operating pressure may yield better results. Many research laboratories have been constructed on suburban campus-like grounds away from the manufacturing units. The creative manager should feel both a sense of mission and desire to contribute, and yet should not be tangled in the organisational status quo.

Excess resources: Necessity is the mother of all invention. When abundant resources are given to employees, the scope and hope for innovative thinking is questionable. Here, greater will be the proclivity to adapt and accept the management’s “this is the way to do things” policy.

Courage and commitment: People have to believe they can make a difference. Organisations should be open and willing to accept changes, whether technological, social or behavioural.

A solution is bound to affect either a group of people or the entire organisation. However, with a team of creative managers, any organisation is safe from stagnation, which is a bigger bonus than anything else.

(The writer is a consultant associated with Global Adjustments, a company that offers integrated India destination services and cross-cultural education delivered through the portal www.globalindian.com. Contact her at globalindian@globaladjustments.com)

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