This was the question on a LinkedIn Group that I belong to – Innovative Leadership and Change Management Expert Innovators. There was the usual discussion on whether creativity is a skill or an ability, and how one can learn it if one was indeed able to learn creativity. You can imagine for yourselves the usual types of nature vs nurture responses, so I won’t repeat them here.

What I do want to share, however, are my “by extensions” of some of the points discussed, as well as an angle that hadn’t been covered…

My take on a couple of points:
1) For creativity to work well, there must be a goal, whether it be a welcoming home or a new solution to an old business problem. Since businesses are goal-oriented, by extension, that they also be creative *should* be a logical leap for business leaders.
2) We can create on our own; in businesses we work with other people, so we should also  co-create. In the training I do on creative problem-solving, I emphasize the role of leadership in establishing a creative/learning environment.

Here’s a different angle, and I’m quoting directly from my post:
“Some of the posts have touched on the role of communication in supporting creativity. I’d like to be more explicit about it. It’s all well and good coming up with ideas and exploring solutions, as long as there is tolerance for those brainstormed ideas. Natalie, you came closest to what I’m getting at – we often talk about diversity in the workplace, but we rarely discuss diversity in how we think, how we work, and how we communicate. How we relate to each other – our RelationAbility(TM) – is just as important a factor in creativity; what good is a great idea if it or the proposer gets cut off at the knees?”

I’d be interested in your thoughts!