Creativity, both in process and product, is central to what we think of as a peculiar and powerful human mode of thinking. Creativity and highly creative people have been regarded with admiration and trepidation for most of human history.
The role that creativity plays in an organisational context and likewise in society is unequivocally significant, with early citations like the Bible as evidence to creative problem solving by recalling Moses’ leadership.
Other references provide a historical background to creativity such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Galton and Freud, who influenced the history of creativity immensely.
It was further recognised that creativity was linked to one’s intellectual, moral, and behavioural values. It came therefore to be seen as a determinant of one’s attitude and behaviour – a realm of psychology.
The patterns of interaction between people, roles, technology and the external environment are very complex. Under these circumstances creativity can be influenced by several variables. The values, norms and beliefs that play a role in creativity in organisations can either support or inhibit creativity, depending on how they influence the behaviour of individuals and groups[1] .
This study explores creativity applied to the organisational environment with focus on the key role of the strategist as creator and destroyer of context. The paradoxes strategists are faced with such as chaos vs. control and intuition vs. logic are also analysed and the impact of these strategic choices is evaluated when applied to an organisation. It seems common sense to say that organizations need to ensure that ideas are both appropriate and applicable to organizational aims. Yet, this study reflects about the perceived need by the management to control ideas in order to fulfill the organizational goals and in other common themes raised in discussion with strategists.
The heuristic approach chosen for this research is an adaptation of phenomenological inquiry, but explicitly acknowledges the involvement of the researcher, to the extent that the lived experience of the researcher becomes the main focus of the research.
The central tensions discussed are between logic and creativity and leaders wanting to control the development of the organisation, while understanding that letting go of control (chaos) is often beneficial to enable organisational creativity.
Final recommendations reflect on opening space for creativity, allocation of resources, investment in people and looking for new ways in which leaders can deal with strategic tensions and keep the organisational creative heart beating and become creative transformational leaders.
[1] Martins, E.C. & Terblanche F. (2003) Building organisational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation
European Journal of Innovation Management Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Page: 64 – 74.
Ruby Pearls 