Magda Kay, Intimacy & Relationship Coach @ The School of Intimacy.

Author: Magda Kay

In this article we will explore the importance of creativity for C-level managers and how to unlock more creative ideas in business

Business owners are creators. In fact, this trait determines their success more than anything else. Their creativity is what gives their businesses a vision and direction. Everything else is decided based on that vision.

No matter how perfect your processes and systems may be, how effective and fast your execution is, or how well you manage your team, to become great, you need something else.

                                  You need a GREAT VISION.

You need to have the ability to imagine something bigger than anything that’s been created until now, to see something that doesn’t yet exist.This is how Apple beat Nokia. No iPhone would ever win with a Nokia in a “phone throwing” competition, but Apple had a vision for something bigger than anything else that existed at that point. And Nokia was simply great at executing.

 

Creativity beats execution

We wouldn’t have cars, we wouldn’t be able to fly and we wouldn’t have Internet, if someone wasn’t creative enough to imagine it before any of them were real. This is why we look up to people like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. They think differently.

Many businesses try to copy what these companies are doing. Samsung has successfully copied a smartphone, but it has not expanded the vision. Once again, it’s showing the skills of great execution, but not the skill to create something new.

Too often we focus on execution, ignoring the creative element. The only way to write history and to be a leader of your industry is to create something that doesn’t yet exist. And to do that, you must have the ability to see it, to imagine it. But how do you imagine something that doesn’t yet exist? That takes some serious creativity!

 

Unlock your creativity

The problem is that in a fast-pasted, dopamine-driven society, we have halted our ability to be creative. Managers don’t have space to visualise. CEOs have too many fires to put down to sit and just think. And even when we do have free time, we are unable to tap into our creative potential.

Creativity is something we all have. We are born with it. Just look at a child and their limitless imagination. You were a child once, too. You know how to be creative, you simply lost touch with it. You have to understand that the way we work and live our lives, does not support creativity. In fact, it kills it. So unless you take intentional steps to unlock your creative flow, you will not be able to tap into it.

 

Creativity requires a few things. Let’s look at them.

1. Slowing down

Creativity doesn’t like fighting for your attention. If you’re too busy, she’ll go somewhere else.

So if from the moment you wake up, you have a packed to-do list that occupies your whole day, you won’t have any space for creativity.

“Creativity requires that you have downtime.”

This can be taking a nap, reading a book, lying in bed and listening to music, going for a walk, taking a bath or meditating. This can also be working out or doing yoga – anything that takes you away from all the urgent and important things that you normally spend your time on.

It is very important for managers and entrepreneurs to block free time. This isn’t a luxury, this is essential. Remember, you are the creator. It’s your job to create a vision for the business. You have a team to execute it, but what is executed is up to you.

 

2. Going inwards

Artists have always referred to creativity as a supernatural power, an Angel, the Divine, something spiritual. Creativity lives beyond the physical, tangible reality. She isn’t practical nor logical.

The door to this realm is through you. We need to shift our focus from external to internal. All you need to do is simply make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and go inwards. Just like you listen to other people, you’re now listening to messages inside you. Just like you look around at the buildings or furniture around you, you look around inside you.

You shift your senses inwards, because this is where creativity lives.

 

3. Relaxation

Finally, you need to be relaxed. Creativity loves the state of flow. If you’re tense, contracted or uncomfortable, you’ll be blocking her. She needs to move, so show her you can flow with her.

For many men and women, relaxing can be quite hard. We struggle to just lie down and do nothing. I want you to try it yourself.

Set a timer for 10 min and then lie down on your bed. Your goal is to simply relax and do nothing. And then notice: How many times did you move? How many times did you scratch your skin? How many times did you think “when will this end”?

A relaxed body doesn’t move. And this is what you want to practice: being still (without falling asleep) for 10, 20 and even 60 min. When you combine these 3 elements: slowing down, going inwards and relaxation, you’re creating an ideal environment for your creativity. And in this state you want to visualise.

 

You close your eyes, make yourself comfortable, shift your awareness inwards and start creating. It’s like playing with lego. You take bits and pieces of what you know and start putting them together into something bigger. You start adding layers until what you see in your mind is like nothing else you’ve ever seen in the physical world.

That creative vision is meant to scare you. It’s meant to feel unreal, because until now, it is. This is when you know you really got it. And this is the vision you want to execute. Your job as a manager or a business owner is to hold that vision, keep creating it, and then translate it for your team, excite them about it and set the execution in motion.

And all that time you want to remember to stay connected to your creativity. You want to take time off, you want to slow down, you want to relax and you want to connect with yourself. You never want to lose that vision, not access to your creativity. You’ll need it every step of your way, every time you’ll need to make a choice between various options and every time you’ll be faced with an obstacle.

 

At InOrbit 2023 we will explore creative visualisation in more depth. You will learn what blocks your vision and one tactic that makes it 10x more powerful (and faster).