Creativity squelchers

Have you noticed the subtle creativity squelchers at work?

Here are some of the symptoms of an unhealthy culture:

• There is a general attitude of secrecy: Of information, of events, of updates. Someone has the info and their guarding it with their lives.
• There’s general fear of loosing jobs to new technology or way of work. Normally people resist change because of its discomfort. But here they might resist it because of fear that this technology or tool will make them redundant and they don’t want to find or use any of their other talents.
• There is a level of unhealthy envy and conflict that focuses on people rather than ideas. People talk about and worry about other people and the focus is on who did what.
• A strong desire to protect the status quo. Those who have it welcome “change” and “innovation” at the surface level only. Just the naming will do. But they will not allow it to enter their door.
• There’s an attitude that creative types don’t work in this department or this organization. To them, this is a waste of time and energy and they need to stay productive and efficient. Creativity can go somewhere else.  

There are many others, but for now, look out for those deadly ones.

Happy new year everyone.

Cheers to an amazing start 2022!