8 Ways to Cultivate Creativity

When I ask you to describe a creative person, who comes to mind? It could be someone like Majozi - talented musician and songwriter. There’s no doubt that he oozes creativity! But do you want to know who else comes to mind for me when I think about creativity? Our accountants. That’s right - accountants. Now, this might come as a surprise, as accountants are not often thought of as particularly creative. I asked ChatGPT to describe an accountant, and it gave me a bullet point list of characteristics required in the field. It said that accountants should be analytical, detail-oriented, good at Maths, understand law and have integrity. You know what it didn’t say? Accountants should be creative.

So I’ll tell you about Peter Magner, a Director at our accounting firm called Iridium. And using Peter as an example, I hope to highlight again how vital it is for us to be teaching soft skills like creativity in today’s world. Then I’ll make it practical with 8 suggestions for parents and educators on how we can intentionally cultivate creativity in our children.

What is Creativity?

Imagine you had a continuum (picture it in your mind like a see-saw). On the one side you have new ideas - concepts that no one has thought of before. On the other you have new associations - different ways of connecting already existing ideas. Creativity is what happens somewhere along that continuum. Sometimes it will lean a little more toward being a brand new idea, while other times it will be more of an innovative rethinking of existing ideas. It’s usually a healthy mix of both.

Meet Peter Magner

In some ways, Peter is the type of accountant that ChatGPT would be proud of. He’s analytical, good at Math and has high integrity. But as I said, he’s also one of the most creative people I know. The team at Iridium are doing exciting new things in accounting all the time, which led to them being named as the cloud based accounting ‘Partner of the Year’ at the Xero Awards. They live on that creative continuum between new ideas and new associations. They’ve broken a lot of ground when it comes to doing cloud based accounting, making things really simple, streamlined and accurate for small businesses.

When I asked Peter about it, he put it like this: “Creativity is part of our DNA. You see it in everything from our values, to who we hire, to who we want to do business with, right down to our brand colours!” Creativity is one of the things that helps Peter and the team at Iridium to not only stay relevant in today’s world, but to forge new territory in accounting. This is another great example of the importance of soft skills in an industry that used to be very much driven by hard skills.

Cultivating Creativity

OK, so if you are as convinced as I am about the importance of creativity, then the next most important question is how do we get it? Is it something that can be taught, or are you just naturally born to be more or less creative? Twin studies over the years have shown us that creativity is not inherited, and has little to no genetic roots. It’s cultivated. And more importantly - creativity can take on many different shapes, whether it’s Majozi coming up with a new lyric, or Peter coming up with a new automation for an accounting process.

If you are a parent or educator, here are some things that you can do intentionally and practically to help cultivate creativity in your children.

1. Encourage curiosity
   When you talk to Peter, he uses the word curiosity interchangeably with the word creativity. That’s his defining feature of a creative person - someone who is constantly curious. Encourage open ended questions. Be open to debate with complex answers. Marvel at nature. Try new things. There are hundreds of ways to be curious! As parents and educators, one of the best ways to engage curiosity in our kids is not actually anything to do with them - it’s about us! It’s about us taking a moment to be curious ourselves, and then inviting our kids along for the ride. Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why he works so hard to inspire curiosity in adults. He says “Kids are born curious. Adults have forgotten how to be curious. If you fix that adult problem, the kids problem gets fixed overnight”.

2. Embrace boredom
   I’ve overstated this one on purpose. The real goal is to create space and opportunities for creative thinking outside the mad rush of everyday life. Our instinct is usually to escape from boredom, or to protect our kids from it, by providing short term, passive stimulation - like watching tv or gaming. But this robs them of an opportunity to engage in creative thinking. When I drive, I usually listen to podcasts. I find them really interesting. But Lauren (my wife) challenged me recently to sometimes just drive in silence. No podcast, no radio. Just driving. And she was right! I’ve found that my mind on those drives is able to process, reflect and create much more. Peter loves trail running and says that being out there with nothing else for his mind to engage with is when he often gets his most creative ideas. The next time your child says “I’m bored” just smile at them and say “That’s great!”.

3. Solve problems
   The team at Iridium are famously good at this one. When they talk to us about our accounts, they also want to know about our enrollment process, what platforms we use in our teaching, and what sort of relationships we have with our families. Why do our accountants care about these things? Because they know that solving problems creatively is about zooming out to understand the big picture, then zooming in to understand each working part. Teach your kids to take large, complex problems and break them down into smaller parts that they can creatively solve one at a time.

4. Nurture passions
   Creativity can be expressed in just about any area of life. So when your child shows an interest in something, nurture it and give them opportunities to explore (so long as it’s healthy). It’s not just about that thing that they are interested in. It’s about massaging soft skills which build creativity. It’s the reason that when Peter is hiring staff at Iridium, they are interested in people with weird and wonderful hobbies - it tells them that this might be someone who has a keen sense of curiosity and creativity.

5. Reframe failure
   Unfortunately, our modern education system teaches kids that failure is something to be anxious about before it happens, and ashamed of when it happens. We’ve got to teach our kids that failure - while difficult and unpleasant - can be an opportunity for reflection and growth. Take a moment to think about the atmosphere in your home or classroom. How is failure dealt with? Are you comfortable talking about failure? How do you handle your own failures in front of your kids?

6. Engineer the environment
   I actually mean the physical environment. Did you know that your physical space either enhances or reduces creativity? Go stand in your child’s work and play spaces - there should be enough natural bright light and controlled sound. Think about colours and textures. Provide creative tools. Things in their space should be organised but flexible and personalised. If you want some inspiration, go walk through Iridium’s offices in Lakeside and you’ll get a sense of what a simple but carefully engineered creative environment can inspire.

7. Intentional discipline
   ‘Disciplined creativity’ almost seems like an oxymoron. Many of us naturally think of creativity as being so fluid that it can’t be controlled - it just flows of its own accord! But that’s not true. In fact, structuring time for creative thinking or play can be very beneficial. Creativity is like a muscle, that when flexed it grows. Do you have rhythms in your home or classroom which intentionally create space for creativity?

8. Seek diversity
   Remember the creative continuum of ‘new ideas’ to ‘new associations’? Being exposed to diverse experiences can often help us to see things from a different perspective which leads to us making new associations and connections. Diversity in this context is broad - it could be helping our kids to engage with new subjects, interests, cultures, and so on. It encourages us to explore and to find new insights or inspiration.

Creativity is a largely misunderstood and undervalued skill, no matter what you do in life - whether you are a musician or an accountant. We need to stop seeing creativity as a character trait that you are either born with or without, and start to intentionally cultivate it in our young people… and ourselves! Over the course of the next week, pick one of the points above to focus on each day and find simple, practical ways to hone that soft skill of creativity.