In this world of routine and analytics,
the need for autonomy in work and in life has become an essential aspect in
finding balance. Creativity, both individualistic and organizational, is
functional in establishing a person’s place amongst peers, the workplace, and
community. Therefore, I will explore my own beliefs in such expression through
my own experiences in past scenarios.
Personal
Creativity.
I was born into a family of artists, in a
way. My father, as an engineer, took pride in his craft of design. My mother
expressed her love of fashion through her style of clothes. My brother mastered
his skill of drawing at an early age. Growing up, my life was a compilation of
technicality, free expressions, and certainly many mediums of individual creativity.
The wide variety allowed me to experience all aspects of what each member of my
family cared so much about: I began to draw seriously in middle school; I
enrolled in the Engineering Academy in high school; and I found myself enamored
with fashion in college. Each one gave me the experience to develop my own
version of creativity by meshing all together in a symbiotic manner. Art shows.
Building design. Fashion blogs. These categories make little sense apart but
together in my head they make beautiful music.
At times, when I have a minute or two, I
stop to admire the beauty in my surrounding world. The inspiration to be “extra
creative” by capturing the moment allows me the opportunity to pay homage to
such wonder. Seasonal changes inspire seasonal wardrobes (summer blazers with a
floral print tie). Building constructions (the new CLA building) inspire photo
comparisons of the old shifts to the new. People introductions (meeting a new
girlfriend) inspire drawn portraits to capture the first moment. These are but
a few inspired moments of my own creativity, and with such excitement, I
believe that a lack of creativity is impossible. Such an anomaly only exists as
the absence of acknowledgement from where creativity lies.
Organizational
Creativity
I remember when I used to intern at XYZ
Company. I was thoroughly excited to work in a real office building at such a
young age – I was a senior in high school – and had expectations way above any
I ever held before. It was an unknown, but it was an opportunity to express my
love for the technical (engineering) and creative (marketing). The supervisors
built the Internship Program to be a stepping-stone to our careers. Projects,
hands-on innovation, company tours of facilities, etc. The promises were big – enough to make my expectations and
excitement feel highly matched. In my mind, I was on the border walking a tight
rope between becoming a business major or engineering major before college. This
internship would be my deciding factor.
A few weeks into my internship, my
emotional high became an emotional downward slide. The building was nearly
quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Everyone whispered and murmured, and if there
were questions, I had to walk to that person’s cubicle, softly knock, and ask
quietly for an answer. Furthermore, the tasks in which I was assigned ranged as
high as creating a PowerPoint using only the template (even the graphs were
from a few programs) and as low as packing boxes. The autonomy, or even the
opportunity for any creativity, was gone. I have worked and had internships
that have afforded me a range of freedom to allow better management of my work
and production for success, but nothing was as uncreative and monotonous as
when I was at XYZ. My desire for engineering faded. Business became my only
option – the best one, of course, but I never wanted my decision to be made
from a bad experience. Of the 15 interns that year (we were the top engineering
academy students in our grade), less than half are currently engineering
majors. Most of us chose science or business after that disappointment. All in
all, I do believe there are ways to improve that internship program for future
high schoolers to come. For now, I just hope the company itself can recognize
this as an area or concern but also an area for improvement.
An
Individual v. The Group
When analyzing creativity from an
individual perspective and a group within an organization’s perspective, the
basis of comparison is somewhat skewed. This can be attributed to the scale of
reference, or the basis of reason behind creating such a product. I believe
that I myself can be creative and found many opportunities/means to express
this personal creativity. By myself,
I believe that I am creative enough to find inspiration to work on a project
and produce a viable piece of work. However, in comparison to a group in an
organization, this personal product usually fails to live up to par.
Collaborations explore the past experiences and networks that each member in
the group possess. If “two minds are better than one,” how great are more minds
working together? Group projects in organizations are always open to creativity
when the team is effectively assembled. Though they do not allow as much
freedom as individual creativity, groups do allow for a more focused form
perhaps more than that of a single person’s own product.
Overall, creativity is an essential part
of this world, whether it is in work or at home. Innovation and even staying
relevant demand adaptation to what society needs from an organization.
Constantly, successful companies go under not knowing what went wrong. But,
with the advice of Brian McKnight, “If ever I believe my work is done, then I
start back at one.” Creativity and innovation never end. There are always ways
to improve and master oneself or own industry. Therefore, if we personally ever
become satisfied with what we have, it is then that we start back at ‘Square
One’. It is then that creativity must make its appearance.
.png)
.jpg)
