Creative confidence by Tom and David Kelley. Introduction

Blink 6
Work with other people who support and share your passions.
The typical image of creative geniuses, such as composers or great thinkers, is that of the intense loner, developing their strongest ideas in complete isolation.

However, this solitary approach is not the best way to exercise your creativity. In fact, quite the opposite is true: innovation is a product of teamwork. Indeed, the most creative environments are those where many people work closely together. Why?

First, working in a group lowers your own stress factors.

We’ve all had the experience at some point in our lives – whether writing an essay or preparing a presentation – where our mind goes blank and we lose our creative flow.

Often this results from being overstressed and trying too hard to keep coming up with the goods.

But if you are part of a team, and the innovative process is shared, you’ll find yourself in a better, more relaxed frame of mind. If you don’t have to bear the pressure alone, you’re in an environment that is much more conducive to creativity.

Second, group work increases your creative output. Talk to others about your ideas and your mind gets the space it needs to roam. Whenever you’re stuck, working in a team will help you to produce fresh insights.

A team increases the number of circulating ideas exponentially as people inspire one another and then reciprocate this inspiration in return.

Their opinions and ideas mean that you won’t have to rely solely on your own idea bank, especially if you discover that your own initial ideas aren’t necessarily the best.

One example of these principles in action can be found at the consulting firm IDEO, where the authors work. They installed a wall-sized blackboard on which people could jot down their ideas, questions or quotes in order to maximize the potential for inspiration.

So don’t be afraid to accept help. Even the smallest inspiration can be enough to destroy the dam that prevents your creativity from flowing.