‘Creativity’ is the new buzzword in business circles.

Politicians, business and community leaders all agree that Australians need to become more creative.

Creativity, as a skill, is in hot demand. A survey of 4.2 million job ads, done in early 2016, found a 65% surge in demand for creativity as a key employment requirement. Why is this? One reason is the need to constantly adapt to ever increasing rates of change. Innovation and productivity require the ability to think creatively.

A related factor is the disruption caused by automation. Robots and other forms of artificial intelligence will replace many existing jobs - it is predicted that 40% of traditional jobs will be replaced over the next 10 – 15 years. Most of the jobs that survive will require creativity and/or people skills.

So, just what is creativity?

As a former business psychologist (with 35 years’ experience), and now a designer and artist, my interest in and understanding of creativity come from two very different perspectives. As a public speaker, specializing in the Psychology of Creativity, I am thrilled to share my insights.

I have realized that there are two major myths about creativity. Only once these roadblocks are removed, can people embrace creativity for what it really is - a core life skill, applicable in a surprisingly wide range of day-to-day situations. What are the two myths about creativity?

Myth No. 1 is that ‘only creative people are creative’. Most believe the only truly creative people are artists, designers, writers, musicians, and so on. In other words, people in the ‘creative fields’. This myth is powerfully pervasive and is one of the reasons that less that 1 in 4 people claim to have ‘achieved their creative potential’. Chances are you don’t believe you are creative!

I reject the notion that creativity is exclusively in the domain of ‘artists and designers’. And I can prove it to you easily. Think of children. They are amazingly creative. But what happens to most of them is that their creativity is socialized out of them. Everyone has the potential to remain as creative as they were when they were children. But they need encouragement, permission, guidance. This is the mission I am on!

The reality is that everyone can be creative! Everyone should be creative! Everyone NEEDS to be creative!

What about Myth No.2? This is the belief that creativity is a special activity that only happens when we get together in a designated room to do a brainstorming or similar creativity-boosting exercise. Most of the books written on business creativity assume this approach - creativity is seen as something seperate from the day-to-day work and life you have. I also reject this notion. I believe creativity is a cognitive skill that can be applied to all aspects of one’s personal and professional life. And the more a person can develop it, the better their relationships, the more productive they will be at work, the better they will deal with change and disruption and the more generally fulfilled they will be in their lives. The ability to be creative is life changing!

So, rejecting these two myths leaves you with the clear understanding that creativity is for everyone, not just the creative few. And that it is for everything, not just this week’s brainstorming session.

When you come to view creativity this way, you begin to see potential applications of creative thinking all around you, every day. This is how I like to introduce and explain the notion of creativity – as a life skill increasingly essential in today’s fast paced world.

(For more information, contact Peter Quarry at creativepsych.net)