Giles Hicks, Creative Director, facilitating a creative thinking team workshop to develop creative thinking skills and innovative thinking — Giles Hicks, Creative Director - creative thinking workshop

In today’s workplace, creativity is increasingly recognised as a critical driver of growth. Plenty of research backs this up – take the Lions State of Creativity 2024 report, which shows brands that expect to grow this year are six times more likely to prioritise creativity. And it’s not just big brands noticing the shift. 82% of people working in the creative industries surveyed in this report say that having the confidence to share ideas openly is crucial for sparking new creative insights.

So, we need to create the right conditions and offer supportive leadership for this to flourish. The World Economic Forum has also placed creativity alongside analytical thinking as one of the top skills right now in their recent Future of Jobs report.

Creative thinking skills are a must for innovative thinking and problem solving if we’re to keep up with the rapid transformation and change organisations face.

[My take on thinking creatively]

Over the years as a Creative Director, I’ve learned that the best ideas don’t always come from obvious places:

Inspiration is everywhere

The creative process begins with keeping our eyes open and finding inspiration in unexpected places. Great ideas often start with something small that caught your attention a few months ago. Suddenly, it’s front of mind and clicks into place. Ideas are hidden everywhere — your journey to work, at the coffee shop, something your child says, a billboard, a social post, watching a movie, reading a book.

Creativity thrives in conversation

Idea generation session/Ideation session/Brainstorm — call it what you will. Collaborating with others in a group session is a surefire way to get the creative juices flowing, plus a raft of ideas. Working together, challenging each other, and exploring different angles is where magic happens.

Anything and everything goes

Ideas spark ideas, so listen to every idea (the crazier the better). Encourage an anything-goes approach, where it’s ok to blurt out the first thing that comes into your collaborators’ heads. Whilst the initial thought might not work… what might come from it could well be the idea you need.

Diversity matters

A diverse team of collaborators will ensure different thinking and avoid falling into ‘Groupthink’. Diverse groups encompass a broad range of perspectives, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences which leads to better ideas.

Go and do something else

Ideas can and do come to us subconsciously. Go for a walk, cook dinner, go to your fitness class … but allow your mind to wander. The brilliant idea in the shower is a thing!

Use both lateral AND literal thinking

Remember above when I said anything goes? Creative thinking normally involves lateral thinking, ‘thinking outside of the box’, disruptive thinking, challenging assumptions, and looking for connections and ideas that might not be immediately obvious. Sometimes the best ideas are the uncomplicated ones, so try literal thinking and obvious interpretations. The obvious just might be the answer!

Explore related industries and sectors

Whether you are coming up with a new innovative product, service, or creative idea, have a look at what related industries are doing for inspiration. For example, what can you learn from the hospitality industry to help your healthcare project? What are disruptive retailers doing that could inspire your service business?

[The ingredients of effective creativity]

Ask tough, objective questions

Interrogate the brief and challenge where necessary. Interrogate your ideas. Does the idea really answer the brief? Could an idea challenge the brief in a way that opens up something new?

Know Feel Do

How does the idea impact the audience in terms of “know, feel, do” (or head, heart, hands) — does it make sense, resonate emotionally, and move people to act? It’s this balance that makes the idea work hard in a meaningful way.

Fail fast and be decisive

Being bold and brave means knowing what to let go of, when to push and when to simplify. You’ll often work through many ideas before arriving at a shortlist that feels right or can be evolved to get there,