How to Get Your Creative Groove On is an original series by Creative Perch. This week we discuss the motivations that drive creativity and innovation.
Week 6: What’s Your Motive?
Our best creative work naturally flows out of intrinsic motivation, like motivation to do excellent work, to serve an important cause, to solve a meaningful problem, or even the simple joy of tackling a new challenge or learning new skills. In sharp contrast, extrinsic motivation, be it a stick or carrot, “is often at the root of creativity problems in business.”1
So how can we foster intrinsic motivation and avoid the “working for a paycheck” day-to-day rut?
1. Look for a challenge. If you can’t find one, create one.
If constraint offers a unique opportunity for creativity and innovation, then today’s marketplace is flooded with opportunity. There are more opportunities for innovation today than there were last year, or even last quarter. If you’re an in-house designer, consider going to your manager and asking for a new challenge. If no opportunities seem present, look for a creative challenge on your own time. If you’re an illustrator, consider adding Flash to your skill set. If you’re a painter, consider learning to sculpt and finding a way to combine these skills to create an even cooler product.
2. Find something to believe in.
Working hours upon hours for a paycheck in an economy where it doesn’t stretch as far as it used to gets old fast. The extrinsic motivation of money simply isn’t enough to get excited about work.
However, studies show that motivation related to a higher cause can drive creativity. Instead, you need buy-in in the organization. So, find something to believe in. Does your organization donate to a charity that you support? Could you ask them to? Can your department get involved in helping a social justice group in your community? Can you channel your skills to help further a goal that is important to you and to your organization?
3. Do it again.
Not every creative feet results in earth-shattering innovation. When projects fail or simply don’t turn out as planned, don’t stop. Instead, celebrate the creative process and do it again. Look for a new technique or a new approach. Take a break and look at it again tomorrow with a fresh set of eyes. Solicit feedback from a fellow creative. All of these exercises expand your palette and increase your ability to approach problems creatively.
Addressing intrinsic motivation externally can help, but for any of the tools presented here to really work, you have to address internal motivations on a deeper level. Why do you create? What drives your desire for excellence? What gets you out of bed and at your desk each day? When all of the external techniques fail, knowing the answers to these questions will help you sustain your creative flow and get you going when nothing else will.
Endnotes:
1. Amabile, T. A. How to kill creativity. Harvard business review. (Sept-Oct 1998).
Related posts:
- Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 15: Ask an Expert
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week Four: Run With a Team
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 7: Overcome Obstacles
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On: First, You Need a Problem
- Get Your Creative Groove On, Week 27: It’s All in How You Frame It
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