As business leaders increasingly seek employees who can innovate and problem-solve, creativity has emerged as a broader critical professional skill.
Recent studies, including research from the World Economic Forum, indicate that top skills CEOs will seek in the next five to ten years are related to creative thinking.
Yet many adults still dismiss themselves with “I’m not creative” – a self-limiting belief. I caught up with Victoria Lozano, Chief Marketing Officer of creativity brand Crayola, to identify what can be done to address this gap.
The key takeaway for business professionals?
“People do not naturally grow out of creativity,” Lozano said. “Creativity is a skill that can be taught and learned at any age.” Whether you’re an engineer, scientist, or executive, the ability to put imagination into action is crucial for today’s workplace.
Creativity’s Link To Confidence
Through partnerships with academic researchers, including Dr. Gerard Bucha who founded the Department of Creativity at SUNY Buffalo, Crayola has found substantial evidence that creativity – particularly when developed in childhood – correlates with educational attainment, career success, and emotional well-being.
And in a new study, Crayola found that 92% of children surveyed believe that creativity boosts their confidence, indicating excitement to participate, a sense of pride and feelings of accomplishment .
But somewhere in elementary school, many children begin losing their creative confidence. The culprit? A growing self-consciousness about output and judgment, rather than focusing on the creative process itself.
“Suddenly we become self-conscious of the fact that my art can get judged,” said Lozano. “That self-consciousness is about the quality of the output, versus the process of what I do when I create.”
Creativity As A Business Imperative
The implications for business are significant. NASA, one of Crayola’s partners, exemplifies how creativity extends far beyond traditional “creative” roles. “There’s no handbook for astronauts, and it takes thousands of people to get them into space,” Lozano said. “All of those people use creativity in their jobs.”
Creative agencies have long understood the power of visual representation, using drawings and sticky notes to illustrate concepts rather than relying on prose. This approach to problem-solving and communication can be valuable across all business functions, where artistic skill is irrelevant.
How Adults Should Reframe Creativity
Too many people equate creativity with artistry, relegating it to art directors or filmmakers. One easy reframe for business professionals is to embrace Crayola’s definition of creativity as “imagination in action” and consider creativity as a critical part of problem solving. This means that everyone from the accounting clerk identifying a new way to clear the invoice backlog to the barista suggesting a new traffic pattern in the local coffee shop are creative.
Once people realize that creativity is linked to confidence, and that creativity is easy to foster, one can imagine adults getting out the adult coloring books and the set of 64 crayons that everyone desired as a kid. This idea also reinforces the importance of keeping art, music and other creative subject in our school curricula.
As businesses continue to face unprecedented challenges and opportunities, perhaps it’s time to reconsider that childhood belief that everyone is creative – because according to the latest research and business trends, we all need to be.
Next Steps For Parents
Crayola will host its annual Creativity Week starting January 27, offering free tools and content for parents and educators. While primarily focused on classroom learning, the initiative’s underlying message about nurturing creativity has implications far beyond the classroom walls. It showcases celebrity creators that include Phillipa Soo, Matthew McConaughey and Henry Winkler, as well as NASA scientists, illustrators, authors and more.