Oftentimes, leaders think about companies like The Walt Disney Company when they hear the terms “creativity” or “imagination.” Certainly, it’s well merited as the company was founded on the belief that imagination sparks the best ideas.

In business, we have a tendency to like structure, routine, metrics and financials. These are absolutely crucial to ensure the effective operation of an organization. And yet, we need more. Creativity and imagination are the foundational stepping stones needed to develop and test new and novel ideas. Every organization relies on creativity to innovate and find the next big thing that will make them successful. However, inherently, creativity is also a tension and stress, as it’s unpredictable at best and messy at worst.

As leaders, our role is to help foster an environment that supports creativity and the generation of new ideas, while at the same time, delivering results to our shareholders. There is indeed a balancing act between performance and creativity that leaders must navigate.

As CEO of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, I’ve encouraged our staff and members to engage in creativity and innovation as we look to improve infection prevention and control across our nation and the world. Big problems need big novel solutions. Imagination helps us to anticipate the unknown, to test potential solutions and improves our nimbleness in responding to problems.

Let’s dive into how leaders can embed creativity into their organization’s cultures.

  • Create Opportunities For Random Connections
  • Allow For Failure And Reward Imagination
  • Make Time For Fun

Read the full article about making the workplace imaginative by Devin Jopp at Forbes.