How Can Professionals in Non-Creative Fields Foster Creativity to Elevate Performance?

Rajat Chauhan
4 min readSep 12, 2023

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To help professionals in non-creative fields foster creativity and excel in their work, we asked ten experts, including CEOs and managing attorneys, to share their insights. From embracing problem-solving to adopting a “beginner’s mind,” here are their top tips and examples.

  1. Embrace Problem-Solving
  2. Lean on Teamwork
  3. Fueling Brainstorming Sessions by ‘Yes, And’ Approach
  4. Stay Updated and Foster Autonomy
  5. Schedule an Innovation Day
  6. Read Daily
  7. Embrace Failure
  8. Organize an Inspiring Workspace
  9. Try Parallel Thinking
  10. Create with Iterative Design
  11. Adopt a “Beginner’s Mind”

1) Embrace Problem-Solving

Extraordinary creativity is either the result of an abundance of natural talents or an overdose of problems. After all, how can we deny that we are often at our creative best when we are up against a problem?

Fostering creativity can be achieved by deliberately jumping into problem-solving opportunities at the workplace. This way, new lessons are learned and fresh creative ideas are picked up while tackling different hurdles. Also, since there is always something to improve or change at the workplace, this learning always goes on!

Riley Beam, Managing Attorney, Douglas R. Beam, P.A.

2) Lean on Teamwork

Teamwork in any profession can enhance creativity. Sometimes, you need to bounce ideas around with other people to think from all kinds of different perspectives. Combining these perspectives can lead to creative ideas and innovative results. Getting outside of your head and learning others’ points of view is a great way to approach work projects with a much wider imagination.

Miles Beckett, Co-Founder and CEO, Flossy

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3) Fueling Brainstorming Sessions by ‘Yes, And’ Approach

A valuable practice I’ve personally adopted is not using the word “but” during our ideation sessions, such as “but we can’t” or “but it’s too expensive.” When someone brings up an idea, I reply with an “and” rather than a “but.” When I say “and,” I acknowledge the idea and lend it room to develop. In our brainstorming sessions, this approach has been a real game-changer. By nurturing creativity, we ensure that every idea is given the attention it deserves.

I’ve fully embraced the “yes, and” approach to encourage our team to think without fear of failure. This mindset motivates me and my colleagues to explore new possibilities and contribute. As a result, both the quality and quantity of our creative ideas have increased significantly.

Kane Jason, Transforming Businesses, Ace Infoway

4) Stay Updated and Foster Autonomy

Maintaining creativity in a non-creative field means staying on top of new trends and developments in the industry. It’s about constantly finding new ways to approach familiar tasks and daily routines. Reading industry-related journals and blogs, watching webinars, and joining niche groups on social media are good habits to develop. This not only keeps one informed about the latest trends and technologies but also sparks new ideas and innovative approaches that can be applied in work.

For instance, joining a Facebook group about SEO trends can lead to discovering ideas and suggestions that aren’t even available on Google yet because they are under-the-radar observations and thoughts.

Fostering creativity isn’t solely a personal endeavor — it’s team-wide. Creating an environment where team members are encouraged to brainstorm and explore their own ideas is beneficial. Giving them the autonomy to pursue new projects or tackle existing ones in ways that might not have been considered is also a good practice.

Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency

5) Schedule an Innovation Day

Creativity isn’t confined to traditionally “creative” roles at our company. Fostering creativity can lead to innovative solutions and elevated performance, even in non-creative fields. One approach that has been successfully implemented is cultivating a culture of curiosity.

A monthly “Innovation Day” was initiated. Team members from various departments, including engineering and customer support, brainstorm and explore new ideas on this day. Questions are encouraged, assumptions are challenged, and diverse perspectives are embraced. This practice sparked creativity across different roles and led to tangible improvements in our product and team satisfaction.

The focus is on looking beyond the conventional and encouraging everyone to think outside the box, regardless of their job title.

Madhurima Halder, Content Manager, Recruit CRM

Read the full insights here: https://www.aceinfoway.com/blog/strategies-to-improve-performance

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Rajat Chauhan

Rajat Chauhan is a Manager of Digital Marketing at Ace Infoway Pvt.Ltd — a leading web and mobile development company with offices in LA and India.