HERACLITUS the Greek philosopher once suggested that the only constant is change. Change can be imagined as the unpredictable weather encountered on a sailing trip: it is something that undoubtedly affects every vessel - even overturning them in some circumstances - but weather also creates new opportunities and makes the journey more interesting.
Large corporations are akin to large vessels, with more resources and experience to buffer the ship against the storms of change.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on the other hand, are small or medium-sized boats and thus require much more planning and agility to deal with the ever-changing weather.
Unpredictable waters
These days, change happens at an increasingly fast pace. Many companies are failing to keep up with it, their leaders unable to identify and engage the necessary creative resources to remain competitive. The result is that their small or medium-sized boats flail and thrash in these volatile, unpredictable waters. At moments like these, creative leadership needs to be brought in.
So what is creative leadership in the SME context? Essentially, it involves fully exploring, developing and cultivating the creative assets of a business; leaders need to bring out the creativity in other people to its fullest extent. One common misconception is that creativity only thrives within creative departments, but actually "being creative" is a behaviour, not a department.
Creative leadership does not only represent the book value that creativity brings to an organisation. It embodies the ability to harness creativity and use it as a driving force to power the organisation forward. Many SMEs operate in hierarchies with rigid procedures. These create stable conditions and maintain predictable outcomes when the weather is fine, but not necessarily when the business environment is rapidly changing.
When creativity becomes the driving force however, the right leadership can transform it into an unstoppable energy. It provides a responsive guide which enables the organisation to thrive in a difficult, unpredictable climate.
In the past, a "creative leader" was someone who did not follow standard procedures and perhaps took unnecessary risks. That is no longer the norm. In today's context, creativity is increasingly welcomed as an important leadership quality.
Creativity enables leaders to solve tricky problems by finding out-of-the-box solutions on a daily basis. It enables them to bring out creativity in others, and produces atypical results that can deliver a positive impact across the organisation. Creativity not only creates positive change within an organisation, it also has an ability to define the organisation.
Strategies for creativity
Here are a few ways to promote creative leadership. They show that creativity can aid the thinking process when solving various business problems.
Remember, size matters: While SMEs may feel change more easily, they have an important advantage that enables them to adapt to change; they can shift their business direction and working culture much faster than larger corporations.
Creative leadership can also be implemented relatively quickly within SMEs. After all, "survival of the fittest" is not merely about being the strongest, it also involves the ability to adapt to a changing environment.
Know the rules, then break them: Nowadays a solid understanding of the industry is not enough for success, it is one of a number of basic necessities.
Clients are pampered with plenty of choices; they are well informed and willing to spend on innovative ideas that will lift their brand presence above the oversaturated market. Creative leaders need to use their deep understanding of the industry as a springboard - this will allow them to deliver creativity as their unique selling point and differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Here is an example of creative leadership in action: One of our clients in the medical industry gave us a simple brief requesting a stage backdrop design for a new X-ray product launch. After carefully studying the brand, product features, unique selling points and key performance indicators, we expanded - actually discarded - the original brief and proposed a totally new approach.
The target audience for the event was a group of battle-hardened, high-profile doctors who had seen many ordinary medical product presentations before. They had "been there, done that", and with their selective attention spans and tight schedules, we needed an outstanding idea to engage them right out of the gate.
Our new idea was an interactive X-ray invitation card', a theatrical product introduction which translated the brand's values into an experiential performance and an artistic multimedia-based product presentation - going way above and beyond the existing PowerPoint presentation.
The client's response was far beyond our expectations, resulting in not only a larger scope of work for the project, but also resulting in a regional marketing director who was so thrilled by the idea that he wanted to take our approach global.
By taking the client's brief, understanding the product, the brand and the audience fully, then using that information to steer things in a new but exciting direction, we demonstrated how creative leadership can bring tangible results.
Think, re-think, repeat: Think of the first solution to a problem, take note of it, then forget it and think again. Repeat the sequence.
Human nature makes us tend to stop at the first great idea that comes into our minds, but that idea may well be the same one that's going through the minds of our many competitors. Always think of as many possible solutions as you can.
When you have a lengthy list, you will be able to set the truly outstanding, creative ones, apart from the more generic ones. Then, you can develop those outstanding ideas and give the client something truly great.
Challenge your past successes: One of the biggest creative traps we can fall into is the belief that we did the best we could, when in fact there are always things that can be improved. Another example: My team has been working with a particular client for the past six years, with myself and the team pitching for their projects every year.
It's getting better
Each and every year, we have kept them surprised and engaged with totally different creative concepts, points of view and campaign methodologies for what is essentially the same content. During this process, we have taken note of our past ideas, so as not to recycle what we did before, but to challenge ourselves to think differently and improve our offerings. Six years later, we can comfortably say that every subsequent event has been better than the last.
While there are many other principles and guidelines to implementing creative leadership within an SME, at the end of the day it is really about cultivating an organisational culture that supports and values creative thinking and problem solving.
With this culture in place, your organisation - your vessel - will have a strong hull. And this is what will keep your boat afloat, both in good weather and when you need it most - in a storm of change.
