Creative Writing

Amposta, Alvin Gregorio September 20, 2010

BSE – IV A Dr. Erlinda B. Sialongo

Creativity in Other People

Creativity is not just a collection of intellectual abilities.  It is also a personality type, a way
of thinking and living. Creativity in other people can be seen through their uniqueness. Each
individual is unique. People have different personalities. People learn from their experiences. In
this manner, they tend to be creative in doing things. For instance, if a person is analogically
capable because of his intelligence, he tends to be more creative than others. Being creative is
an inborn talent, but this natural talent can be sharpened through time with experiences. It is
just a matter of how people make use of their creativity to produce innovation and excel in their
respective fields and the world they live in.
Personalities of Creative People
by Gary A. Davis, Ph.D.
Dr. Davis, professor of educational psychology at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, is author of Creativity is
Forever (3rd ed., 1992), Kendall/Hunt Publishers,
Dubuque, Iowa.
As an R&D manager, your job is to get the most from the
people with creative potential.  That's never simple, but the
more you know about the abilities and personality traits of
creative people, the easier it will be.  attraction to the mysterious.  Creative thinking requires
Creative Ability
Creative people are typically at least above average in
intelligence, but not necessarily extraordinarily so; other
factors are as important as their IQ—especially the ability
to visualize, imagine, and make mental transformations.  A
creative person looks at one thing, and sees modifications,
new combinations, or new applications.  For example, a
creative product developer for a candy company,
wandering through a supermarket's fruit aisle, will visualize
new candy flavors, sizes, shapes and even audiences.  A
designer of educational software strolling through a video
arcade might imagine combining two or three games into
an effective drill-and-practice spelling game.
Analogical thinking is central to creativity.  The creative
person "makes connections" between one situation and
another, between the problem at hand and similar
situations.
Another important talent for creative problem solving is the
ability to think logically while evaluating facts and
implementing decisions.  Sometimes it is even necessary
to “find order in chaos.”  For example, a creative supervisor
grappling with high absenteeism and turnover might go
beyond employees' superficial excuses to discover that the
true problem is repetitious, meaningless work, and that the
best cure is job rotations, modest profit-sharing, or giving
workers a greater understanding of how the task fits into
the company and the community.
Creative Personality Traits
"Creativity" is not just a collection of intellectual abilities.  It
is also a personality type, a way of thinking and living.  bending are necessary on occasion.
Although creative people tend to be unconventional, they
share common traits.  For example, creative thinkers are
confident, independent, and risk-taking.  They are
perceptive and have good intuition.  They display flexible,
original thinking.  They dare to differ, make waves,
challenge traditions, and bend a few rules.
Like all of us, creative people make mistakes, and they
subject themselves to embarrassment and humiliation. 
They must be willing to fail.  Thomas Watson, founder of
IBM, even recommended that one route to success was to
"double your failure rate."
One particularly common trait of creative people is
enthusiasm.  The phrases "driving absorption," "high
commitment," "passionate interest," and "unwilling to give
up" describe most creative people. The high energy also
appears in adventurous and thrill-seeking activities.  Don't
some of your most creative colleagues ride motorcycles, fly
airplanes, sky dive, climb cliffs, or downhill ski?
Curiosity and wide interests are related traits, whether the
creative person is a research scientist, entrepreneur, artist,
or professional entertainer.  A good sense of humor is
common.  Creative people tend to have a childlike sense of
wonder and intrigue, and an experimental nature.  They
may take things apart to see how they work, explore old
attics or odd museums, or explore unusual hobbies and
collections.  In other words, "the creative adult is essentially
a perpetual child—the tragedy is that most of us grow up."
Another interesting combination some creative people
display is a tolerance for complexity and ambiguity and an
working with incomplete ideas: relevant facts are missing,
rules are cloudy, "correct" procedures nonexistent. 
Because most ideas evolve through a series of
modifications, approximations, and improvements, creators
must cope with uncertainty.  Many creative people seem to
couple their interest in complexity and ambiguity with their
lively imaginations and open-mindedness, and some are
strong believers in flying saucers, extra-sensory perception,
or other dubious phenomena.
The Down Side
So far the creative personality looks pretty good.  However,
exasperated parents, teachers, colleagues, and
supervisors are all familiar with some negative traits of
creative people.  They can be stubborn, uncooperative,
indifferent to conventions and courtesies, and they are
likely to argue that the rest of the parade is out of step. 
Creative people can be careless and disorganized,
especially with matters they consider trivial. 
Absentmindedness and forgetfulness are common. 
Some are temperamental and moody; a few cynical,
sarcastic, or rebellious.
Most creative people realize there is a time to conform and
a time to be creative.  In any case, managers must learn to
control negative traits to maximize creative output while
maintaining the company's standards.  The key is patience
and understanding, founded on the knowledge that such
traits are common among people who are naturally
independent, unconventional, and bored by trivialities. 
Because rigid enforcement of rules will alienate creative
people and squelch their creativeness, flexibility and rule-
 
Humor is a management technique that can effectively
convey your message without arousing negative emotions: 
"How's the new plan coming?  Any chance you'll get it to
me by Friday?  It'll give me the excuse to be busy this
weekend.  With my in-laws visiting and all…."
Self-Actualized or Special-Talent?
One of my favorite conceptions of creative personality is
psychologist Abraham Maslow's distinction between the
self-actualized and the special-talent creative person.  In
your organization, you will likely see each type, as well as
some fortunate individuals who combine these traits.
The self-actualized creative person approaches all aspects
of life creatively: he or she is well-adjusted, mentally
healthy, democratic-minded and "forward growing."
In contrast, the special-talent creative person has great
ability in a particular area, but may not be psychologically
adjusted.  History is full of neurotic and psychotic creative
geniuses (like Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe, Howard
Hughes and Judy Garland).  Finally, some suggestions to help develop your own
The self-actualized person, by virtue of his or her general
creativeness and healthy mental adjustment, is
comparatively easy to work with, yet is energetic and
productive in all areas.  The challenge lies in managing
special-talent creative people, who are much more likely to
show the negative traits mentioned above.
creativity.  Watch your rigidity.  Be open to innovative, even
far-fetched ideas.  Foster flexibility by looking at problems
from new perspectives.  Search for ideas in analogous
situations. 
Most important, accept the risk-taking and ambiguity that's
inherent in creative problem solving.