This text is part of the special executive and manager training booklet
Can you still run a business without being creative? Impossible, say management experts. “A leader is not necessarily the one who is in front; he is rather a person who listens, who understands the rhythm of his team and who wants to get the best out of it”, summarizes one of the professionals who took part in the creative leadership course offered by Factry. to business managers. But what is creative leadership? A resolutely innovative approach or human resources management paved with good intentions?
Already, in the 1980s, the authors of Creative Leadership Skills That Drive Change explained that the concepts of leadership and creativity are inseparable for a company that wants to deal with change. A manager or business executive who is neither reactive nor open to innovation is doomed to multiply failures. A finding that goes against the traditional business management model, called “vertical”, which has persisted since the industrial era.
The transformational approach to creative leadership integrates people into the decision-making process to generate new ideas. Considering the differences of opinion within a team to foster a climate conducive to co-creation generates employees who are mobilized, motivated and committed to the pursuit of a common goal. Creative leadership becomes collaborative when taking into account the visions and recommendations of employees to propel the company. However, it is necessary to demonstrate humility and openness, two essential prerequisites, even in the highest levels of management. Change yourself before imposing changes on others.
This paradigm shift requires leaders to explore their own strengths, weaknesses and fears before establishing a “contract of trust” with their teams that facilitates constructive and evolving exchanges. “To bring out creativity,” explains Chantal Gosselin, Creative Leadership Practice Leader at Factry and coach certified professional, the essential conditions for a culture of innovation must be established: psychological safety, benevolence, non-judgment, listening, collaboration. And being able to pick up on the signals of constant change. »
Conclusive tools
This is all the work carried out by Factry during its fun and interactive workshops: getting managers to think outside the box, to shake up their habits and their certainties, and to promote this attitude to their staff. This is only possible by adopting a state of mind of openness and a dynamic of collective creation.
Mme Gosselin has thus developed a tool to develop the necessary state of mind in order to innovate in continuous change: the YES AND approach. The “O” for Opening, the “U” for One step, the “I” for Intention. Three anchors to transmute the feeling of discomfort.
The “ET”, on the other hand, traces the path of change. “This inner posture allows us to train our brain, align our thoughts-emotions-actions and develop our emotional intelligence to better co-create with what presents itself, explains the coach. If we add all the tools, techniques and practices for developing creativity, we increase our creative leadership tenfold. »
In a context that requires a business leader or manager to anticipate brutal changes, developing his creative strengths and those of his teams is the key to stimulating his troops and facing challenges.
The case of Patagonia
In this respect, Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, is a model of a visionary manager who has never stopped innovating. This American of Quebec origin favored organic fibers very early on to manufacture his outdoor clothing at a time when no one cared about the ecological footprint of the industry. He invented “Management by Absence” (MBA) which consists of leaving the reins of his company to his employees and encouraging them to do as he did: going out of the office to test the quality of technical clothing on a wall of climbing or on a trail, in order to come back with innovative ideas. Many decades later, giants like GAP and Adidas are inspired by the MBA model, adapting it to their realities.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, relating to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.