Creating Leadership Breakthroughs » The Five Steps » Step #1: Define What Creativity Means

Step #1: Define What Creativity Means

The Breakthrough Creativity approach provides a fresh and clear perspective on a greatly misunderstood subject. It breaks through the confusion about who is creative and what creativity is all about. The Breakthrough Creativity approach is based on four major principles:

1. Creativity is inherent in all of us. Creativity does not belong to one particular group of individuals, born with a special set of traits, or with a certain side of the brain as dominant.
2. Creativity can be enhanced. Once discovered (or rediscovered in some cases), you can grow your creativity through greater self-awareness, and through specific techniques and tools.

     Creativity is the ability to consciously produce different and valuable results.  

3. Creativity must be broadly defined. Defining creativity as "idea generation" or as "coming up with groundbreaking innovations" misses the incremental, but just as significant, contributions made by building on what others have done. Lynne's research and her experience in organizations have lead her to define creativity as the ability to consciously produce different and valuable results.
4. There is no ideal model or one best way to be creative. Just as there are multiple styles of intelligence, there are multiple styles of creativity, or talents, within this definition. These talents can each produce different and valuable results. Results can take a multitude of forms. Results require both sides of the brain. And no one way of being creative is better than another. They are just different!