This article was taken from the March 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
According to research by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan of the University of Rochester, New York, unreasonable time constraints, micromanagement, focused thinking and overreliance on financial incentives all reduce workplace creativity. So what can you do to foster an inventive environment?
Give them some space
Deadlines are important, but hourly check-ups are not. According to creativity researcher Arne Dietrich, working memory and a buffer against distractions are essential. Creativity involves linking concepts, which means holding several things in your working memory -- a balance that can be disrupted easily.
Don't micromanage
Allow free time for employees to work on anything they want; intrinsic motivation (working on something just because it's interesting) leads to creativity. Companies such as Google build free time into the work week -- and back in 1974 such a scheme at 3M heralded the emergence of the Post-It Note.
Open your mind
Getting stuck in a hyper-focused, linear thinking pattern can stall finding a creative solution. How can you keep your mind open? Jonathan Schooler, psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says that letting your mind wander periodically can increase the chance of creative insight.
Tolerate creativity
Reward creative thinking, not with financial incentives, which, alone, have been shown to decrease creativity, but by promoting the conditions that permit it. Tolerate the occasional failure and allow rules to be broken when there is a social benefit. Finally, give workers space to say when they're unhappy.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
