On Creativity in Student Affairs

I've been thinking a lot about creativity this summer. Summer is usually the time for strategic thinking or viewing my work from different angles and with different ways of allocating time. But what does creativity in Student Affairs look like?

There is quite a bit of noise around innovation in Student Affairs recently (just search #SAinnovate on Twitter. In fact, search #SA____ for anything and you're bound to find it. Good segue back to "creativity"...)

Creativity and innovation are often used interchangeably in the everyday Student Affairs vernacular, but they are very different concepts. The definition I appreciate is from Business Insider and it outlines innovation as the introduction of change into a relatively stable environment while creativity is "unleashing the potential of the mind to conceive new ideas." These are very different concepts and worth analyzing in our work in Student Affairs.

There is an incredible article a recent edition of The Atlantic that talks about the power of two, how the innate creative tension that comes from working together can lead to tremendous results. Perhaps unfairly, the article uses John Lennon and Paul McCartney as the prime example. The Beatles we are not, but the idea of leveraging the creativity of others to enhance your own creativity is an intriguing idea.

So with whom do you do your best creative work? It has always been primarily a solo venture for me, but the culture of Student Affairs is that we collaborate and do things together and think about things together and hang out together and be social together and let ideas happen together. But what if that doesn't work for you? The introvert in me (so pretty much all of me) finds solo contemplative time to be the most inspiring for thinking creatively. And this doesn't happen at work - work is spent in the weeds working on details and swimming through the minutiae, so creative time happens when it happens. Just as I can't sit down and write at an assigned time, I can't sit down and create at an assigned time, though there is value in incorporating creativity into discussions and planning. And perhaps summer is the time and place that creativity can happen!

Stefanie Lucas-Waverly wrote a nice piece for the Student Affairs Feature a year ago about turning creativity into transformative moments by removing boundaries and restrictions while thinking about her work. In particular, she mentions active listening as a key to creativity. This requires others (unless you are actively listening to yourself, which I argue I could do more of to be healthy), so how do you take down restrictions to thinking - remove the quick "no," remove barriers and roadblocks, etc - in your work in order to let creativity happen?

How do YOU encourage creativity in the workplace? Think about ways you can create space and time to be creative. I have a few ideas for my staff this fall and I'm excited to try them out. I'll report back here with details (even if it goes poorly!)

Creativity means taking chances. Where do you allow others to take chances? "Failing forward" is also now a thing. Failing forward is about turning mistakes into learning moments and if you are tuned into your ability to be creative, you should be failing forward constantly.

What if you don't feel like you are creative or you don't feel like you have creative colleagues? This article tells us that creativity can be taught and gives some great step-by-step methodology to help you encourage creativity.

Innovation is about rocking the boat for the better. Creativity is about more than just change - it's about doing something that feels like it's never been done before. No matter your position in an organization, you can promote creativity and use it in your work.

Here's a great video of a talk on creativity given by actor/comedian John Cleese, And just because it's awesome and because he's funny. Worth the watch. And remember: "Creativity is a not a talent. It's a way of operating."

I would enjoy your thoughts on this topic. Find me on Twitter @pottscharlie or please comment below about how you view creativity in Student Affairs work.