Leadership lessons can come
from the most unexpected places.
Burning Man is a great example
of this. Fast Company recently wrote an article
about this eight day “festival” of sorts. Except the way that Burning Man is
framed, it’s not a festival – it’s more of a town. As the author explains,
“Once a year, tens of thousands of participants gather in Nevada’s Black Rock
Desert to create Black Rock City, dedicated to community, art, self-expression,
and self-reliance. They depart one week later, having left no trace whatsoever.”
If you’ve never been to Burning
Man, you might wonder how the organizers entice nearly 50,000 people to pay
$300 to drive or fly out to the desert with only a vague notion of what to
expect. Furthermore, how does this event
encourage participants to contribute their own exhibits and experiences free of
charge for other attendees, and leave them satisfied and yearning to return
year after year?
The Burning Man attendees are
endlessly creative, respectful to each other and their environment – and they
receive little direction to do so from the organizers. It’s clear from this
example that micromanagement has no place in fostering that spirit.
An organizer explains, “The
organization simply sets a few guidelines, mainly for safety purposes, and then
gives attendees permission to let their imaginations run wild. This is a secret
that organizations that successfully harness the imaginations of their creative
people have long known: You can’t order creativity.”
In fact, one commenter states,
“…many of the greatest minds in Science and the Arts are regular attendees of
Burning Man, including the founders of Google, Paypal and Tesla Motors, as well
as Sting for example.”
So how does a leader foster creativity while watching the bottom line in today’s economy? Here are a few ideas:
1. Find your version of the
Google 20% time. According to Google’s materials, Google offers its
engineers “20-percent time” so that they’re free to work on what they’re really
passionate about. Google Suggest, AdSense
for Content, and Orkut are
among the many products of this perk. How can your organization create your
version of the Google 20% time?
2.
Create a creative friendly environment with
music, artwork on walls, design magazines. Allow teams to decorate their
department and offer other creative competitions.
3.
Find the right mix. An organization needs the
right mix of dreamers and do-ers to find creative success. Too many dreamers
without action will create a myriad of ideas that are not executed, creating
frustration. Too many do-ers without the vision will just duplicate previous
ideas. So find the right balance of both types of people on your team.
Why is creativity so important?
It births innovative products, new business models and collaborative teams.
Start little by little, with simple ideas. And remember…you can’t force
creativity; you can only create the space and climate for it to grow within
individuals.
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