Your team member is losing confidence in their creativity. How can you reignite their passion and potential?

It's never too late to reinvent yourself. My leadership experience has shown me that even the best of the best need a reset in time. Listen and offer support. Sometimes active listening will stimulate breakthroughs in team members. When it comes to creativity - this is a top leadership skill, always being willing and ready to solve tough problems as they arise even when there is not much history of how to fix the current struggle. Resources are invaluable. When there is time to work through a dearth of ideas, I like to recommend a book: The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. This is helpful in the rediscovery of creativity. Passion and potential paired with focused actions may lead to standout achievements. Team members will thank you!

I personally consider these: Active Listening: Start with one-on-one conversations. Encourage them to share concerns and challenges. Empathy & Understanding: Be a safe space for vulnerability. Listen to understand, not just respond. Identify Underlying Issues: Listen for fear of failure, feeling undervalued, etc. In the end, use your understanding to guide support effectively.

Creative people often go through periods when nothing works for them. No creative person is creative all 365 days of the year! When you see a team member struggling and losing confidence, the most important thing to do is to talk to them to understand what they have to say. Sometimes they need a break to get back their creative juices flowing. Sometimes they just need a little bit of understanding from the leader and colleagues to regain their skills. Patience is the key to handling a creative person well. They frequently go through the peaks and valleys of creativity.

To reignite a team member's passion and potential when they are losing confidence in their creativity, start by providing positive reinforcement and acknowledging their past achievements. Create a supportive environment that encourages experimentation and values diverse ideas, making it clear that mistakes are part of the creative process. Offer opportunities for skill development, such as workshops or mentorship, to help them build confidence and expand their creative toolkit. Involve them in collaborative projects where they can gain inspiration from peers and contribute their unique perspectives. Regularly check in with them to provide guidance and encouragement, reinforcing your belief in their abilities.

When a team member feels under confident it is important to understand the underlying cause. Active listening can be incredibly beneficial to identify the underlying cause. Also, this can be reassuring for the member and they are more likely to communicate openly which can lead the member to reflect on their strengths and past successes helping them regain a sense of self worth and confidence thereby empowering them to perform better.

Las personas creativas son apasionados de la proactividad. Necesitan constantemente innovar y experimentar nuevas formas de hacer. Suelen tener carisma para liderar proyectos y para contagiar su entusiasmo a sus compañeros. Pero cuando están sometidos a procedimientos rígidos donde se penalizan sus errores, su motivación y creatividad disminuyen. Hay que intentar adaptarse a su estilo, fomentando entornos flexibles donde puedan desplegar su potencial y donde se reconozca el error como parte del aprendizaje.

While encouraging risk-taking and experimentation is important, balancing it with structured guidance can enhance creativity. Provide a clear framework within which your team can innovate, setting specific goals and boundaries to ensure focused efforts. Promote a culture of iterative improvement, where ideas are tested in small, manageable steps, reducing the fear of failure. Recognize and reward thoughtful experimentation and incremental progress, not just breakthroughs. This approach fosters a safe environment for creativity, ensuring that the pursuit of innovation is both ambitious and strategically aligned with organizational goals.

While you listen to them, motivate them and let them know that you believe in them. Rather than giving them solutions, tell them that you know they will be able to find a very good solution. But if they are not feeling up to it, tell them some suggestions that would help them and mention that they should take their time. Treating employees like human first makes them an ally!

Encourage Risk: Encouraging risk-taking is vital for reigniting creativity. Foster an environment where experimentation is valued over perfection. Remind your team member that failure is a natural part of the creative process and an opportunity for learning and growth. Share stories of famous innovators who succeeded only after numerous failures. For instance, in a previous project, I implemented a "failure budget" that allowed team members to spend a certain amount of time on experimental ideas. This approach led to several breakthroughs and helped team members feel more confident in taking creative risks.

To reignite a team member's passion and potential in creativity, encourage them to take risks and explore new ideas without fear of failure. Create a supportive environment where experimentation is valued and mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and growth. Provide constructive feedback and celebrate innovative attempts, regardless of the outcome. Engage them in brainstorming sessions, expose them to diverse perspectives, and offer opportunities for skill development. By fostering a culture that values creativity and resilience, you can help rebuild their confidence and inspire them to push the boundaries of their creative capabilities.

Emotional connection, challenge learning, lead by example, and create a positive work environment. It’s an ongoing process that requires consistent effort.

Once you think they are ready enough to take more challenges or implement actionable resources to come out of this zone, provide them organisational resources to handle the block. If not, ask your HR or Learning and Development department about free resources around the challenges they are facing.

Assign a "Creativity Mentor" from the team who embodies innovative thinking. It will utilize peer inspiration and teamwork, rekindling their enthusiasm and unlocking their potential through real-time assistance and practical, relevant examples of creative achievements.

Provide Resources: Ensure your team member has access to the necessary resources to reignite their creativity. This could include training programs, workshops, or even time to explore new interests. Encourage them to read books, attend conferences, or take online courses related to their field. In one instance, I provided a colleague with a subscription to a creative design platform, which reignited their passion and introduced them to new techniques that they eventually implemented in our projects. Investing in their growth shows that you believe in their potential and are committed to their success.

Set Clear Goals: Setting clear, achievable goals can help a team member regain their confidence. Break down larger projects into manageable tasks and provide regular feedback on their progress. Celebrate small victories along the way to build momentum. When I was mentoring a junior developer, we set weekly goals and reviewed them together. This not only provided a sense of accomplishment but also helped them see their progress over time. Clear goals give direction and purpose, making the creative process less daunting and more structured.

When a team member loses confidence in their creativity, uncertainty can make it worse. Help them by setting clear, achievable goals that align with their strengths and interests. For example, I had a designer struggling with self-doubt, so I set specific tasks that played to their strengths. These targets were challenging but manageable, providing direction and a sense of purpose. This approach restored their confidence and reignited their creativity. Clear goals can motivate and help team members regain their creative spark.

Sometimes the team member can become overwhelmed by viewing their targets as multidimensional. Help them create a path to excellence. Show them that targets or KRAs are tied to each other and which one or two targets they can prioritise to excel. Make sure that they are empowered with all the resources to achieve those one/two. Show them the chain reaction to achieving all of them. A clear path full of optimism can encourage them to start their journey.

Setting clear goals act as a compass to navigate through complexities and difficult times. The individual should have the clarity about his role and tasks assigned. Make the goals practical and achievable enough to boost his morale.

I believe goals are over rated. I also believe we are in this world not to achieve goals, but to bend reality. How do you bend reality? Two simple steps. 1. Have a Big Bold Vision. Something that scares you and you have no clue how you will achieve it. 2. Practice gratitude every moment in life. Appreciate the journey. Accept the challenges. And what ever you do: Never, ever, ever, ever give up. One step at a time. It's a marathon. So go ahead. I give you permission to Think Big. Think Bold. And become the trailblazer, you're destined to be. Because you are part of this greater design called life. Don't limit yourself by setting goals. But expand yourself, by disrupting industries.

This is the most important yet the most underrated part. In the rush to achieve big targets, we often undermine the celebrations of small victories. Be vocal enough to appreciate and celebrate small small wins together.

Absolutely agree. In my experience, taking the time to recognize individual contributions can transform team dynamics. For instance, implementing a "shout-out" segment in our weekly meetings where anyone can highlight a colleague's effort. This simple act of appreciation not only motivates the individual but also fosters a supportive culture. Seeing peers acknowledged for their creativity and hard work inspires everyone to strive for excellence.

The significance of celebrating the success of the achievements cannot be overemphasised. Whereas celebration of success is largely considered a feather in the cap of the top leadership or in other words the business owners, the celebration should lead to appreciating indeed honouring the team members in such a way that no one is left out of receiving the share of recognition depending upon the level of contribution in achieving the success, milestone or a given goal.

Recognising small achievements and rewarding effort can further encourage team members to go beyond their capability and boosts their confidence a lot. Sharing success stories with the team motivates the team as well to be open about their challenges and overcoming them. Post taking approval from the team member to share their story, ask the team member to further extend help and recognise if any other team member seems to face a similar issue. This creates a chain of excellence and team work!

Celebrate Wins: Celebrate both small and big wins to boost morale and confidence. Recognition can come in many forms, such as verbal praise, awards, or public acknowledgment in team meetings. Highlighting their contributions and successes reinforces their value to the team. I remember implementing a "Wall of Fame" in our office where we posted notes of appreciation and accomplishments. This not only motivated the individuals but also inspired others to strive for excellence. Celebrating achievements fosters a positive and encouraging environment, essential for nurturing creativity.

Offer constructive feedback on their work, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement. Help them see opportunities for growth rather than solely pointing out flaws. Collaboratively set realistic and achievable goals that align with their skills and interests. Break down larger projects into smaller, manageable tasks to build momentum and confidence. Encourage them to experiment with new ideas, approaches, and techniques without fear of failure. Foster a culture where creativity and innovation are valued and supported. Provide opportunities for skill development and learning in areas that interest them. This could include workshops, training programs, or exposure to new tools and technologies.

Give them a moment to play; reading is a form of play; discussion is a form of play; journaling is great for unlocking creation; anything that encourages the ideation process, silly, ridiculous ideas, no judgement, no elimination, can be a massive boon for creativity and it is where the best ideas for innovation come from!

Some ideas to generate creativity 1. Diverse Teams: Assemble teams with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. Different perspectives can lead to more innovative solutions and ideas. 2. Provide Autonomy: Autonomy can drive intrinsic motivation and creativity. 4. Inspire Through Leadership: Providing inspiration and encouragement can motivate the team to think creatively. 5. Brainstorming Sessions: Regular brainstorming sessions can help generate new ideas. 6. Continuous Learning: Encourage team members to attend workshops, conferences, and training sessions to gain new insights and inspiration. 7. Time for Innovation: Google’s “20% time” policy, where employees spend 20% of their time on projects of their choice, is a well-known example.