Creativity, originality & initiative

YUMNAA FIRFIREY

Yumnaa is the Head of Sustainability at Scatec in South Africa. She has had a diverse career in business, government, partnership organisations and as an entrepreneur, and holds a Bachelor of Business Science from UCT.

The core of creativity, originality and initiative lies in being mindful and present to the task at hand and constantly asking the most important question: ‘Why are we doing this?’

What are we trying to achieve and how best can we be successful and the most efficient with the resources we have at our disposal? If we can constantly return and recalibrate our actions to those fundamental questions, then I believe we are on the path to finding appropriate and lasting solutions for our world.

The importance of these skills can be fully appreciated when one considers the alternative. If we are not original and creative in our approach, then we are most likely applying old, worn out solutions to new problems. If anything, 2020 has shown us as a global community, that without any forewarning or preparation, we can be faced with a challenge and a very different set of circumstances that we have to respond to. It is with ingenuity that we stand a chance of getting beyond surviving… to really thriving.

We have rapidly changing workplaces and rapidly changing industries in a rapidly changing world. The increasing number of challenges are an automatic result, probably with increasing severity in the future as well. We cannot afford to be anything but original and creative in our thinking and we cannot only be thinking; we need to take initiative to move that thinking into action – quickly – before we face the next challenge.

But how do we do this? What are the first steps towards this approach? What does it mean in practice? Here are some of the steps you can take.

Curiosity

A healthy dose of respectful questioning shows interest in the subject being discussed, in order to understand why a challenge is currently approached in the manner that it is. This will yield insights into how it may be approached differently. It could also provide useful tips on how other similar challenges could be addressed and helps to build your cache of competency tools.

It is with ingenuity that we stand a chance of getting beyond surviving… to really thriving.

Mindfulness

As much as possible, while also appreciating the need for multitasking in the fast paced world we operate in, try to fully immerse yourself in the meeting or event you are in. Take a few deep breaths at the start of the meeting and try to pick up all verbal and non verbal communication – what makes some people uneasy or what do they feel confident about. This is key towards building a full and comprehensive understanding of the subject, a vital foundation to an appropriate, creative response.

Systems thinking

Often, the best approach to finding a long-term solution requires one to consider the problems from a multitude of perspectives, and understanding the full system that the problem is located within. If you only solve the part of the problem that impacts you, chances are that it impacts negatively on the other people or other components of the system, causing the solution to be short-lived. This is best achieved through sense-making, separating yourself from the challenge and making sense of it objectively, incorporating the insights of those who can assist with their sense of the situation.

Perceived sphere of influence

Throw yourself into finding solutions as opposed to complaining about the problem. Believe that a better model is out there, that you don’t have to settle for less than the best. Through this approach and a gradual shift in your beliefs you willsteadily grow your sphere of influence, the extent of the world you believe you can impact on and your sphere of the world that you actually do.

Books to shift your paradigm

This will help you to see the world and your role in it from a fresh perspective.

Understanding how our minds work and helping yours to reach its maximum potential by changing the rut of behaviour that does not serve you.

When you understand how humanity has come to be what it is, you are able to make smarter decisions about how you’d like to see us develop further.