Creativity Expert Charles Leadbeater shares tips on how to create the right working environment that nourish disruptive ideas

• Did you know that sitting in your office for long hours and meeting the same people every day can suppress your creativity?
• Hewlett-Packard was conceived in a garage and for the first few years, the team continued to work and grow there.
• Charles Leadbeater, Author and Leading Authority on innovation and creativity, tells us how an uncertain environment can lead to newer possibilities and the creative side of the brain can shine when you meet new people and break similar patterns.

Working at an advertising agency can be hectic. The client demands faster results, meeting deadlines at odd hours and always staying a step ahead of competitors. Meeting all these demands can be stressful and amidst this pressure cooker, nurturing an environment that breaks the knots in the brain, lets ideas flow free and unleash the creative side of employees can be difficult.

We spoke to Charles Leadbeater, Author and Leading Authority on innovation and creativity on the sidelines of the recently held Star FLOW Fest on how to create a healthy work environment for employees.

He said, “I think it's vital to create the right environment. What people want from that is good leadership, and not necessarily detailed management. They want leadership that can inspire, give them a sense of purpose, and a sense of confidence. They want good people to work with. So they want to be able to work with people that they respect and who they can share problems with. And they want to sense that they're achieving something that it might be making money, but it may also be achieving the sense of satisfaction, meaning and worth in their work, that they're contributing something valuable. And when you get that together, then you get a sense of an organization that has a kind of dynamic that can take on bigger challenges.”

He further said that sitting in your office for long hours and meeting the same people every day can suppress your creativity. Hewlett-Packard was conceived in a garage and for the first few years, the team continued to work and grow there. Location doesn’t matter in the end, ideas can spark from anywhere.

He thinks that the banking companies have a long way to go, in terms of creating work environments that can help it's employees' creativity flow. They have strict routines and still work behind closed cabins. It doesn’t push your mind to be curious.

Telling us which brands have successfully created a healthy work environment worldwide, he said, “It's easy to see when brands got it right, because they have a real sense of dynamic and they do what they say, they don't just say it so you can feel it. So I think Patagonia has got that right. I think Tough Mudder got that right. Apple in some ways embodies that or at least it used to, I think many big banks and companies in general don't embody that. So you can feel that gap when you're with companies where that doesn't work. Feeling authentically that you're a part of something that is really on your side is important. In a way, I think IPL in India might have got that right. It is a brand that people feel passionate about. They feel they're part of a tribe. I think that's been a brilliant example of creating something new. That's really powerful.”

To unlock creativity completely, Leadbeater suggested to follow three c’s -- be curious, collaborative and committed.