Creativity Is Not Innovation (But You Need Both)

The terms “creativity” and “innovation” are frequently used in brainstorming sessions, business gatherings, and mission statements. There is no doubt that these values are highly regarded in the hectic modern workplace, but do the leaders who use the terms actually understand their distinctions?

Describe creativity.

Being creative means having the capacity to approach problems from novel angles. Creativity is defined as “the capability or act of conceiving something original or unusual” by Shawn Hunter, author of Out Think: How Innovative Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes (Wiley, 2013). It is a crucial ability in business that allows people to adapt and develop original strategies that might even be more effective than tried-and-true techniques. 

Varieties of creativity

Research on creativity by Arne Dietrich, an associate professor of psychology and the head of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, categorizes it into four categories: deliberate and emotional, deliberate and cognitive, spontaneous and emotional, and spontaneous and cognitive.

Every one of the four forms of creativity is accessible to people. Deliberate and cognitive creativity can appear at work, especially for knowledge workers like researchers, attorneys, and doctors. Spontaneous and emotional creativity can manifest itself while working on a creative project or when you are not working.

While emotional and spontaneous creativity comes from the amygdala and is often more instinctive, deliberate and cognitive creativity relies on the prefrontal cortex and formed connections between information stored in the brain. The ability to think creatively outside the box and apply novel ideas to their work is enhanced in people who are good at drawing insights from each type of creativity.