Introduction: Creativity Isn’t Reserved for the “Creative Types”
When you hear “creativity,” what comes to mind?
A designer, an artist, maybe a brand strategist.
Someone who wears color, breaks rules, thinks in moodboards.
Someone else.
But here’s the truth I’ve learned, especially leading strategy and product development across industries and cultures,
Creativity is not a personality trait.
It’s a professional skill.
And in leadership, it’s non-negotiable.
1️⃣ Creativity Is a Thinking Process, Not a Job Title
Creative thinking isn’t just about ideas.
It’s about solving problems in new ways.
Seeing beyond the obvious.
Connecting what doesn’t seem to connect.
In product development, innovation, business modeling, and even team design, creativity shows up in:
- Reframing constraints
- Asking better questions
- Challenging stale assumptions
- Imagining new possibilities
📌 You don’t have to be a “creative” to be creative.
You just need to stop defaulting to what’s always been done.
2️⃣ Why Leaders Need Creativity Now More Than Ever
Creativity is no longer optional at the top.
It’s a leadership imperative.
Because leaders today are tasked with:
- Navigating uncertainty
- Making strategic bets
- Building teams that innovate, not replicate
- Responding to shifting markets and global dynamics
Technical knowledge gets you in the room,
But creativity moves the room forward.
The best leaders I’ve worked with weren’t the ones with all the answers.
They were the ones who could unlock a new way of seeing.
3️⃣ What Creativity Looks Like in “Non-Creative” Contexts
Let’s break this idea that creativity has to look artistic.
Here’s where I’ve seen creative leadership thrive:
- In conflict resolution, when someone reframes a deadlocked debate
- In operations, when a manager redesigns a workflow to reduce stress
- In strategy, when we use metaphor or storytelling to align teams
- In cross-cultural work, when we shift language to build shared understanding
📌 Creativity isn’t just colorful, it’s contextual.
It’s the ability to unlock traction where things are stuck.
4️⃣ How to Lead With Creativity (Even If You’ve Never Called Yourself Creative)
You don’t need to draw, code, or design to be a creative leader.
You need to:
- Think laterally
- Invite diverse inputs
- Get comfortable with ambiguity
- Protect space for exploration
Some of my most strategic decisions came from quiet moments of “what if…”
From reading something outside my field,
From making unexpected industry comparisons,
From listening deeply to what a team wasn’t saying.
Leadership is about imagination just as much as execution.
Final Thought: Creativity Is Not a Luxury, It’s a Leadership Muscle
In a world of automation, repetition, and noise,
what stands out is not how fast you move,
but how originally you think.
Creativity is how we adapt,
how we make meaning,
and how we lead people into futures that haven’t been built yet.
So, if you’ve ever told yourself “I’m not the creative type,”
rethink that.
Because creativity isn’t something you either have or don’t.
It’s something you practice.
And the best leaders,
are the ones who practice it on purpose.
The portfolio mindset 
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