Transformational Leadership and Creativity

¶ … P's of Creativity Someone who is not creative probably will not be able to lead effectively, because so much of what it means to be a good leader correlates with what it means to be a creative person. For instance, as Dahiru and Pihie (2016) show, leadership depends upon an individual's ability make decisions in accordance with skills associated with the creative process as defined by the 4 P's (2012).

This paper will explain what someone can do who is not creative to improve his or her creativity and adapt to change more easily. Leadership and creativity are united in the sense that both take into account the person, the process, the product and the press. Whether creative or a leader, a person has to have a personality, a level of intelligence, a temperament, the right traits, habits, values, etc. in order to succeed.

For a person who is not very creative, the first place to start to increase creativity is to identify what areas of the person are inadequate. For example, one might ask whether he or she is lacking a value system, whether he or she has poor habits, whether he or she has developed his or her personality or whether his or her temperament is conducive to thinking, imagining, and constructing (i.e., producing outcomes).

If the answers to these questions are negative, clearly the individual should take steps to shore up these areas. A value system can be obtained by doing research and evaluating systems that express values. Adhering to one that makes sense and that is accepted by others is a good first step. One's personality can be accentuated by doing some self-criticism, identifying weaknesses, and amending them through cognitive and behavioral methods designed to enable one to overcome weaknesses and/or obstacles in one's own habit of being.

Taking these steps will allow one to proceed to the next P, which is the process portion of creativity. Here, one should pay attention to one's skill set and take note of what one is lacking and where one is strong suited. For example, one might have strong cognitive skills but lack affective skills. Affective skills can be obtained through practice, understanding what they are and how to implement them, and then doing so on a daily basis.

Becoming a creative person or a leader is really a transformative process -- and is, in fact, what transformational leadership is all about. Transforming oneself first is where it all begins. Many skills are learnable (some are inherent gifts or traits that come naturally to one -- but most require some study and practice). Therefore, one should not feel oppressed if one does not feel that he or she has many skills.

It is more than likely the case that one simply has no practice exercising skills, such as flexibility, sensitivity to problems or originality of thought. The more one practices, the more likely one is to become creative or a leader. Practicing one's ability to produce useful outcomes as well as one's ability to handle social and emotional pressures will also yield great results for an individual attempting to be either more creative or more like a leader.