When we started Truth & Spectacle, it was done with the belief that people are more creative than they imagine.

We assumed that being ‘creative’ was something that teams and organisations wanted to be - but we learned quickly that it wasn’t that straightforward. To many people creativity is a ‘gift you’re born with’, for others creativity evokes stories of ego, genius, loudness or elitism.

We'd like people to experience creativity as an inclusive, more gentle force.

In this podcast Alex and Ivan talk about the definitions of creativity, the associations of the “creative” label and some simple, useful principles to work with.

We discuss how about how we design creative processes that balance idea ownership and craft, the delight of making new connections in teams, and being surprised by your colleagues.

Creativity is a journey that has lots of paths, many are correct. We’ve even transformed our own way of being creative.

It’s a skill you can learn. Teams can get better at questioning, connecting, imagining and making.

If you’re interested in this topic for your organisation we’ve designed a new, more inclusive workshop. [create space] is a workshop game that’s designed to help every member of your team develop their ability to think creatively about big questions and turn their ideas into actions. It’s surprising and fun and you can see more here.

Look after yourselves wherever you are and keep creating. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Alex Mecklenburg is a creative business and leadership coach at Consequential CIC, a fellow of the RSA, and storyteller in residence at SIX, the Global Social Innovation Exchange. Ivan Pols is the creative director of what3words. Together they are the co-founders of Truth & Spectacle, a creative consultancy.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.

Find us on LinkedIn: Alex or Ivan / Twitter: Alex or Ivan

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Stuff we mentioned in the show:

[create space] - a workshop game

Slack - business messaging

Figma - UX design tool

Truth & Spectacle - creative business consultants

Monday - project management

Frame.io - video management platform