Most people love being creative in some way, shape or form. From baking to crafts and drawing to writing. Having a creative aspect to your job (or your whole job) pulls you out of your comfort zone, takes your head out of the day-to-day and stimulates your left brain.
I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy a creative session. Even the most robot, machine like finance people like sticking Post-Its on the wall and talking about media they've seen.
I'm fortunate to work in a creative role. So I get to strategise and ideate content.
Some of ideas have been shot down (mainly due to budget and resource) but mostly, I get to release my creative on the world.
I say "my" creative, it still goes through approval processes with product owners, brand and legal.
Despite this, I'm still one of the lucky ones.
A lot of people don't have a creative outlet at work. And if they do, their ideas never get picked up or writing flair is muted by a tone of voice or corporate paradigms.
The latter is almost worse. You get sold a dream of producing creative, award-winning campaigns, web pages, emails, ads, etc. but it's an illusion.
Many people leave their job because of lack of creativity. Including me.
Working for big, legacy company is great on your CV, but ways of working, processes, and systems are fixed. You're a slave to capex, opex and BAU.
You never get to sharpen your creative skills, as management pour cold water on ideas that are a step change to how it's normally done.
Being sold a duff one is demotivating. You become apathetic. You don't feel like you're using your brain, adding value or being appreciated.
Fortunately, there is a way to change this.
Have confidence in your ideas. Use top-down thinking, to sell it to the powers that be by addressing the problem, giving a solution and what the objective it.
Cosy up to your analytics team. Get loads of insight and numbers. And then set realistic, but impressive KPIs.
And don't forget SEO, if you're in digital.
Life is what you make of it. And don't ask, don't get is my motto.
Along with "I'd rather say it and be wrong, than not say it and be right."
Don't allow yourself to stagnate. Don't become disillusioned. Believe in yourself and your talents.
