If you want your career to thrive, or your organization to survive in 2024, tapping into and building your creative thinking skills is an absolute necessity as an aspiring leader. Approximately 73% of organizations surveyed in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey reported that creative thinking skills was a top priority for them when considering talent as we move into the future, agreeing that this skill set is increasing in relevance and importance.
“More than 70% of companies surveyed consider creative thinking and analytical thinking to be the skills most expected to rise in importance between 2023 and 2027,” says Statista, who conducted another study in which they surveyed 11.3 million employees from 803 organizations globally from November 2022 to February 2023. “Indeed, cognitive skills are the skills growing in importance most rapidly due to increasing complexities in the workplace.”
Why Do You Need Creative Thinking Skills?
Creativity is vitally important for several reasons
- Career Development
First, it enables your career growth. The ability to think outside the box, also termed lateral thinking, is one that will empower you to face challenges and hurdles in your career, and at work, with confidence and positivity.
Instead of quitting and stagnating your progress, you will always be able to circumvent and develop a new approach. This is a highly desirable trait for employers, particularly if you want to be considered for a promotion.
- Adapting To Change
In 2024, we are observing how workplaces globally are changing, and have changed quite rapidly within the past few years alone, especially since the pandemic. Factors such as transitioning to remote or hybrid work, adopting and integrating new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and navigating the complexities of leading and collaborating with multiple generations in the workforce, while being sensitive to all of their needs and providing them with adequate support—call for a solid set of creative thinking skills.
These complex organizational challenges can be effectively resolved through viewing them through different angles, giving and receiving feedback, and learning from the past, so that you can creative innovative breakthroughs.
- Competitor Advantage
If you don’t tackle professional or business challenges with fresh approaches now, your competitors will, and you’ll lose your opportunity. Organizations thrive because they are led by leaders who think outside the box, eye the market daily for opportunities, and capitalize on them to create dynamic solutions.
But the onus cannot fall on the leaders alone. Everyone is accountable for building their own leadership skills—especially creative thinking and taking initiative to solve problems—even if they are not working in a managerial capacity.
When everyone thinks creatively for the good of the business, that organization is best positioned to withstand external threats and develop unique products or services that attract customers and strengthen their standing against competitors.
- Irreplaceable By AI
While AI certainly has a multitude of advantages and capabilities, which are set to increase over the next few years while its technology is being fine-tuned, there is one thing that artificial intelligence can never fully replicate or replace: human intelligence. Creative thinking is a unique skill set that boasts the advantages of not only being in-demand, but it cannot be duplicated by machines, making it a greater necessity to develop this skill if you want to future-proof your career. - Growth Mindset
Last but not least, organizations that foster an environment in which creative thinking skills are encouraged and developed, contribute to a growth mindset culture and enable continuous improvement. When you always look for new ideas, you will be able to improve the overall efficiency of your workflows and processes.
In 2024, the ability to think creatively is no longer a nice-to-have or a quality reserved exclusively for entrepreneurs. Creative thinking skills are imperative if you want to remain in business, progress your career, drive innovation, and experience long-term fulfilment and success. Through making use of tools that spark creativity, and the collective effort of yourself as an individual professional alongside your organization, you can be a powerful force for good and solve some of the world’s most significant challenges.
Forbes
