It is often true that the most creative people in an organization can also be the most difficult to manage. It is important to find ways to encourage positive creative energy while at the same time channeling this creativity in a way that builds an organization up instead of tears it down.

Personality Traits of Creatives Can Be Disruptive

Often times those who have the very best mental and deliberative abilities when it comes to creative problem solving demonstrate a skill deficit when it comes to making use of the social skills necessary to communicate their vision to the very support team that will be needed to bring their ideas to life.

While popular culture is filled with stories of slightly quirky millionaires making good on their dreams, there is often a disconnect between highly creative employees and their less eccentric co-workers. While many people thrive on the social interaction they find in the group setting of the workplace, often time creative employees are seen as standoffish because of their desire to spend most of their time focusing on their pet projects or areas of interest.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All With Creative Employees

One mistake many managers make is attempting to use one uniform management style to fit all of their employees. One of the hallmarks of good management is the ability to apply different solutions to different situations to achieve one uniform result – a successful organization. This is especially true with creative employees, because often the same traits that make them difficult to work with are also the source of the unique perspectives that translate into major breakthroughs that benefit the entire organization.

In some cases, it may be necessary to take a step back to truly figure out if a problem employee is actually just a frustrated employee whose work style is being inhibited by an incompatible HR system or management philosophy. If your organization is spending a lot of time enforcing arbitrary rules to establish uniformity instead of fostering a culture where each employee feels comfortable using their individual talents to solve problems and complete projects, it may be time to re-evaluate your organization.

Finding Balance Is the Key To Success

Having a good mix of creative visionaries and task oriented achievers working on a project together can be a productive recipe for success by creating opportunities for employees to lean on their co-workers strengths when needed, and be recognized for the unique skill sets they bring to the table as well.

Another strategy that works well with creative employees is giving them some level of autonomy and flexibility whenever possible. This feeling of freedom often accentuates their creativity and minimizes the amount of time spent in sometimes awkward and forced collaborations and maximizes the time spent solving problems and creating pioneering solutions.

There is a tendency for organizations to focus their efforts on improving things that are easy to quantify, such as increasing sales or improving efficiency. While these measurable data points are certainly important, their success is often dependent on the effort (or lack of effort) put in by employees. Although utilizing a different management strategy for creative employees requires a major shift in culture for some organizations, the benefits could prove to be well worth the effort.

And if you’re still not clear about how to work with creative people there are always online education options like Training Pro. They have great insurance training courses that many oil rig employees would appreciate you selling to them.

Authored By: Rebecca Whiteside. Find more information on human resource information systems..

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