- Creativity is the act of generating new ideas or combining existing ideas from abstract cognitive concepts in order to create something new or innovative, in both artistic and aesthetic and non-artistic ways (e.g., personal life and in the workplace) (ESCO, 2021).
- Although there is a lack of consensus on one definition of creativity, researchers generally agree that creativity is associated with a process and an outcome (Said-Metwaly et al, 2018); it is the applied process of using your imagination to produce an original outcome with value. Innovation is the process of putting the creative good ideas into practice ( Robinson, 2017). Important to note the critical importance of failure and the iterative nature of the creative process. The act of actively creating requires that the person can persevere when faced with failure yet continue iterating until they find a solution.
- There are many societal myths on the nature and usefulness of creativity, for example that only people working in artistic disciplines can be creative and that creativity is a natural gift that cannot be taught. It is important to stress that creativity is not the same as artistry; all people have creative capacity and have the capability to have creative thoughts and actions. Therefore, all people regardless of their chosen profession and career have the opportunity to be creative in the workplace.