Creativity in HR Transformation

Roberto Villalvazo, Regional Head of People Development & Training and Former Global Head of HR Transformation, Magna International

Roberto Villalvazo, Regional Head of People Development & Training and Former Global Head of HR Transformation, Magna International

Some years ago, a friend asked me to what extent creativity could drive HR Transformations and what could be the common challenges in driving an HR transformation. Also, if creativity can help with the HR transformation, which processes and situations should an HR practitioner think about or behave creatively.

I consider these questions still relevant since creativity plays an important role in a transformation process and when we address complex situations, but creativity has its limitations and could be more helpful in some cases than others. Therefore, understanding that creativity alone will not be enough to drive transformations in complex scenarios or when the transformation requires a considerable amount of time is imperative.

To move forward, we must first understand what creativity is to recognize the importance of creativity in a transformation process. A simple definition is that creativity uses imagination or original ideas to produce something. Then we can agree that creativity is an important ingredient of any transformation, designing process, or resiliency process, but understanding how long we can be in a creative mode, in my opinion, is the key to not overestimating creativity and having success.

Other elements associated with creativity are Information, Intuition, and Consciousness/ Subconscious. Let me talk about intuition because it refers to how our brain connects the elements in the environment (consciously or not) and will help us to transform external and internal factors to produce ideas. When we produce or generate an idea, we assimilate the information around us, which feeds our imagination. Then the information is like the fuel of creativity. Our creativity can appear at any moment, but we cannot be creative about something we don’t know or cannot imagine. Thus, creativity needs to be complemented by our intelligence (skillset) and human capability (mindset) to visualize and make connections.

It is appropriate to reflect on how long we could be in creative mode and how fast we can transition from one creative cycle to a new one since creativity is not linear and in complex scenarios, it needs to be complemented by our intelligence and human capability. Although transitions can happen quickly, that will not be the norm unless we are at the beginning of the process or the amount of information is considerably high and full of new information.

Remember that creative thinking needs time to be assimilated and mature the elements of the environment to generate new ideas. Therefore, focusing our creative thinking on small parts of the HR transformation within a short-term period could be better than going in circles around the same idea in the mid or long run, partly for the lack of new stimulus and clarity to visualize and connect the dots.

“Creativity needs to be complemented by our intelligence (skillset) and human capability (mindset) to visualize and make connections”

Sustaining creativity for long periods is hard, demands a lot of effort, and may be impossible to achieve. Instead, we need to use creativity wisely to accelerate our cycles within the context of our human capability and the purpose that drives the HR transformations. Eventually, we will move to a different stage in the process but do not forget to recognize your limitations to avoid frustrations or getting overwhelmed. Our human capability plays an important role in leading transformations. We can’t go beyond that since it is part of our DNA; that is nature.

Any transformation will not require us to be in a creative mode all the time, so take time to make some pauses to learn and reflect. Remember that even if we could be in creative mode all the time, it will be a mismatch in the speeds of generation vs. assimilation, which could compromise the transformation. Almost for sure, we will be creating more problems than benefits.

Below, I have some points that could help you to potentiate your creativity in an HR transformation process.

1. Some transformations are more complex, but none will demand you to be in creative mode 24/7, so be patient and focus on small periods.

2. Take time to reflect on the purpose and goal of the transformation to potentiate your creativity.

3. Identify the level of complexity and aspects that should be considered during the process (i.e., processes, culture, individuals, leadership styles, technologies, limitations, etc.).

4. Decide if you need to be creative vs. practical. Over-creativity play against us.

5. Take time to pause and appreciate the intangibles of the transformation because those are the step for the next stage and potentially spark your new ideas.

6. We cannot create what we cannot imagine, so being aware of your capability is crucial; it will be there even if you will not notice.

There is no doubt about the importance of creativity in HR transformation. Still, creativity without a purpose and strategic thinking will not help the transformation process. We must recognize where creativity has more impact and not risk being perceived as dispersed or ambiguous. Transformations and creativity are dynamic processes that evolve in time. There will be some moments better than others when creativity is more appreciated. There is another part of the reflection that we didn’t cover here associated with how creativity impacts innovation which is part of how we move to the action.