Mar 29 2007
Creative Leaders
I think everyone knows someone that thery would call a creative or innovative person. Hopefully you have had the experience of working for an innovative/creative boss also.
I was thinking to myself there are a lot of lists of “what leaders do”, or “traits for a leader” or ” the Successful Manager”, but I haven’t really seen one for the innovation manager.
That is until I ran across this list that Sanjay Dalal has up on his website “Top Ten Creative Leadership Traits”.
So what are the top ten characteristics and traits of Creative Leaders?
1. Great at generating many ideas – innovative, game changing and even commonplace.
2. Always looking to experiment with good ideas. Sometimes, trying out a few times.
3. Unwavering belief in their creativity and innovation, coupled with originality in thinking.
4. Smart and bright with a positive self-image. More often, they are not born geniuses.
5. Passionate, expressive and sensitive to their teams, colleagues and surroundings.
6. Demonstrate superior judgment, and do not make quick decisions (although have a gut feel).
7. Non-conformists and independent, requiring less social approval than most people.
8. Innate ability to understand and solve the problem, and manage the consequences.
9. Born dreamers with strong imagination; however, manage to keep things in perspective.
10. Create and launch game changing products meeting a high level of quality and design.
One thing that I don’t see captured here is the ability to motivate and inspire his team. This is an essential part of the equation. The good leaders can do this with what seems like little effort. Some people call it charisma or presence, but if it more than just like-ability. It is that trait that will cause people to get behind someone and unify towards a common targeted goal.
Do you know a creative leader? Did they have some of the traits on this list?
