Why Creativity Makes Us Better Leaders

Fellow perfectionists, strivers, productivity optimisers, and high performers, when are we making time to just do something for fun, with no need to monetise it or put pressure on ourselves to be the best at it?

Twenty years ago, at the exact same time I began my leadership journey, I stopped performing live. I moved from Glasgow, where I had built a community of fellow singer-songwriters and gigged several times a month, to Belfast to pursue my career and start a new role as Regional Fundraising Manager. I did one gig in Belfast and never played again. Until last weekend, when I sang backing vocals on a couple of tracks at a hip hop night in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. I had an amazing time. It was just for fun, and I have no intention of trying to make money from it.

It is only recently that I realised if I am remotely good at something, my brain immediately jumps to ideas of how I can make it into a job, business or side hustle. The upside of this is my eye for a commercial opportunity, the downside is that I haven’t allowed myself the pleasure of being creative just for the sake of it.

Let me share my personal failures in this area for amusement and comfort:

Last year my husband and I took up trail running. Within a couple of months we had a TikTok account and dreams of sponsorship. The truth is, we posted four times, have 16 followers and I had to take eight months out with an injury.

There was the time I took up painting. I painted a couple of canvases and postcards, then daydreamed about selling my art in a friend's shop. But after taking on a project that nearly had me calling for a chiropractor (a mural on our utility room floor!) I gave up.

In 2020 I became passionate about yoga. I was attending up to eight classes a week, had memberships and subscriptions galore, so of course I signed up for remote yoga teacher training that I never finished. (The irony here is that yoga became one of the ways I overcame burnout!)

I love to read. I am forever setting myself reading targets and wondering if I could write a book. In reality, my rate of reading ebbs and flows with life, I have written 554 words of a book and various scrappy notes in my phone. I do love to write though, I journal daily and here you are reading my words, so this idea hasn’t yet been written off.

I know I am not alone. I am telling you this so you can check in and think about all the joyful, frivolous and creative experiences you might be robbing yourself of. It is ok to do something just for fun, it is even really good for you.

And for the productivity optimisers out there let me tell you, doing the creative stuff (even badly) for creativity’s sake is actually going to make you a better leader, developing new patterns for problem solving, curiosity and cognitive flexibility. Another big bonus, it also prevents burnout, stress and all-round knackeredness. If the goal is to reach a point where leadership is sustainable, you feel like you are smashing it without killing yourself, then you have to make time for frivolity.

And if you aren’t yet convinced that creative hobbies make for a better leader, here are some examples:

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, reads poetry and cites it as a helpful way to spark imagination and empathy. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we had more empathetic leaders!

Winston Churchill found painting an effective way to decompress from public life as prime minister and said it restored his mind. I quite like the idea of public leaders having clarity of mind. I wonder what Andy Burnham’s creative pursuits are?

Oprah Winfrey and Richard Branson both reference reflective writing and journaling as hobbies that support their thinking and self-awareness. Can we please mandate journaling for leaders!

Indra Nooyi, former CEO and Chair of PepsiCo, attributed her hobby of singing to improved resilience under pressure and emotional regulation. Yes please!

So I’m going to keep singing for fun, which I trust will support my leadership career goals and stop me from running myself into the ground. Other hobbies I haven’t yet turned into a business include wild swimming, walking, cooking, weight training and travelling. 

It makes me so happy when my coaching clients tell me about their hobbies, did you know jigsaws are having a moment?

What are you going to keep doing or start exploring?

Could you add some creativity and frivolity into your learning and development or wellbeing initiatives in your organisation?