We’ve noticed a couple of interesting articles recently on how the forced experiment in working from home has impacted creativity.

This article in Scientific American: Remote Work Can Be Better for Innovation Than In-Person Meetings found a big problem:

“The vast majority of leaders tried to pursue innovation during the lockdowns by adapting their office-based approach of synchronous brainstorming to videoconference meetings”.

We’d agree – we think that working online needs a quite fresh approach. The article does a good job of debunking traditional brainstorming. a process that’s questionable in person and often diabolical done over Zoom. Virtual working allows us different ways of collaborating. We suggest online meetings should be short and not be used for sharing big chunks of content. A lot of the best creative work happens between meetings, often in solo reflection or informal, small group conversations.

We also liked this barnstormer of a post by David Rock on LinkedIn: Work from home will NOT destroy creativity. He also questions the value of brainstorming and argues that working from home often provides a thing that’s very hard to find in an office – quiet space for reflection. (Your mileage may vary depending on who else shares your home!).

In our own work, we’ve been surprised by some of the upsides of virtual working. If online meetings are handled well, they can be part of a more inclusive way of working that allows more time for ideas to be shared and generated. As long as we don’t try to simply take what we were used to doing in person and just repeating it on Zoom.