2024 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass recognizes LoginRadius as Overall Leader.
Everyone knows how the coronavirus pandemic took hardly any time to spread worldwide. And how, in its wake, countries across the planet initiated a series of lockdowns to save their citizens from this deadly virus.
Since professionals couldn’t venture outside and had to stay home, remote work or work from home became the new normal.
And just when the world was gradually recovering from the impact of COVID’s first wave, and offices were planning to open after a long hiatus, the second wave of infections crashed on the shore of human wellness.
So, what does the picture look like now?
According to statistics, 25-30% of the workforce will be working from home by the end of 2021.
Living at home has its pros and cons. You can enjoy quality time with your family, save on travel expenses, and focus more on your kids.
On the other hand, you might get bored after a while, miss those chats with your colleagues near the cooler, or yearn to go outside and breathe in fresh air to get your grey cells working better.
However, since heading to the office is not really an option now, coming up with ways to get more creative and productive in a work from home setting can be helpful.
Here are ten tips you can try, whether you are new to the industry or a leader.
1. Use technology to its fullest
Technology has become the backbone of every kind of business. Nobody could have conceived the idea of working from home without using the latest digital tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Skype for brainstorming effective strategies through video conferencing.
On the other hand, it also allows team members to share critical documents in real-time through cloud-based software like Google docs and OneDrive.
Technology enables leaders to learn about employee experience and get a comprehensive understanding of their challenges. In this way, leaders can identify employees' pain points and figure out what works best for enhancing their creativity.
Identity is all in the modern world, and the cyber threat to businesses is at an all-time high. With the world at a standstill as a result of the pandemic, the concept of stable data governance and flexible identity management in a volatile environment should be considered.
2. Work with tight deadlines
Deadlines play a significant role in developing a sense of accountability, whether you are working from home or office. The best practice is to create a timeline before assigning the work to an employee and then constantly monitoring their performance.
Strict timelines generate a sense of urgency in the employee and motivate them to find creative solutions to finish the task in a specified duration. Creativity allows them to judge their capabilities well, increase productivity and submit deliverables on time.
3. Consider multiple perspectives while having meetings
Do you conduct separate meetings for each department? Do you only discuss deadlines and who is responsible for a particular task?
If your answer is yes to both those questions, it's time to change your definition of the word "meeting".
To promote creativity, you need to understand the perspective of every individual. Start by including members from teams who aren't necessarily considered in the creative lot, such as quality managers, finance managers, and operation analysts.
Sometimes, people are too shy to express their thoughts in front of others. You can have one-to-one sessions with them through Skype and learn about their views in such cases.
4. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy!
Communication plays a substantial role in sparking creativity amongst team members. You can do it by breaking your meeting into several parts.
For example, before you start discussing business issues, lighten your team's mood by asking them about the weather, sharing a piece of critical news, or cracking a joke.
Share the recipe of your favorite cuisine or talk about the song your kid sang last night. You can gradually shift the focus towards more essential issues once you see people actively participating in the conversation.
5. Read, read, and read!
One of the best ways to enhance your creativity is to read as much as you can. If you feel that something is stopping you from unleashing your creative energy, start by reading "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. Or, if you want to learn a step-by-step way to become more creative, read the all-time classic "Lateral Thinking" by Edward De Bono. Remember, "Readers are Leaders," and you might never get a better time investing in reading classic books on creativity.
6. Learn something new
Are you an expert copywriter? Or maybe you are a financial analyst? It's always an excellent idea to try your hands on something new.
Learning a new approach will set your creative juices flowing and unlock a new perspective. In the present scenario, it would be best if you learned the basics of data security.
Do you know that about 95% of cyberattacks are caused by human error? This number can significantly reduce if you pursue a course on data security best practices.
7. Create a blog
Know what you are best at? Then figure out how you can contribute to others. If you have a lot of free time after work, you can use it to educate others and form a niche audience.
Write guest blogs for reputed websites and share your skills and expertise with others. If people like your content, you can create a personal website and charge a fixed fee to users wanting to consume what you write.
8. Sign up for webinars
Webinars are one of the best ways to learn a skill that you always wanted but didn't have time for. Start with free webinars and gradually move towards paid ones where the host shares their personal experience and secrets of becoming an expert.
The best part about webinars is that you can clear your doubts in real-time and interact with other participants in a live setting.
9. Start your webinar or podcast
Are you an expert in your field? Do you like solving doubts in real-time? Do people feel comfortable while interacting with you?
Then this is the right time to start your webinar or podcast, whichever format you are more comfortable with. If you have enough knowledge on the selected topic and have excellent presentation skills, you will gain a massive audience in relatively less time.
Use your creative skills to design an eye-catching webinar that provides the best quality content engagingly.
10. Become a data specialist and a storyteller
We live in an age driven by information where data plays a significant role in companies across industries. Data collection and analysis have become essential for each business as they allow creating unique customer personas.
But data alone doesn't lead anywhere. You need to have storytelling skills that will help you see the bigger picture, unearth valuable insights, and forecast future trends.
Conclusion
As the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the world, work from home is here to stay, at least for a while. So, this is the best time to identify your strengths, polish your skills, and learn something new. Follow the ten tips given in this article to enhance your creativity while working from home and make the best use of your skills, time, and money during the pandemic.
