YES Partners strives to find the best match for your company when it comes to executive placement. This applies to the specific qualities a person has as well as to their overall character. Many candidates are creative, but are they creative in a way that can provide good leadership on your c-level staff and help your bottom line?
Human Resource Executive Online recently interviewed Jing Zhou, a professor from Rice University who co-authored a study on the ways that creativity can be used in the workplace in different departments.
One of the interesting findings that Zhou related to the source concerned the lack of any distinct correlation between creativity and market performance, despite how important it may seem. Zhou attributes this to a lack of proper management and understanding at the higher levels of companies.
"If I'm a manager and you evaluate my performance at the end of this year, trying to capture and implement creative ideas is not typically something you'll find on a performance-evaluation form," Zhou said.
Measuring creativity requires businesses to re-think what exactly they need from a creative mindset. Businesses should evaluate why they want a creative leader, especially when they embark upon the executive recruitment process.
Purpose and context is important to remember when seeking an individual who will bring that creative streak to their management. As Dan Pallotta wrote for the Harvard Business Review last September, creativity needs to be married to practical results that communicate a sense of empathy to a company's customers.
Recruiting a creative leader can help instill a top-down culture of innovation: If the leader of the company is encouraging creative thought, others will come to appreciate it as well.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people – for all company functions, across many industries and globally.
