How to Improve Your Creativity: Tapping Into Professional Networks

Photo Credits: Daniel Horacio Agostini

What teams make the most creative Broadway Musicals ?

A research study by Brian Uzzi found that when studying Broadway musicals, the most successful creative teams were composed of new and old members. They found that the teams composed of mostly new people who had no experience with each other were not as creative. Teams that had lots of previous experience working together tended to rehash the same ideas and were unsuccessful because they lacked creative input from the outside. 

Being a part of a community can help improve your creativity

The successful Broadway musicals have teams of old and new members which provides them with that creative outside input. How could we receive that creative input when you’re working in an organization or team that doesn't have new people join regularly? I find what helps is to attend workshops or networking events such as NetTuesday and SEEDS.

As an organizer for not only NetTuesday tech for non-profit events but also SEEDS where I provide Entrepreneurial Workshops, I think workshops are great. Everyone should attend them when they have a chance. They expose you to new ideas, best case practices or a different approach to doing things. However, the best way is to network with your peers and being connected to members within the community. Being able to have a two way dialogue with peers from the same or different industry and present your particular challenge and hear how someone else approach is the best creative input. This can lead to not only creative new insights, but new resources as well.

As I've continued to build new relationships and grow my support community over the years, I've found that it has proven exponentially more valuable over time and more beneficial than I've ever imagined.

Part of the big goal for why I’m organizing NetCoffee² is specifically to focus that. To help people build relationships and tap into the power of social networks. That way everyone succeeds through new insights based on our own expertise and potential connections to resources that would otherwise be unavailable as well as help you brainstorm problems and solutions together. 

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By Stevie Vu

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