Business and Creativity: It’s Not Just for Artists!
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There are six distinct Perceptual Styles, each reflecting a different way of perceiving and experiencing the world. At first glance, some styles may appear more creative than others. But creativity is not a quality reserved for any particular Perceptual Style. Creativity is a human quality.
When we hear the word creativity, we often think of artistic expression—painting, sculpture, music, or writing. Yet creativity extends far beyond the arts. Entrepreneurs, business leaders, and professionals demonstrate creativity every day, often without recognizing it.
When we define creativity more broadly—as the ability to develop meaningful new ideas, approaches, solutions, and connections—we begin to see how it takes different forms across all six Perceptual Styles.
How Creativity Shows Up in Each Perceptual Style
Creativity takes different forms depending on how we naturally perceive and approach the world. Here are six examples of how it can emerge through each Perceptual Style.
- Activity: Activity shuns repetition and routine and creates new ways to accomplish everyday tasks to keep them interesting. Rather than giving up on a project, individuals with the Activity Perceptual Style approach it in multiple ways, experimenting with different solutions until they discover one that works for them.
- Adjustments: Individuals with the Adjustments Perceptual Style create complex systems that reflect the intricate and interconnected nature of their perceptual experience. They see the natural world around them as an elegant form of clockwork. Their creative solutions reflect unique ways of connecting systems that may appear unrelated to others.
- Flow: Flow also perceives complexity, but within the realm of human relationships. Individuals with the Flow Perceptual Style create multifaceted communities, building relationships and bringing people together through unexpected shared interests and connections.
- Goals: Goals excels at creating tactics that directly address the issues and problems at hand. Individuals with this Perceptual Style often transform ordinary tasks into motivating challenges. With remarkable focus, they cut through distractions and concentrate their energy on accomplishing what needs to be done.
- Methods: Methods demonstrates creativity by bringing organization, structure, and simplicity to complex situations. Individuals with this Perceptual Style take what some consider the opposite of creativity—routine, stability, categorization, and predictable sequences—and use these qualities to develop highly optimized systems. Their creativity lies in making complexity understandable and manageable.
- Vision: Vision creates compelling images of possible futures that inspire the passion and imagination of others. Individuals with this Perceptual Style use their energy and enthusiasm to encourage participation and recognize potential in others. Their creativity emerges through envisioning possibilities, inspiring collaboration, and finding new ways to challenge people to bring out their best.
Recognizing Creativity in Your Everyday Life
These examples are not exhaustive. They simply illustrate how creativity can emerge in different ways across the six Perceptual Styles.
You may not paint pictures or compose symphonies, but that doesn't mean you aren't creative. Perhaps your creativity appears in the way you solve problems, organize complex information, build relationships, inspire others, or discover new approaches to familiar challenges.
Creativity isn't limited to what we traditionally call creative work. It is part of how we naturally contribute to the world.
The next time you find yourself thinking, I'm just not a creative person, consider whether you've been defining creativity too narrowly.
How does creativity show up in your everyday life? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Interested in discovering how your natural strengths influence the way you approach challenges and opportunities? Explore our Perceptual Style Assessment and learn more about the ways you naturally perceive and respond to the world.
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About Lynda-Ross Vega
Lynda-Ross Vega is a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. She specializes in helping corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals with interpersonal communication, team dynamics, personal development, and navigating change. She is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a behavioral psychology framework and assessment system designed to help people recognize their natural strengths and build fulfilling lives and careers.
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