Creativity and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.

Let us first go through a case study:

John was working with ABC industries as sales executive. His role was simply to call potential clients and explain them about various offerings of the organization. John was very creative and always aspired to create a niche of his own. Soon, he started taking active interest in even the minutest details and contributed effectively in formulating marketing strategies..

With the help of his superiors, he came out with excellent and most importantly unique ways of brand promotion which impressed their clients and converted them to loyal customers. John thought out of the box and eventually created new and innovative concepts to promote his brand..

It was because of John, ABC industries earned profits every time. Within two years John headed the marketing division of his organization. John’s hunger for creativity encouraged him to start something of his own. He soon opened his own firm and employed like-minded creative people.

So if we see John’s career path, he joined an organization as a sales executive and opened his own firm within a span of three years. It was his urge to do things differently that made him successful in such a short span of time.

What is Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship refers to the process of starting own business where like-minded individuals come together on a common platform and dream of creating something new which no one has thought of earlier. Creativity plays an essential role in entrepreneurship.

Let’s suppose you have enough capital to start a business. Now my question is why do you actually want to establish your own business?

The options are:

• Monetary Benefits.
• Passion to do something different and also motivate others to express themselves and come up with their thoughts.

You need to be really honest with yourself. If your Answer is A, then you are a business entrepreneur and if B, then you are a creative entrepreneur in true sense..

Do not start your own business just because you are tired of being an employee. That should ideally not be the approach. In such a scenario, soon you would lose interest in your own business also and start looking for a new option.

Do not blindly follow others. There are people who simply copy content from competitor’s website and follow their practices and policies. Such a thing is absolutely foolish. Why can’t we use our own brains? Why do we always think of following others? What is the harm in being a role model for others?

As an entrepreneur one needs to believe in himself/herself. The purpose of starting a business needs to be very clear. Learn to accept challenges. Creative people really do not bother what others are thinking about them.

As an entrepreneur, your research needs to be thorough. Do take the opinion of your employees. Sit with them, brainstorm ideas and do not feel bad if any of your employees comes up with an excellent idea.

Remember, ego has no place in the professional world. Encourage people to inculcate creativity in their approach. Yes, results would not come out in the first attempt itself, but gradually you would be surprised to see tremendous output from each and everyone.

Do listen to your employees and do not forget to take feedbacks from not only your team members but each and everyone associated with the organization.

Communication plays an important role in development of employees. Communication helps in the exchange of ideas, thoughts and information through speech, signals, writing and so on.

How would you feel if you are not allowed to express your feelings to your family, your friends and infact the whole world? You would feel demotivated, neglected and a sense of frustration would soon develop. The same thing happens with the employees as well. Everyone would agree that an employee actually spends his maximum part of the day, striving hard to accomplish the goals and objectives of the organization. No organization gives salary for free.

What would happen if employees who give their heart and soul to an organization do not have the liberty to speak and express their thoughts? Trust me there would be dissatisfaction all around, no one would work sincerely for the organization. eventually affecting its performance in the long run.

Employees should have the right to express their opinions in front of others if you really want them to develop and grow professionally. No amount of trainings or employee development activities would help, if employees have no choice but to accept whatever is imposed on them. Let them speak. They would infact come out with better ideas as to what all skills and activities would help them perform better.

Encourage healthy communication among employees. An individual should be aware of what his fellow workers are up to. Let him speak to his colleague. Let him find out what all skills his colleague knows and he still has to learn. An employee acquires new learnings while on job itself. Employees should be motivated to work in teams.

Remember a manager’s role is not just to sit in closed cabins, shout on employees’ and communicate with them only through emails. Emails are an important medium of communication, but nothing can beat verbal or face to face communication. Managers must sit with their teams twice or thrice to review their work, share feedbacks and whenever required address their grievances.

An employee should have the liberty to walk up to his manager’s cabin in case of queries. If you do not allow your employee to speak, how would you know in which all areas he is lacking and what kind of training would help him? Be there for your team. Do not force anything on your employees. Let them come out with their problems for you to suggest the solutions.

Introduce the concepts of morning meetings. Meetings can be conducted department wise, branch wise and so on. Each and every employee participating in the meeting should have the liberty to express his/her view points. Respect other’s opinions. An employee should have the freedom to express his/her thoughts and share information irrespective of his designation or level in the hierarchy.

There are some people who do not open up easily in front of others. Install a drop box in the reception area and ask employees to write their feedbacks, opinions or any other query on a piece of paper and put it in the dropbox. Do not ask them to write their names but yes do ensure they mention their departments or functional areas. This would at least help you understand what all new training programs or sessions you need to introduce in the organization.

After every training program, do take feedback of employees. The feedbacks must be carefully monitored and implemented. Try to make your trainings more effective in the future.

Two way communication makes an employee more confident and one starts believing in the organization.

Employee multitasking is beneficial for organizations as it reduces the cost of hiring new employees and also training them. Hiring is a cumbersome process. Human resource professionals need to be extremely careful while recruiting a new person so that he does not create problems later on. You might hire the best candidate but still there is no guarantee. Moreover, a new individual needs to be inducted well into the system. Proper training has to be given for him/her to understand his/her job responsibilities and also know what is expected out of him/her.

Employees with multi tasking abilities are capable of performing many duties at a single time and hence you do not have to invest much in hiring and training new individuals. Rather than appointing a new person, it is always better to rely on someone who is in the system for quite some time and can perform multiple responsibilities. Moreover, you also save on their salaries. When a single person can handle multiple things, you do not have to hire specific individuals for particular tasks.

Multitasking employees certainly increase the productivity of the organization. They deliver more output with minimum resources. Rather than appointing five new people for a particular process, a multiskilled employee can do everything on his own. In such a case, you do not need five computers, telephones, drawers or workstations but just one. Nothing is better than a single person doing the work of five people.

Employees with multitasking abilities have better chances of survival than others even in the worst situations. They are the ones who do not have to depend on others for every small thing and believe in doing several tasks on their own. Such organizations do not suffer much even if individuals leave all of a sudden.

Organization A had ten employees with multitasking abilities.

Organization B had twenty employees who could do only their own work and nothing else.

Employees representing the MIS department went for leaves in both the Organization.

Employees in Organization A did not crib as they were familiar with Excel and could maintain their data without any major problem.

Employees of Organization B were helpless and lost majority of their Data in the absence of MIS team. As a result of all this, they not only faced major losses but also lost few of their important clients.

Organizations with multitalented employees have an edge over competitors as here employees, if need arises, can not only do their own work but also help others in their work. Such employees do not crib if their counter parts take leaves or quit job. They believe in taking the charge themselves so that their organization does not have to suffer.

Multitasked employees do not have the time to indulge in unwanted activities as they themselves are busy with their own work. In a way, employee multitasking also leads to employee involvement where individuals believe in achieving targets within the stipulated time frame, come what may. Such employees are not rigid and accept additional responsibilities with a smile. They perform several tasks single handedly not out of any compulsion but because they want to see their organization at the highest level of success. For them performing multiple responsibilities is not their job but passion.

Such employees seldom crib or complain and also readily help each other. They actively participate in various training programs and other sessions or seminars with an open mind to upgrade their existing knowledge and hone their skills which eventually would benefit not only the employee but also the organization.

Multitasked employees are definitely the need of the hour and are valuable assets of the organization. Multitasked employees are successful not only in their current assignment but wherever they go.

Anger is generally seen as a negative emotion, usually accompanied by aggressive behavior and words.

In the corporate and managerial field, anger can manifest itself for various reasons, with a toxic environment, ineffective communication, and an imbalance between work and personal life being some of the reasons.

People in managerial and corporate fields need to learn to manage their anger in a healthy way, which will help them to have a favorable management of their emotions and interpersonal relationships.

Anger as an emotional response in high-pressure environments

Anger is a basic human emotion. It manifests when people are dealing with stressful or challenging situations. Anger is a way of dealing with situations that generate stress, as a coping mechanism. When anger appears, people may feel upset, along with sweating and increased heart rate. When the person explodes, their emotions are regulated.

Work environments with high levels of stress can influence the appearance of anger. Long work hours, toxic work environment, unrealistic goals, and poor balance between work and personal life, can lead to a person exploding. Feeling that one cannot solve a problem, sudden changes in the work environment, and ineffective communication, lead people to express anger in a way that they often regret later.

Another reason why anger manifests is due to the passion that someone has for their work. The desire to do things well, meet expectations, and go the extra mile. When their goals are not achieved, people may express anger as a way of feeling frustrated, that they have failed.

Many people may feel bad after expressing their anger. This emotion is often associated with something negative due to how many people tend to react. Emotions like these are seen as those that should be hidden when people must learn to manage their anger more healthily.

The high pressure that exists in the environment can lead to people exploding, manifesting their anger. Expressing anger is not a bad thing, it is part of the emotions of human beings, rather it is how anger makes a person act in the moment. Uncontrolled anger can lead to a person yelling loudly at another, physical altercations, or breaking things. In extreme cases, losing control.

What are the triggers of anger in administrative and corporate environments?

The reasons why people express anger in the corporate and managerial spheres are different, and among the most common are:

• Frustration: When a person feels that they are not achieving their goals, that expectations are unrealistic, constant pressure from management and work imbalance, anger appears.

• Toxic environment: Constant conflicts between colleagues, a work environment full of gossip and criticism that is not constructive, and little recognition of the work of others, can lead the person to create resentment and at a certain moment explode.

• Poor balance between work and personal life: People can feel anger when they feel that they have little time for the things they would like to do, such as spending time with their loved ones. They create resentment in the corporate environment, which leads them to generate anger over time.

Emotional intelligence and anger management

Emotional intelligence is the ability that people have to express, regulate, and understand their emotions and those of others. A person with a high level of emotional intelligence is aware of how the management of their emotions impacts the different areas of their life, the corporate one being.

People make decisions based on how they feel, so knowing the influence of their emotions can help them to be more assertive people.

In anger management, having a high level of emotional intelligence is essential to manage this emotion healthily. One of its main objectives is to help people understand why anger is present and how it can manifest itself, from correct management.

Anger in management and corporate environments appears for different reasons such as a way of masking vulnerability, perfectionist tendencies, and extreme concern for work because they want everything to go well.

In other words, feeling anger is not bad, it affects how people express their anger in the organizational environment.

A high level of emotional intelligence allows a person to understand their environment and the elements that trigger their anger. Through this discovery, people begin to work on these aspects, which are key to learning how to express anger.

When anger is not managed in the organizational culture

When anger is not managed properly in the workplace, various problems can arise. It can lead to the creation of unhealthy situations where the work environment becomes boring, being able to destabilize not only the person expressing the anger but also the person receiving it.

Anger in the organizational environment creates tension among members. People can feel tense all the time because they do not know how the other person will react after their angry attack. They can be expectant, working with fear and worry.

When anger is not managed in organizational environments, it can lead to poor collaboration between members. Work becomes difficult since no one wants to work with someone who they perceive may attack them again.

Strategies for Anger Management

Some strategies to manage anger are:

1. Identifying anger triggers: Part of emotional intelligence is identifying which elements influence your emotions and how you express them. People must work on self-knowledge to connect deeply with their emotions and thus know how they affect their actions.

2. Learning to regulate anger: With self-awareness comes self-regulation. When people identify anger triggers, they can self-regulate their actions to express it healthily.

   Taking deep breaths for a few seconds, moving away from the situation instead of reacting, and distracting yourself with actions that generate more positive emotions, are some of the ways to manage anger. It is important that people feel empathy towards themselves and others, understanding the nature of the human being.

3. Effective communication: Good communication helps both parties understand each other and avoid misunderstandings. Due to confusing communication, situations can be misinterpreted, causing anger. It is important to express the message clearly, be honest, and learn to listen to others with empathy, trying to understand what they feel.

4. Seek help: There are times when people may have difficulty managing their anger on their own, and professional help is a good option. Therapy is a way for people to understand the causes of their anger and why they cannot control it. In therapy, they learn strategies that will allow them to handle situations that trigger anger in an unsatisfactory way.

Organizations such as BPOs and multinational companies are very particular about the accent of their employees who have to deal with clients beyond their domain. There is a difference between British English and American English.

An American would have a different accent as compared to a British or for that matter an Indian. UK and USA are poles apart, so the difference in accent is inevitable but trust me, you would find a difference in accent between England, Scotland, Ireland and so on also.

Accent training becomes extremely important in organizations which cater to overseas clients. Not only for your clients, it is necessary to pronounce words correctly at workplace and use the right accent.

Let us go through few tips for accent training;

Blindly copying others will not help you. Remember, you would not get the right accent in just a day or so. There is no rocket science involved. You just need to be a good observer. Know your clients well and find out what accent they follow. Try to follow their style. With practice and time, you would certainly master their accent.

Never depend on fake accent. One must not forget that anything done under compulsion yields no results. Go slow in your approach. Never lose your patience. You do not have to converse in English just because your fellow worker is fluent in the same. No two individuals are same. Some people take less time learning a particular accent while others take a little more time but that is okay. Speak only when you are confident of your accent.

Get hold of relevant books and study material and read them loudly. Believe me, any individual who is aspiring to learn a particular language or imbibe a particular accent needs to practice daily in front of a mirror. Listen to tapes and try to follow the accent.

Speak loudly so that you yourself can hear your voice, pinpoint mistakes and incorporate necessary changes in your speech. You can also record your voice so that you can listen to it later on and also keep a track on your progress. Now a days, with everyone having a smart phone, recording your voice is certainly not a tedious task.

Do not hesitate or feel bad if someone points out your mistakes. Remember, mistakes are a part of life and one learns from the same.

Your pitch and tone also play an important role in accent training. Speak slowly so that each and every word is clear and understood.

Some people speak too fast so that the other person is not able to notice their mistakes. That is certainly the wrong approach. Take care of your pitch as well. Do not speak too softly or too loudly. You may be following any accent but it is mandatory to be soft- spoken. No accent teaches you to be rude to others.

Nothing helps you more than sincere practice and dedication. Never lose hope. Try repeatedly till you succeed. Take help of people who are fluent in a particular accent. Your colleagues or close friends can help you in this.

If possible, try to get in touch with a local who can guide you better on a particular accent. Speak to him in his/her accent so that the other person can help you and tell you where all you need improvement. There is nothing to be ashamed of in this. Speak with confidence.

Anybody who is somebody would have heard of The Great Resignation, the trend of American and Canadian Millennials and Gen Zers quitting their jobs en masse for no apparent reason, other than to make a “statement”, driven by tech driven viral events.

While The Great Resignation, by itself was enough to worry seasoned business leaders and set off alarm bells in American and Canadian corporates, now we have Quiet Quitting, which basically means that these generations of professionals and workers, are simply doing their jobs as per the basic requirements, with no intention to go beyond the mandate that was given to them.

At first glance, Quiet Quitting seems innocuous, and prompts us to ask, how is this different from earlier, when even the Boomers and Gen Xers, or some of them, just “existed” on the job.

Indeed, for the layperson, Quiet Quitting seems normal, except that today’s tech driven Digital Age needs us to innovate and improvise on the job, as well as to be inventive, which Quiet Quitting negates. So, there you are with the Millennials/Gen Zers effectively “slacking” out of the workforce.

Are The Millennials/Gen Zers Redefining Work and Life, or Simply “Problem” Childs?

Of course, as worrying as these trends, there is an additional source of anxiety for business leaders in the form of Moonlighting, where the Millennial/Gen Zers have been found to work for multiple employers, at once, calling into question the age old and long held tenets of the relationship between employers and employees, where the post Industrial Revolution social contract defined this as a linear and exclusive compact between corporates and their workforce, with each sticking to the other in a monogamous way.

What all these trends have in common is a generation of American and Canadian professionals and workers on the edge of obviating traditional markers of job identity and workplace behavior. While this can alarm purists and others belonging to older age cohorts and prompt them to ask, What Ails the Millennials/Gen Zers, these trends can also mean that these generations are redefining what work, life, and work life balance mean and therefore, instead of berating them, we must embrace and accept these “changes” as The New Normal.

Indeed, the Millennials and the Gen Zers are the Digital Natives, meaning they were born with the proverbial gadget in their hands, and so, might be heralding the emerging Digital Age.

Some Observations on the Post Pandemic American and Canadian Workforces

Having said that, it is also important to note that the post pandemic workforce in the United States and Canada is anything but normal, which is again a cause for worry among the business elite.

The pandemic, with its forced isolation and compulsory WFH or Work From Home, along with doing away with face to face onboarding and mentoring, seems to have taken its toll on the younger generations, with the Gen Zers (below 25 years of age) being hit the hardest.

While older Boomers and Gen Xers more or less coped with the pandemic restrictions, the emerging age cohorts reported elevate stress levels and high burnout rates, making many of them to simply “drop off” the workforce. This was what drove The Great Resignation and this is what is driving Quiet Quitting, as the “disengaged” and “disenchanted” Millennial/Gen Z generations do not feel up to it as far as work is concerned.

As can be seen from the high levels of mental health issues being reported from these age cohorts, it is for sure that something ails them and it is up to the societal and business stakeholders to start addressing this problem, lest we risk a Lost Generation.

Actionable Steps for Business Leaders/Governments to Address Mental Health Issues

So, what exactly can the aforementioned stakeholders do? First, we need to remove the “stigma” surrounding mental health from the workplace and instead, acknowledge and reckon with it as being normal like any other workplace hazard.

Indeed, the Industrial Era had a whole set of workplace hazards that were duly attended to and workers compensated in monetary and nonmonetary aspects and so, the Digital Age needs business leaders to come up with an appropriate set of hazards at the workplace and address them. Already the EU (European Union) and the United Kingdom mandate counselors and psychologists to be available on call and have passed laws that specify leave of absence for those seeking to take time off due to stress and burnout.

Similarly, there is a growing acceptance of mental health problems being common and “normal” and something that does not make the victims ineligible for employment. This is a good starting point and business leaders ought to build on this and establish a more broader framework and model for addressing the problems being faced by the Millennials and Gen Zers. Of course, we also risk “lapsing” back into the morass due to the recessionary winds blowing across the West.

Importance of Helping Millennials/Gen Zers to Cope with Workplace Pressure

Last, these are deeply unsettling times for everybody and it is incumbent upon older and more experienced and mature professionals to lend a helping hand to the younger generations. This is where the concepts of buddy hood and mentoring are very important to take the “pressure” off the Millennials and Gen Zers. Otherwise, the American and Canadian workforces risk losing a wide swath of workers and professionals, that can be as detrimental to their economies as a depression or a deep recession.

To conclude, we must stop asking what’s wrong with the Millennials/Gen Zers and instead, help them to cope.

Contemporary organizations have to be accountable to a diverse range of stakeholders including customers, investors, regulators, and social activists as well as the wider civil society. However, what are missing in this list are the employees who are as important as the other stakeholders.

Indeed, while it is fashionable for organizations to take care of their external customers, often they forget that their employees matter as well. After all, it is the employees who make things possible for organizations with their hard work and contributions apart from their skills and expertise.

In recent months, there have been spates of corporate scandals relating to violation of ethics wherein companies such as the German Automobile major, Volkswagen, have admitted to “cheating” in terms of manufacturing cars that are designed to report false emissions levels.

This is a clear case of systemic failure since in this case, the company as a whole had “systemized” this aspect of manufacturing cars that are “geared to beat” the emissions norms.

However, what transpired in reality was that instead of admitting to systemic failures, the company simply fired some employees for being responsible for the scandal.

This Does Not Mean that Employees are Shielded

Having said that, it is not the contention here that organizations must shield errant and deviant employees as well as not take action against the top management and the CEOs since these people are the ones with the overall responsibility.

Indeed, if organizations do not take action against the top management, then the overall impression is that they are callous and unresponsive to the needs of the people. Therefore, our view in this aspect is that organizations must separate systemic failures from individual cases of deviance and take action accordingly.

Moving Away from the Scapegoat Culture

Further, organizations must also ensure that whenever there are systemic failures, then they must first start from the top instead of searching for “scapegoats” in the rank and file employees. In addition, our view is that whenever systemic failures happen because of bad policies, then the entire top management must be replaced as well as the Board of Directors being held to account.

Thus, what we are advocating is a more humane and humanitarian approach whenever there are corporate scandals wherein the need to “look within” and indulge in some “soul searching” would serve their cause rather than continuing with “business as usual”.

Some Examples from the Real World

For instance, after the worst disaster in the history of corporates which is the Bhopal Gas Leak incident, the senior management was shielded whereas the internal inquiries blamed individual employees for the disaster.

Even three decades after the incident, there is yet to be any progress in terms of admitting systemic and organization wide negligence that lead to the disaster. Apart from this, there are numerous examples of how systemic failures are “covered up” and instead the blame game starts wherein individual employees are punished.

This can be seen in the way the Big Banks in the United States and Europe were left off with fines and “slaps on the wrist” rather than being asked to “clean up” their entire pervasive culture of wrongdoing.

Indeed, the fact that these banks continue to indulge in “risky behavior” even now means that no lessons have been learnt from the Economic Crisis of 2008. In addition, there is also the case of the Enron scandal where though the top management and the leadership were handed jail terms, there was not attempt to go after the “enablers” such as the rating agencies, the financial regulators, and the broader institutional investors all of whom had a role to play in causing its collapse.

An On Balance Assessment of Accountability and Learning from Failures

On the other hand, organizations sometimes have the task of ensuring that errant and deviant behavior is punished. For instance, in recent years, there have been increasing instances of cyber crime targeting big corporations. The examples of Target and HSBC reveal that such hacking leads to losses for all stakeholders.

Therefore, it is indeed the fact that these organizations did the right thing by overhauling their digital networks and investing in better security software apart from establishing negligence and holding the concerned employees accountable.

Thus, as can be seen from the points made so far, organizations have to “balance” the needs of the various stakeholders including employees and at the same time, also have to ensure that after each incident and disaster, they engage in some serious probes into the systemic factors that are responsible for such incidents.

Indeed, the fact that the organizations which strive to do this are the ones that “emerge stronger” after each setback means that the longevity of such organizations is guaranteed. After all, the “show has to go on” and this means that just as we tend to rejuvenate ourselves after each setback, organizations too must pick up the pieces and rebuild themselves after each scandal and ensure that they learn the lessons from them.

Conclusion: What Separates the Truly Great Companies from the Rest?

In concluding the article, it would be worthwhile to note that any organization is prone to slipping every now and then as the rapid pace of business means that they tend to overreach, tend to over-commit, and tend to get carried away in the pursuit of profits.

However, what distinguishes the really great companies from the rest of the pack is their ability to learn from systemic failures, hold the right people responsible, and not continue with business as usual after disasters and setbacks.

Peter was extremely upset over his break up with girlfriend but that certainly did not affect his productivity and output the next morning. He was at his usual best and even his colleague sitting next to him had no idea about his foul mood.

Peter always believed in keeping his emotions and feelings separate from his professional world and never let them disturb his routine work. He very well knew how to manage his emotions.

Harry, Peter’s colleague, on the other hand failed to perform as per expectations of his superiors and management as he was so engrossed sorting his personal problems, that he hardly had any time for his office.

Honestly, mood swings and personal problems have no place in the professional world. You can’t cry at work just because you had a fight with your spouse previous night.

Every individual has feelings and emotions but wise is he who leaves his emotions at home and do not bring to work. The term emotional intelligence was popularized by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, both of them contributing immensely to make people understand their’s as well as others ‘emotions and direct their actions accordingly.

According to Salovey and Mayer, emotional intelligence is known to have four factors. Let us go through them in detail:

1. Perceiving Emotions: How would you control your emotions if you fail to understand them? Unless and until you know what is actually troubling you or your team member, it would be difficult for you to respond or react.

   One needs to perceive emotions correctly. That is actually the first step. Do not only depend on verbal communication to perceive emotions. There are other options as well which are more reliable. The other person might not come to you and share his emotions. Very few people actually do that. It is for you to understand. Body movements, gestures, facial expressions play an important role in acquainting you with other’s emotions.

2. Logical Reasoning: Once the emotions are perceived correctly, the next step is to figure out which all emotions need prompt attention and which all are irrelevant. Sometimes, one may feel upset without a reason. In such cases emotions certainly can be given a pass.

3. Decoding Emotions: Decoding emotions in simpler words refers to understanding and finding out the exact reason behind a certain emotion. For example, if someone is feeling low, you need to know the exact reason as to why the other person is upset and sad. Interpreting the emotions correctly is extremely crucial. Let us make it simple with the help of an example:

   Tim noticed that his Boss, Charlie was not at all speaking to him for quite some time now. He could somehow make out from his expressions and gestures. Tim was smart enough to find out the exact reason of his Boss’s anger. He immediately finished all his pending assignments and also ensured his team met its monthly targets.

4. Managing Emotions: The last but most important part is to know how to manage your emotions. You may be angry over someone but that does not mean you can shout over him/her or abuse in public.

   Do not let your emotions come out and spoil the office environment. As a mature professional, you are expected to deal with your emotions sensibly. Try to find a solution to your problems rather than cribbing and crying over spilled milk.

Creativity is nothing but the process of creating something unique and new. Creativity indeed plays a crucial role in organizations at all levels. Following same old techniques might not yield results everytime. Remember, change is inevitable. You just can’t stick to what was taught in your school or college. Creativity is reaching to innovative solutions, new ideas, unique concepts through brainstorming, discussions and healthy communication among employees.

You need to understand that same policies can’t be applied everywhere. Can you apply the same strategy while selling a home and while selling a pen? Absolutely NO. There has to be some difference.

Let us understand the same with an example:

Company A deals into many consumer products and recently came with a new product – Toothpaste. The toothpaste was introduced as an effective remedy to plaque, tartar and even stains on teeth due to excessive tea, coffee and nicotine. Let me ask you a question.

Do you think the brand “toothpaste” would survive if Organization A does not market the product with additional features and benefits over the years? Two years down the line, probably, you might introduce a scheme where the end-user would get a tooth brush free with the toothpaste or say the packaging can be little more innovative and attractive, or the toothpaste can come in various exciting new flavours. It can be anything. Who decides all this? Yes, it is actually you, who work as responsible employees in their respective organizations.

Remember, your company is not paying you for simply marking your attendance and delivering only as per your key responsibility areas mentioned in your offer letter. Let me be very honest, if you have such an attitude, you might survive in the organization but would never grow professionally. In simpler words, creativity is all about taking challenges and thinking out of the box. Why do you always have to follow your Boss’s instructions? Of course you have to follow what he/she says but you can always apply your own brains and come out with something exciting and different. Being physically present in the office does not help. You need to think little differently from others. Think as to how can you make your product or brand better than your competitors. Think as to how you can make your products an instant hit among your target audience.

Without creativity; you will soon start finding your job monotonous and a mere source of burden. Do not always follow the path shown by your mentors. Sit with your counter parts, discuss, and most importantly brain storm ideas. Being creative is no rocket science; you just need to be passionate towards it.

Let me do a simple exercise with you:

I will give you a word and please write down whatever comes to your mind on a piece of paper.

The word is “Beautiful”.

Let me just jot down my thoughts.

For me Beautiful is:

Flower, My mother, Weather, Hill Station, A party Dress, Bangles, girls, Angelina Jolie, small baby girl in my neighbourhood, surroundings, society park and so on. Did you see the difference? One single word and many thoughts. I am sure the same is the case with you as well.

In the same way, if you have to market a Soft Drink, do not blindly follow what your seniors have been doing all this while. A soft drink can be low in calories, healthy, full of nutrients, available in various flavours, available in pet bottles or even tetra packs etc.Remember, Google does not have all the solutions. Sometimes it becomes really essential to follow what your heart says. Do what you love to do. Be creative and enjoy your work.

Remember, as an individual, you have all the rights to express your views and opinions as long as you are confident and know whatever you are speaking is relevant and makes sense. Assertiveness refers to a positive trait of an individual where he/she knows what needs to be spoken or discussed without hurting or insulting the other person.

Why do you think your superiors do not believe you when you ask for a day’s leave even for a genuine reason? The answer is very simple. It is your lack of assertiveness which creates doubts in your boss’s mind and eventually he/she becomes reluctant to grant you leave. Trust me, if you really have a problem at home or not well, there is no reason to be nervous. Be confident unless and until you are lying and have done something seriously wrong.

Have you ever been a part of business meetings/discussions or delivered a presentation at workplace? If yes, then certainly you would understand the meaning and importance of assertiveness. When your company’s Managing Director or Chairman shares a presentation with the entire team highlighting company’s strategies, vision and what all should be done in the coming years, don’t you all listen to him/her with rapt attention? The reason is his confidence and assertiveness which make you believe in whatever he is saying at the particular forum.

When you go for an interview, do you take someone from your current organization who supports whatever you are saying? I know you cannot even dream of doing the same. An individual applying for the position of marketing executive in a potential organization, would share all his previous successful deals, client handling experiences, achievements, targets, vendor handling and so on to prove that he is better than the other candidate waiting outside the interview room and must be hired for the particular position. In such a case, assertiveness plays an important role. It is the individual’s confidence and ability to express himself/herself in the most accurate manner without cooking fake stories and insulting anyone that help him grab the job.

Assertiveness is when you reply to the interviewer without looking here and there but directly into his/her eyes. Fiddling with things around, playing with tie or hair will help you neither in your personal nor professional lives as nobody will take you seriously. When we need something from our parents, may be an expensive gift or a cell phone, don’t we try our level best to sound confident and be assertive so that they understand our genuine need for the particular thing?

There is a thin line of difference between being assertive and being rude. You do not have to shout or fight with the other person just to prove your point. Assertiveness means making yourself and your points clear in front of the other person which is certainly different from being aggressive and abusing the other person. Explaining your views and opinions to people around is your right but arguing is considered rude and unprofessional.

Developing eye contact with the person you interact is one effective way to prove your assertiveness.

The pitch and tone of your voice also play an important role in assertiveness. Speaking too slow and whispering into someone’s ear show your nervousness and lack of assertiveness. Be loud and clear. Carefully choose relevant words and avoid using slangs at work.