5 Reasons Creativity Makes For Stronger, Lasting Business Partnerships

From cultural fit to business analytics, there are many areas that have a direct impact on the efficacy and longevity of business partnerships. But in the midst of culture evaluations and number crunching, it can be all too easy for another key element of strong business partnerships to be overlooked.

That attribute?

Creativity.

Creativity isn’t always something we immediately associate with the business world, but it can have a very real influence on your partnerships and their potential for success.

This was made clear during a recent conversation with Yael S. Hacohen, a full-time poet, career-long creative and Tel Aviv postdoctoral student. She explained, “Publishing creative works is one of the first things we associate with creativity. But writing and other forms of artistic expression don’t have a monopoly on creativity. Finding creative solutions to the challenges you’re facing can be just as valid a form of creative expression, even if we don’t always think of it that way. Creativity is a mindset that shouldn’t be limited to a single form.”

With that in mind, here’s how creativity can boost your business partnerships:

1. Improve Social Connections

Successful collaboration is often dependent on the social bonds between those involved. Research published in the Harvard Business Review cites a field experiment in which a randomly assigned group of workers would be assigned together to participate in a creative mindset activity or neutral activity. Those who participated in the creative exercises felt more social closeness with their coworkers, and were less likely to engage in rude behavior.

The social closeness was further enhanced in environments that were considered to be supportive and psychologically safe. In these environments, study participants tended to focus on positive interactions after the creative exercises. It stands to reason that similarly improved social connections can result when business partners also participate in creative activities together.

2. Encourage Innovation

Another noteworthy advantage of creativity is that it encourages you and your business partners to innovate. After all, a big part of why many partnerships begin in the first place is a desire to innovate and develop new solutions that aren’t currently available — or attainable by the organizations on their own.

A collaborative approach that respects the input of all involved is more likely to develop unique, original and useful ideas. Bringing together individuals from both parties with diverse backgrounds can encourage better brainstorming through asking better questions and approaching proposed solutions from a variety of angles. This can lead to better solutions for both sides.

3. Foster Adaptability And Flexibility

Creativity doesn’t just enhance your ability to develop effective solutions with your partner — it can also improve the nature of how you approach the partnership itself. If things aren’t running as smoothly as you’d hope for in your partnership, creative thinking could be key to developing solutions that get things back on track.

A creative mindset allows for greater adaptability and flexibility in your partnership, allowing you to change the nature of what you do together and how you do it based on changes in your business or the market as a whole. This could influence everything from how you communicate to the specific goals and projects you are working on. Adaptability and flexibility will enable the partnership to evolve as needed, rather than getting cast aside as needs and the business environment change.

4. Enhance Growth And Productivity

Research from Deloitte reveals that high-growth brands are more likely to strongly agree that their organization fosters creative ideas, encourages risk-taking and promotes creative collaboration. Notably, these organizations don’t limit creativity to select teams, instead finding creative solutions from their strategic partners, suppliers and even customers. With a solid culture in place, these organizations transform creativity from any source into meaningful growth.

A strong, lasting business partnership stands the test of time because it delivers measurable results that help the involved organizations meet their goals — and usually, as a direct approach of the shared creative culture. When creativity takes center stage in your partnership, you are far more likely to achieve the desired KPIs, as well as generate continued growth from ongoing creative thinking.

5. Embrace New Challenges

An emphasis on creativity can completely change your mindset when your partnership confronts any challenge. While partnerships are inherently designed to overcome one or more challenges to an organization, most collaborations encounter new (and often unforeseen) obstacles along the way to solving that problem.

When a creative mindset exists, you and your partner embrace the challenge. It doesn’t become a source of discouragement or a reason to believe that goals cannot be achieved. Instead, it can serve as a motivator that drives everyone involved to think more creatively and develop exciting, innovative solutions. By completely changing the attitudes of those involved, chances for success will greatly increase.

Strengthen Your Partnerships — Creatively

Successful business partnerships often rely on creative problem-solving. And as Hacohen explained, creative thinking can exist practically anywhere and be used to address any situation. This is especially true in partnerships where a diverse group of people are coming together to solve a challenge.

Making your partnerships more effective could also depend on creative thinking and collaboration as well. By embracing the power of creativity in any business activity or partnership, you can create more opportunities for successful collaborations that deliver long-term win-wins.