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Imagine showing up to work each day truly happy that you are there, getting energy from your colleagues, having fun in meetings, feeling like what you do counts. It is possible. You just have to create the conditions that help you to spark your creative genius.

Imagine showing up to work each day truly happy that you are there, getting energy from your colleagues, having fun in meetings, feeling like what you do counts. It’s possible. You can be happy at work and it doesn’t take much money, effort, or time – you just have to create the conditions to help spark your creative genius!

The creative genius is that part of each and every one of us who is stimulated – full of excitement, energy and ideas…the part of each of us that has a possibilities-oriented, “can-do” attitude and way of being that communicates to the world around us that anything is possible. Follow these simple steps and you will find more happiness in your work:

During the work day, ask yourself, “How might I make what I’m doing more fun?” Is there a favorite colleague of yours that might take a few minutes to brainstorm some ideas around a task you are working on? Or maybe getting yourself out from behind your desk and into a different environment will give you the energy you need to spark your creative genius? A little music to lift the mood

Take a positive approach. Think about and focus on the aspects of what you are doing that attracted you to this job in the first place. How might you do more of that? How might you get back to the reasons why you picked your career, your place of employment, etc.? Write these down, take a look at this list and see how you feel.

Ask yourself – what is it that I really want from my work life? Is this meeting my needs? Is this the right environment? Giving yourself permission to do some light exploration will empower you to make the best decisions for you, give you hope, and open yourself up to the possibilities.

Want your employees to stay? Making sure the right creative conditions are in place to keep employees loyal to you and your organization while at the same time helping them be productive, think big and come up with bold ideas to satisfy your customers. As a leader, here are some simple things you can do today to add to people’s job satisfaction and create the workplace conditions that make employees want to stay and be engaged:

  • Catch them doing something right and let them know about it.
  • Encourage employees to express themselves creatively.
  • Trust your employees – give them the space and freedom to get the job done.
  • Walk the talk – behave in the way that models how you want others to behave.
  • Take an appreciative approach – focus on what is working, what is good and how to do more of that.
  • Always seek first to understand.
  • Celebrate – find ways to celebrate the good things that are going on with your employees.

Jeannine McGlade & Andrew Pek are the authors of Stimulated! Habits to Spark Your Creative Genius at Work.