Why creativity fades and what you risk losing when it does.
Creativity is often treated as a “nice to have,” especially outside artistic fields.
But research and real-world experience suggest it’s one of the most practical skills people can develop, and one that many adults misunderstand.
“Creativity is your imagination in action,” said Victoria Lozano, executive vice president of brand marketing at Crayola, during Ragan’s Social Media Conference. “It’s not about the output. It’s really about the process.”
This is extremely important for PR pros and marketing teams, especially as conversations about AI, automation and skills gaps accelerate, she said.
Research shows creativity is linked to career achievement, higher education attainment and long-term problem-solving ability across industries.
“Each one of these statements is backed up by significant empirical research,” Lozano said, including studies that followed participants for decades.
Despite this, creativity is still widely boxed into narrow definitions, she said.
“Over half of parents associate creativity with artistic pursuits,” Lozano said. “So it’s good for you if you’re going to end up in careers like fashion or design. Everything else, they’re not so sure about.”
Another common belief is that creativity fades on its own.
“There’s this idea that kids naturally grow out of creativity,” she said. “That’s also not true.”
These myths have consequences. When adults believe creativity is either innate or irrelevant to most careers, they’re less likely to nurture it intentionally, whether that be at home, in schools or in the workplace.
“They value it, but they don’t really get it,” Lozano said. “And if you don’t get it, how could you possibly know what to do about it?”
Lozano argues that creativity isn’t limited to campaign concepts. It shows up in crisis response, message framing, stakeholder problem-solving and navigating ambiguity, she said.
“If you define creativity as behaviors — being curious, keeping an open mind, learning from mistakes — it doesn’t actually matter what field you’re in,” Lozano said.
She pointed to NASA as an example.
“NASA will tell you that creativity is used in every single job they have,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what you do. Creativity is used in every single one of those jobs. It just manifests itself differently.”
But sometimes modern life works against those behaviors.
“We tend to unconsciously unteach creativity,” Lozano said, as speed, hard skills and constant media consumption crowd out focus, experimentation and hands-on thinking.
For comms teams, creativity must be embraced as a core capability that supports better thinking, stronger messaging and more resilient teams.
And like any skill, it needs constant nurturing.
To learn even more, head over to view this presentation and more at Ragan Training here.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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