In the race to move faster and do more, creativity is often what quietly shrinks first. This article from Layal Baaklini explores why that happens and how we as leaders can bring creativity back to full size. You’ll learn five simple ways to protect creative energy and help your team think bigger again.
Creativity has a curious way of disappearing. It doesn’t storm out the door.It shrinks quietly.
In business, we obsess over efficiencies. Faster delivery, smaller budgets, leaner teams, max productivity. Like shrinkflation in consumer goods, the package looks the same but what’s inside slowly reduces.
Emails replace thinking time. “Quick wins” replace exploration. Senior meetings crowd out creative chats. Teams still show up, but the spark gets thinner, lighter, weaker.
Most leaders don’t set out to shrink creativity, it just happens when pressure rises and pace accelerates. But the uncomfortable truth is this: creativity is often the first thing sacrificed, and the last thing we notice is missing.
But here’s the good news, creativity doesn’t need a sabbatical, a budget miracle, or a breakthrough campaign. It just needs space, protection, and intention.
Drawing from some of the world’s most respected thinkers in creativity, here are five truths every leader can apply to bring creative energy back to full size.
5 Truths we as leaders can learn from Creative Thought-Leaders
1. Awareness - Spot the shrinkage early
As Teresa Amabile reminds us in The “Progress Principl”e, people do their best creative work when they feel they’re making progress that matters. Watch your team’s energy, not just their output. If pride and curiosity are fading, that’s your early warning sign.
2. Air - Give psychological space to play and experiment
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, says leaders must “protect the process.” That means making space for thought, not just action. Block time for idea breaks, reflection, or creative Fridays. Air cover isn’t wasted time, it’s where the magic brews
3. Alignment - Zip commercial growth and imagination
Rama Gheerawo calls this the zipper effect: leaders connect logic and imagination, empathy and clarity. Make sure creativity aligns with your growth ambition, but don’t box it in. When strategy and curiosity move together, ideas flow further.
4. Alchemy - Turn collaboration into magic
Keith Sawyer’s research shows that breakthrough ideas rarely come from one person. They emerge when diverse thinkers interact safely and openly. Create environments where team members can challenge ideas without fear, share learnings from failures, and build on each other’s sparks. Collaboration is not just teamwork, it’s co-creation. Replace some of your status update meetings with creative sparks. Use “yes, and” conversations that build on each other’s ideas. Collaboration is the fuel of creativity.
5. Attention - Nurture focus and reflection
Mindfulness and reflection are critical for creative energy, as Melinda Rothouse demonstrates. Build small moments that refill your team’s energy, a creative nudge at the start of a meeting or a gratitude round at week’s end. Attention is precious. Spend it on what sparks inspiration.
3 Takeaways
- Creativity doesn’t vanish overnight, it shrinks quietly under pressure.
- Protecting space and energy for creative work is our duty as leaders.
- Curiosity, alignment, intention, and collaboration are the antidotes to shrinkflation.
“Creativity isn’t about height, it’s about weight. It grows stronger the more you flex it and feed it with space and time.”
Layal Baaklini - inspired by Josh Linkner
3 Action Items
Audit your team’s creative climate
Ask how inspired, supported, and safe they feel to think differently.
Start one new ritual
Try a five-minute idea jam, a “no-meeting hour,” or a weekly creative spark session.
Celebrate small wins weekly
This practice builds your team’s creative confidence and encourages experimentation.
