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Creativity Comments by Winston J. Brill, Ph.D.

03/03 Creativity Comment

Infectious Enthusiasm

In Creativity Comments 04/02 and 02/03, I indicate the importance of enthusiasm as a driver for creative and innovative thinking.  So, how does one manage enthusiasm?  It shouldn’t be difficult.  Who wouldn’t like to be enthusiastic about something?  It’s fun.

There are always opportunities having the potential to instill enthusiasm in your staff for work goals.  Here are a few incentives to instill that enthusiasm:

• Organizational success
• Personal success
• Personal challenge
• Curiosity
• Colleague’s admiration
• Supervisor’s admiration
• Greater wealth
• Greater responsibility
• Influence on the organization
• Influence in the industry
• Influence on society

In managing enthusiasm, you will benefit from an intrinsic property of enthusiasm: it’s infectious.  The reason it spreads so easily is that others’ see the fun and satisfaction in those who have enthusiasm for work goals. 

Because enthusiasm is so obvious, non-enthusiastic colleagues usually acquire a desire for their own fun and satisfaction.  They also observe that people with enthusiasm for work challenges get ahead through their creative and innovative inputs.  It is difficult to remain non-enthusiastic when others express their enthusiasm. 

Okay, there are always certain people who are cynical and go out of their way to refuse entry to this shared enthusiasm.  In the next Creativity Comment, I’ll discuss how to get such people to change their attitudes.