In my “Bridging the Gap” articles, I will interview people in academia who are researching leadership and organizational psychology, so that, as practitioners, we can learn from and apply their insights.
Jennifer Lynch is a former McKinsey consultant who now researches creativity at the London Business School. You can watch her TEDx talk here.
– What is “relational creativity”?
The challenge with the traditional definition of creativity—“producing novel and meaningful ideas, objects, and experiences”—is that it limits creativity to either the artistic or the intellectual domain (e.g. painting, writing, or tech products).
But I think it’s possible to do anything in a more or less creative way. Relational creativity means making a novel and meaningful connection with another person. It’s no less real, we know when we have it or lack it, but it’s harder to measure
– Then how do we know if someone is relationally creative?
We can take a few well-known examples: Oprah, Mr. Rogers, or Princess Diana. When you look at how people talk about them, the impact they had, it’s clear they had an exceptional ability to create connection with a diverse range of people.
This is not about the number of “LinkedIn connections:” someone can be great at networking, but this is not what I am talking about; it’s about having that profound experience of connection in the moment. It could be with a stranger that you never meet again.
– Why is this experience of connection important, especially in organizations?
For many organizations this kind of connection is central to how they generate value. For instance, in consulting or the legal field—any client service field—the more connection you create, the more you build trust, and the more fluid and efficient your relationships will be. It is the same for the student-teacher relationship in education. In healthcare, the quality of the interaction between patient and doctors has a material impact on whether patients will follow the prescription. And so on.
Besides business outcomes, research tells us there are strong ties between connection and psychological wellbeing. People literally live longer: the quality of your relationships meaningfully extends your life.
The more connection you create, the more you build trust, and the more fluid and efficient your relationship will be. And it improves everybody’s wellbeing.
– This is not about manipulation: it’s about having a genuine connection.
Yes. Intrinsic motivation is one of the core components of creativity in general, and it’s no different for relational creativity. In this case, intrinsic motivation means genuinely wanting to connect with someone.
– What can we do to get better at creating connection?
It starts with tapping into your curiosity. Are you genuinely interested in what life is like for this other person? This is the real litmus test if you are intrinsically motivated—are you curious? Otherwise, it may be that you want to feel connected for your own agenda. Then your intention is stuck in your head, and that limits the quality of connection.
It also helps to appreciate both the similarities and the differences between the two of you. Noticing what you have in common can be a great way to make connection, but a step further is appreciating how everyone is different and brings their own unique perspective.
Vulnerability is a catalyst for connection—being willing to share yourself, your real self, at some basic level. The stereotype of vulnerability is that it needs to be something negative, sharing a weakness or painful experience. But we could also be sharing our excitement or opinion, that’s also another form of vulnerability.
And then there’s being engaged. Essentially, that’s putting down your phone. Minimizing distractions and devoting your full attention to the person in front of you.
It all starts with curiosity. Are you genuinely interested in the life of this other person? Otherwise, if you are solely doing it for your own agenda, it limits the quality of connection.
– If a manager wants to connect with their team or a lawyer is trying to connect with their client, what can they do, specifically?
Ask better questions. I was taught a framework of questions: “what” questions invite a factual response; “why” and “how” questions invite a story as a response, and “what if” questions invite the other person to imagine possibilities. Think about: “can I ask more story questions or more possibility questions?”
We under-express appreciation chronically. The problem is that when we give someone a compliment, there’s a subtext that says “congrats, you’re just like me, that’s awesome!” Could you challenge yourself to offer someone appreciation for a dimension on which they are different than you? Especially for managers to the team members, when there’s a power dynamic involved, it means a lot.
To be vulnerable, I would say: share something that you are excited about, something personal. Or share your “why” (Simon Sinek) – why is x important to you, why does it matter? Or share a story. For a lot of us, we underestimate how interesting our stories are.
And don’t even put your phone on the table. Be fully present in the moment.
– Why would someone take time to do this, when the pressure to do something else with your time is so great in organizations nowadays?
I don’t think it’s a valid excuse. This doesn’t take that much time. Ask yourself this question: “Would it make my life easier if this person trusted me?” And “would I be happier if I felt connected to the people I interact with at work?” Most of the time people answer yes to these questions. It’s a worthy investment.
