I'm a huge fan of the TED education video series. One that really caught my eye the other day was from David Kelly, titled 'How do build your creative confidence'.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/david_kelley_how_to_build_your_creative_confidence.html

It struck a chord with me as it aligns very closely with how I think on the subject.

Firstly it is all about encouragement, not criticism. This makes real sense to me, especially his example of telling a child they are useless at something. I also really firmly believe in both the negative and positive cycles he describes.

I.E. tell someone they are good at something and they do it more, the more you do something the better you get etc. This is also true in the reverse, which is David's whole point really.

On a personal note I really liked the angle that everyone is creative. I've had some background in digital and marketing agencies and they have all been very concerned over labelling departments technical or creative. This may be for the benefit of clients to help them understand someone's role within the organisation but in my experience it is also a symptom of 'expert snobbery'.

Expert snobbery happens a lot in IT but it also happens in the traditional creative environment (Art directors, Illustrators, Designers etc.). People within the creative field like to re-enforce their creative superiority. They are constantly telling each other how creative they are and how others lack that creative spark. Don't listen to them! It's not true! Creativity shouldn't be measured by how well you design something or your skill with a Sharpie.

Your creativity comes into play with every decision you make. Take confidence in making those decisions, don't shy away from them. Soon you'll be embracing creative decision making like it's a natural way of thinking - because it is.