The Creative Identity Crisis

CREATIVITY
Written By Cynthia Hale

A CEO had built three companies and pioneered industry standards. Mentored countless innovators. So why did she freeze when I asked about her creative interests?

"I'm not creative," she said firmly. "I'm a systems person. My ex-husband was the creative one—he painted. I just... built things."

We let that sit for a moment. 

Then I asked, "Built things from nothing? Envisioned what didn't exist? Made the impossible happen?"

Her expression changed. "Ohhhhh."

The Great Divide

Somewhere we decided creativity belonged to "artists" and business belonged to "practical people." We put imagination in one box, execution in another. Many people spend years in only one box.

But consider:

  • Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, didn't just open coffee shops—he created an entire culture around coffee

  • Sara Blakely, Spanx founder, didn't just make underwear—she reimagined how women feel in their clothes

  • James Dyson, the industrial designer and inventor, didn't just fix vacuums—he rethought how air moves through 5,000+ prototypes

Were they business people or artists? The question misses the point.

What Stress and Boredom Can Reveal

"I got fed up," a former CFO told me. "When my attention wandered, I started doodling. It actually helped me focus. Turns out I'd been thinking in pictures all along, just translating them into numbers."

Often it takes exhaustion for creativity to break through our professional armour. When we're too tired to maintain the divide, something authentic emerges.

Another executive discovered writing in a journal during stressful times was more than just venting. Phrases became poetry: "I wasn't trying to be creative. I was trying to explain what was happening to me. Words just flowed better as poems."

The Identity Shift

Seeing yourself as a creative person isn't really about producing a final product. It's about understanding the parts of your creative self that already exist. Without pressure!

You’ll find that familiar creative impulses and skills find new expression when they are redefined.

"I spent forty years thinking I wasn't creative because I didn't paint," she reflected. "Turns out I was painting all along—with businesses instead of brushes."

Beyond Labels

What if you stopped asking "What could I do to become creative?" and started asking "How does my creativity show up?"

It might be in your strategic thinking. Your problem-solving. Your ability to see connections others miss. Your gift for bringing out the best in people.

The creative identity crisis ends when you realise it was never a crisis. Just a misunderstanding about what creativity looks like.

Still think you're not creative? Let's find where your creativity has been hiding in plain sight.

References:

Ready to go further?

These resources offer valuable perspectives, but nothing replaces a thoughtful conversation about your specific situation.

Have a resource that's helped you? I'd love to hear about it. Drop me an EMAIL.

Photo courtesy of Alejandra Rodríguez.

Cynthia Hale
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