Understanding creative brains can make your working environment happier and more productive, says psychologist, Janet Evans

Many creative people have personality characteristics in common, and we need to understand those qualities if we’re to help them thrive.

Take screen writers, for example. One I know, Sadiq told me recently: “If I’m pitching an idea to an executive and they don’t ‘get’ it, I feel like giving up and walking out. Why should I expose something so precious to somebody obviously incapable of appreciating it?’”

Similarly, India, a writer-director tells me that pitching feels like “exposing something organic, soft and living  - my pet kitten, maybe? -  to something hard and sharp and angular, like a cheese grater. Something wonderful I love is being shredded and reduced to furry shards”.

Meanwhile, screenwriter Gus says he finds criticism really hard to deal with. “At first, I rationalise: I tell myself that I knew the material wasn’t any good,” he says. “But if it’s bad, it stops me working and I can sink into depression.”

Creative people put ideas together in new, intriguing ways – they’re visionaries.  But they’re also often introverts – preferring to live in their own minds rather than engage with the external world. And they may be troubled: they suffer from much higher rates of depression and other forms of emotional instability than the general population.

If we look at this combination of interacting traits in more detail, what lessons can we draw about how to help our creative colleagues produce their best work?

Studies of how creative people think show they do indeed make much broader associations – ‘creative leaps’ – between different domains of thought than the norm, seeing patterns, correspondences and links which the rest of us do not. They’re dedicated to developing their vision and, when it comes to fruition, they feel a strong sense of reward and fierce ownership of this new way of looking at things, a conviction that it’s ‘right.’ Many are also highly empathetic. They draw on their experience to express truths about the human condition, making their vision all the more personal.

Observations of electrical activity in highly creative people’s brains show that when they are in a resting state, the perceptual parts of their brains are much more active than those of their colleagues. They notice things the rest of us dismiss and these inputs spark the cascade of changes which produces new ideas. The downside is that they actually find it more difficult than their less creative colleagues to filter out the distractions of business life.

Introverts get their kicks from reflecting on their own internal worlds. Visionary introverts in particular need quiet processing time and are easily swamped by too much external stimulation. They are also bad at sharing their thoughts. The introvert may believe that they have somehow, by osmosis, communicated the full richness of their inner vision though they’ve only given the bare bones. Or they may feel reluctant to share something so hard-won and exposing with others who may not fully understand it or take issue with it.

Our individual level of emotional stability is the product of both our genes and our upbringing, and we are all on a bell curve. Many creative people lie to the right of the curve. Their emotional vulnerabilities are magnified by the way their minds work. Their particular talent for imagining alternative futures, including bad ones involving themselves, and their tendency as introverts to dwell on their internal landscape are a recipe for the repetitive rumination that leads to depression.

These dark thoughts give their work its emotional resonance and many creative people find that expressing them is soothing. But they still find both the big challenges and the small hassles of life more upsetting than their more stable colleagues. And they are likely to be particularly vulnerable in situations which echo adverse experiences in their childhood, such as an unsympathetic or unappreciative parent or teacher.

In summary, if you work with creatives: try to remember that they may find it very difficult to share the full richness of their vision, and give them time and encouragement to do so. See yourself as a midwife to their ideas. Recognise that they are deeply invested in their work and may be emotionally vulnerable. They may need constant affirmation and be acutely sensitive to criticism – show how much you value them, and be careful how you frame your notes.

And, if you are a creative, remember that your work has to be out there to be appreciated. Try to communicate your vision fully, be ready for some compromise, and try not to see feedback as a personal attack but an opportunity to improve your work.

Janet Evans is a psychologist and coach who has worked extensively in the creative industries.