How would you feel if you only had one crayon to “choose” from, especially when you knew there were more possibilities? How does a lack of choice affect your creativity and innovation? How often do you provide others with similar limited and limiting choices?

Choice Matters, Even in Small Matters

I always knew that choice was important, but this was brought deeply home to me when my wife and I assisted with crafts at our church’s Vacation Bible School. Our VBS has kids from pre-K to 5th grade and they are marvelous teachers, if you pay attention.

I always make sure that I am the main one interacting with the kids whenever there are supplies that allow for any type of choice. Some of my adult co-workers just hand out whatever color of item that they pull out for the kids. What a marvelous opportunity they are missing. The more fascinating way to distribute colored supplies is to allow each kid to select their own colors. Their eyes light up, they are fully engaged, and filled with joy as they carefully make their selections. Choice is clearly important, even when creating a craft that probably won’t be kept for more than a week. What does this say about the necessity of providing choice when creativity and innovation are needed for an organization’s survival.

Unreal Choice

But wait, it gets better. One year, after fascinating color options, we were preparing to make necklaces with brown cord. But, when I passed out the cord, I still asked the kids if they would like blue, red, yellow, etc. Most of them played along and actually selected a “color.” Only a few of the adult helpers chose a “color” while the other adults looked on in confusion and disbelief. I wonder what that says about our imagination, fascination, and sense wonder as adults. I wonder what this says about choice in the “real world?” If you have thoughts on this, please share a comment below.

How Does Lack of Choice Make You Feel?

All too often personal and organizational creativity and innovation suffer from the lack of choice. Think of when you have been deprived of choices. Think about a specific example. How were you limited? How did you feel? How would the world have benefited if you would have had even the simplest of choices?

Choice strengthens all. Neil Prescot

On the other hand, when we provide choice, it strengthens not just the person choosing, but also the provider. We don’t usually think this way. Usually we fear that employees or students will run wild when provided choice. This is where choice strengthens both parties. It takes a leap of faith to allow for more choices. When we do, we grow as leaders and teachers. If you know of other ways one grows by providing choice, please leave a comment below.

Provide More Choice – They Win, YOU Win

We began by looking at when a lack of choice held you back, let’s close by looking at the flip side.

• When has choice played powerfully in your life?
• What surprising results have you seen from either being provided more choice or by providing more choice to others?
• Where can you help people realize the range of choices that do exist?
• Where can you provide more choice to others?
• What do you need to do to be clear about the choices available?
  • People become familiar with the range of acceptable choices.
  • People won’t go too far afield.
  • Good conversation around choice may help eliminate, “Better to beg forgiveness later than to ask permission up front.”
• Where do you personally need more options to be effective?

Bottom line. If you want more creativity and innovation, take a leap of faith, no matter how small, and provide the choice that others so desperately need.

Tagged as: Choice, Creativity, Passion

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