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Blog posted by: Ross Middleham, Creative Lead at the Met Office, 30 October 2024.

In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving work environment, creativity and innovation are more important than ever before. As Creative Lead at the Met Office, I continually seek new ways to reach more people with our key messages, elevate our brand and showcase the Met Office as a great place to work. In fact, one of our values as an organisation is that ‘we keep evolving’, as we have done over the past 170 years.

Me (Ross Middleham) at an awards ceremony where I received ‘Colleague of the Year’ award

I help to lead a team of designers, animators, presenters and editors who are creating content for a variety of channels every day. However, despite our creative nature we have struggled in the past to make time to explore new ideas together.

Introducing the ‘Creative Headspace’

To nurture creativity in our team we decided to make one small, simple change which I’d highly recommend to other teams. We kickstarted an idea called ‘Creative Headspace’- half an hour each day, protected time in our calendars, to use when we want. We decide each day whether we use the time to support someone struggling with a creative brief, to explore the seed of a new idea or learn something new as a team.

It has given us some dedicated time together as a team and provided a safe space to focus our ideas.

Based on feedback from the team, participation remains optional but is encouraged. We allow team members to dip in and out of the sessions as they see fit. This flexibility makes the sessions more appealing and less of a burden.

By encouraging creativity in this way, individuals have felt more empowered and motivated to contribute ideas, and know they will be listened to.

Delivering impact

The Creative Headspace initiative has led to the trial of various innovative ideas. For example, in one of our Headspace sessions we explored the potential behind creating a branded GIPHY channel. By the end of the meeting, we had co-created the channel and uploaded our first GIFs. We now have over 850 million branded GIF views and rising! All from giving ourselves some ‘Creative Headspace’ and exploring the potential of an idea.

An example of one of our whiteboards used during a Creative Headspace session

5 tips to help you set up your own Creative Headspace

1. Create a relaxed environment: This will help team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of judgment. Encourage open discussions and make it clear that all ideas are welcome.
2. Set a regular schedule: Consistency is key. This will help team members get into the habit of thinking creatively and looking forward to these sessions. Whilst we started doing a few per week we have settled on approximately one a week.
3. Encourage participation: Make it clear that participation is optional but encouraged. Allow team members to dip in and out of the sessions as they see fit. This flexibility will make the sessions more appealing and less of a burden.
4. Focus on collaboration: Encourage team members to bring their current projects and brainstorm ideas together. This collaborative approach will lead to more innovative solutions.
5. Keep it fresh: Keep them alive by sharing the running with others in the team. Invite a guest to set a challenge. Ask an agency to share some inspiration. Focusing on what can be done (rather than what can’t) will make them more enjoyable and productive.

Give it a go

How do you encourage creative thinking in your team? If you’re struggling why not have a go at trialling some Creative Headspace? I’d love to hear how you get on and if you manage to nurture a culture of creativity in the same way we have.

You can connect, tag or message me on LinkedIn.