Leader Talk and the Creative Spark: A Research Note on How Leader Motivating Language Use Influences Follower Creative Environment Perceptions

摘要

Garden variety creativity has a vital but often overlooked role in business. Garden variety creativity happens whenever someone develops a new way of dealing with a workplace issue. It contrasts with institutional creativity-actions meant to develop radical new business methods and products at an organizational level. Institutional creativity advances a business' place in an industry. Garden variety creativity makes daily routines more efficient and fulfills employees' need for expression in the workplace. This article examines how leader communication-as captured by the motivating language framework-influences employee's perceptions of the creative environment. Structural equation model analysis found a strong, significant, and positive relationship between leader motivating language use and worker perceptions of their creative environment. Motivating language use explained 55% of the variance in creative environment perceptions in a sample of over 140 workers drawn from diverse organizations. Findings also showed a 7% increase in creative environment perceptions for every 10% increase in motivating language use.