Creativity And Flow Identified As Key Drivers Of Energy Resilience And Effective Leadership

Fineline Consulting's Taegan Devar. Image supplied

I spent time working with my hands and bringing all sorts of wonderful and sometimes crazy ideas to life. From mosaicking my planter box to painting garden stones, knitting hats for my family, and reading first-edition novels I discovered tucked away on my parent’s bookshelf.

It was a season of joyful making.

What amazed me most was how easily I slipped into a state of flow, losing track of time, my phone, and the usual daily demands.

Interestingly, after spending time in these creative pursuits, I felt more energised and ready to take on the bigger challenges ahead: moving house, launching my new business, and setting up a new working space.

This got me thinking: what is it about creativity that feels so restoring and energising? And how can leaders tap into this energy to help themselves and their teams thrive?

Research suggests that when we engage in creative activities focused on the process rather than the outcome, we experience what Saundra Dalton-Smith describes as “creative rest” in her book Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity (2017).

This kind of rest allows the mind to pause from constant production, giving creativity space to regenerate.

Creative rest can take many forms: spending time in nature, unstructured daydreaming, engaging with art or music, or participating in gentle, absorbing activities that restore rather than demand.

When we are depleted in this area, we may feel uninspired or stuck. If you’re procrastinating about something, you might need just this kind of rest. Low-demand, mindful activities, like taking a walk, working in a garden, reading an inspiring passage, or doodling in a notebook can rekindle one’s sense of curiosity and momentum.

Engaging in creativity without focusing on outcomes also acts as a form of mindfulness.

It allows deep focus and presence, promotes relaxation and helps to quiet the worry loop we often get into. As I methodically cut tiles or patiently untangled a knot in my wool, I noticed I was less preoccupied with everything else.

Once finished, I felt a genuine sense of accomplishment and pride, so much so that after mosaicking one side of my planter box, I told my family, “I feel like I got a lot done today!”

Creative work pursued purely for its own sake is a form of play.

In Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul (2009), Stuart Brown identifies seven qualities of play: apparent purposelessness, voluntary engagement, intrinsic attraction, freedom from time, diminished self-consciousness, improvisational potential and a desire to continue.

I’ve often found that when I engage in something without the pressure to produce an outcome, my best work tends to emerge and that sense of play becomes an essential part of the creative process.

When you stop engaging in goal-directed tasks, your brain’s default mode network becomes more active. This network supports imagination, idea generation and the formation of loose associations, all of which are essential for making novel connections.

During creative thinking, the brain switches between the default mode network and the executive control network, which helps with focus, evaluation and the refinement of emerging ideas.

For example, imagine you’ve spent hours trying to solve a challenging work problem without success. You decide to take a walk or make some tea.

As your focus drifts, your brain enters the default mode network, allowing unrelated ideas to combine in new ways. Suddenly, an unexpected and elegant solution comes to mind.

When you return to your desk, your executive control network activates again, helping you refine that solution into something practical and well developed.

Bringing creativity into the workplace

How might this translate into the workplace? How can leaders cultivate and benefit from creativity for themselves and their teams?

It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but even small changes can have a profound impact on how we work and feel.

Consider:

• Allowing moments of unstructured time, especially when problem solving or brainstorming. This gives people space to step away, be inspired, and return refreshed.
• Enabling autonomy in how tasks are completed, to encourage exploration and novel connections.
• Creating spaces where experimentation is welcomed and structure is intentionally light.
• Surrounding the workspace with natural elements like plants, natural light, or outdoor views to encourage calm and inspiration.
• Ensuring that lunch or rest breaks involve stepping away from the workspace entirely, inviting new energy and perspective.

As 2026 unfolds, I’m holding onto the reminder that creativity isn’t a luxury it’s a source of renewal.

Whether in art, work, or play, when we make space to create, we also make space to grow.