Espousers of the Creativity attribute could be said to be making their lives up as they go along. They consider that nothing is as boring as finding themselves on auto-pilot, being predictable and thinking the same thoughts today as they did yesterday. They are happiest when they have the opportunity and freedom to change their minds about something rather than have to invest their energy in defending a previous position.

These are people who not only don’t mind but actually prefer doing things and working things out for themselves. It’s not stubbornness that makes this so. Rather it’s the pleasure and excitement that comes with every opportunity to learn something new – be that an art, skill, craft, how something works, or just a bunch of “factoids”. As life-long learners, they are genuine believers that their journey is as enjoyable, perhaps more so, as their destination.

Creativity espousers have the confidence to take on new and different tasks and situations. If they try and fail, that just opens up the doors to new ideas and learning. They are independent minded people who like to go their own way. They don’t need to be led by others and they are largely unconcerned what other people may think about them.

These people will follow their conscience on questions of right and wrong, fairness and justice, reward and punishment, and so on. For them, every rule and every law is up for questioning, from whatever authority or source it comes. They are not law and order chaots or anarchists – quite the opposite. It’s about trying to be a better person. Rules and laws need to be examined for relevance and fairness in any particular situation. Failing to do so – just blindly obeying the rules – they see as one of the worst sins.

In the workplace, these are likely to be the people who show great enthusiasm for the job and frequently come up with new ways of looking at problems and solving them, or new ways to do established tasks. Frustratingly, they can also be the most difficult to pin down on which particular way to do something. Their preferred solution for today may well be quite different from their solution yesterday or the day before. “Best practice” is not a concept that appeals much to them.

Again in the workplace, while they can be adept at finding equitable, workable compromises in difficult situations, they can demonstrate an apparent disregard for established rules and practices – forever, it seems, arguing for some amendment or waiver that will “get the job done”.

To those that do not espouse the Creativity attribute, all this may seem like people just making life difficult for themselves and awkward for others. To the espouser, it’s what makes for a real life, rather than that of the robot. Better the frisson of the struggle than the vapid tedium of the routine.