Characteristics of Creative People
Personal Characteristics According to Gilda Waisburd, a specialist in creativity, the traits of creative people are as follows:3 • Flexible (they go beyond the obvious) • Fluid (they generate many ideas about a problem) • Elaborative (they expand the task in detail) • Tolerant of ambiguity (they stand up well to conflict) • Able to see the whole (they take a systemic approach) • Inquiring (interest in many disciplines) • Sensitive to the interests of others (they understand others’ needs) • Curious (interested in “playing” with things) • Independent (they come up with ideas of their own) • Reflective (they think about what they see and hear) • Action-oriented (they go beyond thinking and the idea to act) • Able to concentrate (they work in a consistent manner) • Persistent (they don’t give up easily) • Committed (they get involved with things) • Sense of humor (they are able to laugh and use humor to put things in perspective) Personal Qualities Frank Barron, Howard