Creative thinking is integral to helping you streamline your career and go a long way toward making you a better data scientist. Thinking outside the box is all about exploring and evaluating new methods to solve complex problems. It can have a powerful effect on your career.
So what is creativity, anyway?
Creativity can be defined as the ability to have new ideas, while innovation is the implementation of that creativity. Innovation allows creativity to take physical shape in the form of solutions, processes, and products.
In this blog post, we are going to discuss 5 ways that creativity and thinking outside the box will make you a better data scientist.
- Questioning The Status Quo
- Greater Perspective
- Higher Quality Work
- More Creative Problem-Solving
- It Helps You Stand Out
1. Questioning the Status Quo
Questioning the status quo allows you to explore new possibilities and think about ways that you can accomplish tasks and solve complex problems faster. This type of thinking is valued by leaders and executives because it means you are a more efficient member of the team. If all data scientists just accepted the status quo, there would never be any innovation in the field and growth would become stagnant.
3 Ways To Question The Status Quo
- Be open to all perspectives
- Ask more questions
- Be supportive of the change
Being able to offer new avenues and strategies to fix complex problems will help you grow as a leader in the field. It all comes down to positioning yourself mentally and being open enough to grasp new ways of thinking about complex challenges. Your leadership team will be looking for someone who takes initiative and is able to think ahead while entertaining multiple avenues to accomplish goals. You can apply tips from this article to help you stand out and build your professional skillset. All of these things, including creativity, will help you become a better data scientist.
2. Creativity Leads To Greater Perspective
Being more creative opens you up to a broader set of ideas and can really help you identify new strategies to move forward or accomplish your most pressing and complex tasks. Creativity in business can be described as the life force behind that business’s ability to thrive – a critical element in ensuring a clear pathway to success.
On a data science team, this is especially useful because figuring out faster ways to compile data, accomplish a critical process, or present data in a more meaningful way are also examples of creativity you’ll be expected to have as a data scientist.
Simple Ways To Be More Creative
1. Make Use of Your Creativity Muscle Every Day
Every day, write a list of your most challenging tasks. Brainstorm novel ways you might make the process faster. Think about how you can solve the problem in a novel way or quickly jot down strategies you might apply to this specific problem that you can share with colleagues to get feedback.
2. Ditch Background Music To Enhance Creativity
Recent studies have challenged the popular opinion that listening to background music helps you be more creative. Take the time to enjoy quiet surroundings and reflect on what is possible and let your mind wander. This will allow you to reflect and appreciate new ways of accomplishing the challenging tasks in front of you.
3. Focus on Creating Higher Quality Work
Being creative and thinking outside the box helps you to create higher-quality contributions and define yourself as a thought leader. Forbes says that creativity is the “secret to better lea
ders.” As a data scientist (and in any professional career for that matter), you should be aiming to differentiate yourself and build leadership skills. Courtney Kramer, author of the Forbes article says that “In an innovation-driven economy, ideas are valuable currency.” Building strong leadership skills means setting the bar higher and coming up with ideas that are well thought-out and can lead to innovative ways to solve complex company problems.
Part of thinking outside the box is being able to think ahead and create a standard that may be lacking across the team or organization. Data scientists have a strong level of complexity and detail relating to the work that’s performed so when you’re given a task, thinking ahead or establishing an appropriate level of thought leadership will help you not only improve your career but also to motivate those around you to perform at a higher level.
4. Build More Creative Problem-Solving Skills
Being creative and thinking outside of the box helps you to build and enhance your problem-solving skills. Effective problem-solving skills help organizations save money and teams run smoothly. Being an effective problem solver is highly sought-after in the data science community. We’ve listed some of the most important problem-solving skills you should master below:
Key Problem-Solving Skills
- Active listening
- Analysis
- Research
- Communication
- Dependability
- Decision making
- Team-building
Taking the time to develop the skills above is what becoming a professional is all about. You have to remember you can’t just hone the skills in a vacuum (huddled in a dark cubicle) and expect to be considered someone of high value. You have to be able to present your well-thought-out ideas, strategies, and solutions so that you can begin to build your credibility.
5. You Stand Out
There is no question that having the right skills is extremely important to new and mid-career data scientists. Colaberry can help you get there. The key to becoming successful is to be able to convey your value to the leadership team and this means you have to be able to stand out from the pack. Being able to think outside of the box allows you to distinguish yourself and by implementing the strategies you’ll learn in Colaberry’s data analytics courses, you’ll be ahead of the curve.
Our Data Scientist Training Program
Colaberry has been providing one-of-a-kind, career-oriented training in data analytics and data science since 2012. We offer instructor-led onsite and online classes. Learn with us in person on our campus in Plano, Texas, or remotely from the comfort of your home. We have helped over 5,000 people to transform their lives with our immersive boot camp-style programs.
In-Demand Skills
Colaberry training programs equip you with in-demand tech and human skills. Our up-to-date lessons and carefully crafted curriculum set you up for success from day one. Throughout the training and the job search, our mentors will support and guide you as you transition into a fast-paced and exciting field of data analytics and data science.
Project-Based Learning
Our programs integrate projects that are based on real-world scenarios to help you master a new concept, tool, or skill. We work with you to build your portfolio to showcase your skills and achievements.
Award Winning Learning Platform
You will be learning using our homegrown technology platform Refactored AI which is recognized as the “Most Promising Work of the Future Solution” in global competition by MIT SOLVE. Our platform also received General Motors’ “Advanced Technology” prize and McGovern Foundation’s “Artificial Intelligence for Betterment of Humanity” prize.
Placement Assistance
Colaberry’s program, platform, and ecosystem empower you with skills that you need to succeed in your job interviews and transition into high-paying careers. Over 1/3rd of Colaberry graduates receive job offers after their first in-person interview. We provide you continuous mentoring and guidance until you land your job, and provide you post-placement support for twelve months so that you not only survive but thrive in your career.
Financial Aid
At Colaberry, we strive to create opportunities for all. We work with each individual to ensure the cost of the training does not hold them back from becoming future-ready. We offer various payment plans, payment options, and scholarships to work with the financial circumstances of our learners.
Military Scholarship
Colaberry is committed to supporting men and women who have served our country in uniform. As part of this commitment, we offer Military Scholarships to enable active-duty and retired military members to transition into civilian life. We have already helped numerous veterans by creating a pathway to rewarding and exciting careers in data science and data analytics. We hold alumni events and provide an extensive support system and a strong community of veterans to help our students succeed. Contact our enrollment team to find out more about how we can help you.