The Creators & The Perpetuators

Creators & Perpetuators: The Workplace Divide

In any workplace, there are two essential roles: perpetuators and creators. Perpetuators maintain the systems and processes that keep things running smoothly. They ensure consistency, reduce risk, and preserve what works. Creators, on the other hand, challenge the norm, seek new solutions, and push for progress. While perpetuators move from point A to B, creators look ahead to point C, seeing opportunities and connections others might overlook.

Both roles serve a purpose. Without perpetuators, organizations would struggle with chaos. Without creators, they would stagnate. But in many workplaces, the balance is off—favoring stability over progress.

We've all seen it happen: the person who follows the rules to the letter gets promoted, while the one bringing fresh ideas faces resistance. Why does this happen?

Why Perpetuators Outlast Creators

Most organizations are built for stability, not transformation. Predictability is valued, and change can feel like a threat. This is why perpetuators tend to rise through the ranks, while creators often face obstacles or leave out of frustration.

A Harvard Business Review survey of 270 corporate leaders in strategy, innovation, and R&D identified the biggest barriers to workplace innovation:

• Internal politics, turf wars, and misalignment
• Cultural resistance to change
• Inability to act on critical signals
• Budget constraints
• Lack of a clear strategy or vision

In this kind of environment, perpetuators excel because they navigate systems efficiently and avoid disrupting the status quo. Meanwhile, creators often find these barriers frustrating, struggling to get buy-in or resources for new ideas.

The Consequences of Imbalance

When organizations lean too heavily toward perpetuation over creation, they risk:

• Stalling innovation – While 96% of executives say innovation is critical for growth, only 21% feel their companies achieve their innovation goals (NTT DATA).
• Losing top talent – Creators, when unsupported, seek environments where they can thrive.
• Falling into mediocrity – Risk-averse cultures tend to play it safe, maintaining rather than improving.

Of course, not every company needs to be disruptive, but even the most stable industries benefit from steady, intentional improvements. 

As Albert Einstein observed,

"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got."

How to Support Both Perpetuators & Creators

Organizations don’t need to choose between stability and innovation—they need both. The key is structuring workplaces to allow both roles to thrive:

1. Recognize and empower creators – Give them space to test new ideas and a pathway to bring them to life.
2. Create safe spaces for experimentation – Reduce red tape and encourage calculated risk-taking.
3. Foster a culture of improvement – companies that actively embrace continuous improvement practices experience a 10% to 30% increase in efficiency. (PrimeBPM)
4. Encourage questioning the norm – Not every process needs to change, but those that do should be open to discussion.

A Call to Action: Where Do You Stand?

Which role do you play? Do you maintain and refine or challenge and create? Both have value—but the strongest teams find a way to support both mindsets.

If you’re a creator, how do you navigate a structured environment without burning out? If you’re a leader, how do you create a workplace where creators thrive instead of struggle?

The workplaces that embrace both stability and progress will be the ones shaping the future. The rest will simply maintain the past—until it’s too late.

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