The Link Between Relaxation and Creativity

Image by Grand Velas Riviera Maya via Flickr

Studies show stress is not a good breeding ground for creativity. This week I’ve been stumped for ideas. When I first started this blog, I set a goal for posting 5 times a week. I’ve found writing has been a great way to tap into productively finding an outlet for the ideas that roam the recesses of my mind. However, this week I’ve felt stretched. There’s been a ton going on between work and home. Throughout the week I kept thinking, ‘I know there’s a blog post somewhere, but I can’t get it out.’

Innovation and Breaking Rules

Image by Zeptonn via Flickr

A few years back, I brought my son to work with me. I was technically supposed to be out of the office for a vacation day, but had a couple of loose ends to tie up. I figured my 5-year old would enjoy a trip to the office. Our office had a Wii and lots of office supplies to keep him busy. After beating one of my colleagues at Wii bowling and telling my manager he didn’t like meetings, my son jumped into our last meeting.

We sat in a small, windowless room with a conference table that was too big and too many chairs to comfortably navigate around. One of the better features of the room were the freshly painted, cream-colored walls. As I looked around for items that might occupy my son, I saw giant flip chart paper and markers. I thought, “Wow, he’s going to love drawing larger than life.” I proceeded to tape 4 pieces of poster sized paper to the wall and gave him a set of markers.

Self-Coach Yourself to Creativity

Image by Alexandre Dulaunoy via Flickr

Emotions play a big role in creativity. Keeping a positive mindset helps to unlock creative energies. While some tension always exists with creative endeavors, too much stress becomes unproductive. Understanding why you are feeling stressed is the first step to self-coaching yourself to creativity.

There are times in my life where  I’ve felt a great deal of tension (and not the productive kind). To dig into why I was feeling stressed, I stepped up my curiosity. I began asking myself what I want that I do not currently have. As renowned coaches Janeen Whalen and Newell Eaton taught me, coaching puts a “container” around the chaos in order to help process what is happening.

What I soon realized was that my values were not being honored to the degree I wished them to be. Values are each of our “imprints” on the world. The more congruent our values are with the situation we are in, the more energy we have. When we lose energy, it is typically because we are operating outside of our values.

Visible Signs of Creativity

I was on a flight from Logan Airport a few days after the Boston Marathon. And before you ask – no I didn’t run. When I was at the airport, I was struck by how many people were wearing their official Boston Marathon jackets. The airport was awash with proud runners waiting for flights to head home. I started thinking. These runners are part of a club – a club that is identified by adidas windbreakers. If a jacket can make it apparent that a person ran the Boston Marathon, what are the markings of a creative tribe?

To me, you can tell when you’ve found a creative tribe by observing how they work together. Some telling signs of a creative tribe include:

Drawing as a Skill for Creative Leadership

creativity

For many years I have wanted to capture the images I see in my mind in enough detail so that those around me could understand them. I am a visual thinker and connect images mentally, however, I am unable to present them physically.  In 2010, I attended the CPSI conference and joined Jon Pearson’s Draw Power. At a minimum, I expected he would be able to help me capture the vivid pictures in my mind onto paper. I envisioned myself becoming adept at taking the realistic images in my mind and capturing them in a recognizable format for all to see and understand. Well, I was wrong – in a good way

Fortunately, Jon had something even greater in store. Through exercises in scribbling and doodling, Jon helped participants connect visual images and verbal descriptions using our hearts rather than our minds. At first, this was awkward. To draw without thinking took a great deal of effort. But because we only had a few seconds per drawing, disconnecting my mind from my body became easier. After leading us in a quick doodle, Jon asked us to articulate what the image said about us. Interestingly, a few stray marks on a page quickly turned into my description, ‘I am a tenacious person and all of these dots on the page represent the number of angles I take to solve a challenge.’ The Draw Power session helped me understand a picture really is worth a thousand words.

3 Truths About Innovative Companies

Image via Wikipedia

It seems talk of innovation is everywhere. In the news, in world events, in boardrooms around the globe. Innovation may just be the buzzword of this generation. With all the talk of innovation, why are so many companies struggling to become more innovative? I believe creativity, vital to innovation, has been overlooked. I created this SlideShare presentation, titled “3 Truths About Innovative Companies” to explore the topic of creativity in business. In this module, you’ll learn:

• How to become a more creative organization
• How to get more creativity in less time
• How to create a climate for creativity