Art Belongs Everywhere

What does it take to be creative? What place does art have in your business?

People are naturally creative. As a leader you can put that creativity to good use, or you can hold it back. If you want innovation, new ideas, better ways of serving your customers, and happier team members you probably already know that it pays to keep your environment conducive to creativity.

Art helps.

Whether it is in the form of fascinating photos, interesting prints, provocative sculpture, or occasional performances by that local string quartet or improv troupe, people benefit from an environment that celebrates creativity.

Creativity helps to bridge the previously unseen connections. Creativity helps to spark new ideas. Creativity puts smiles on people's faces.

Where does art belong? Art belongs everywhere.

What can you do today to add a touch more of creativity to your environment?

Curious about creativity?

Creativity May Play A Role in Healthy Aging

The Power of Ordinary Practices: Research summarized here by Theresa Amabile as interviewed by Michael Roberts for Harvard Working Knowledge shows that leaders can increase both the productivity and creativity of their team thru supporting and developing behaviors. The article is short and yet filled with great ideas, plus this marvelous connection to creativity:

"I believe that a focus on creativity is absolutely essential for current business success. I define creativity as producing novel, workable ideas and solutions to problems; innovation is implementing those ideas within an organizational context. You need novel and useful ideas at all stages of a process, from early idea generation up through successful implementation. I maintain that creativity is possible and desirable in all forms of work, no matter what people are doing. In particular, knowledge workers require creativity."

Creativity, Why Bother? Ten Benefits of Expressing Your Creativity: including improved self knowledge, establishing connections with other creative people, a better mood (or natural high) and seven more.

10 Hidden Benefits of Creativity:

They stayed healthier longer and enjoyed health more.

They required fewer visit to health care providers.

They used fewer medications.

They were more outgoing, more exuberant and their morale was higher.

Creatives were more socially active and therefore less lonely.

They appeared more optimistic.

... and four more.

Any quick search will uncover many more benefits of creativity. I think it's so important that I consider it one of the four key values and strengths of leadership: clarity, courage, creativity and compassion.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Comments

Competition AND Collaboration?

There's no avoiding competition -- or at least, when you do avoid it there could be unsavory side-effects if it's there anyway. Even when we prefer, and manage to facilitate collaboration and cooperation INSTEAD of competition there will still be some competition blending into the mix. It's part of who we are. It's largely how we operate. I didn't invent that, I just navigate it. How about you? Whether we are collaborating or competing we should do it with respect. There's no reason to disparage the competition. Calling your competition names just makes you a name-caller. It doesn't make you a better competitor. So go ahead and compete if that's the nature of your game. But mix a bit of collaboration and cooperation in there and see how that improves your results. Your support team just might be larger than you think! -- doug smith

Problem Solving and the Root Cause

How much time do you spent identifying the root cause of a problem? It's a risk to assume that we know the real problem, that the root cause is obvious. Sometimes it takes a harder look. Sometimes understanding the root causes of a problem is more important than solving it. Options open. Possibilities abound. Chances emerge. Perspective clears. Solving a problem? Get a good look at that root cause! -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com

Small Steps

Incremental goals make geometric goals possible. Little goals get giant goals going. Whatever your goal is, break it down into something small enough to do right now. One step forward is all you need to get going. - - doug smith

Not Everything Is Possible

If what you want is impossible, want something else. -- doug smith

Time Changes Everything

Do you sense the pace of change? Is life vastly different than what you remember it to be when you were a child? Things do keep changing. Sometimes unexpectedly. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. As leaders, it's our job to facilitate change. We're here to lead others in the direction of improvement, for the cause of positive change. Not every leader acts that way, but some part of every leader does believe that they have the right changes to bring about. Part of every leader's job is to make certain that the changes we create ARE for the better. It's our strength of character that keeps our acts of courage helpful. To do that, we need to know how to best align our goals with our mission and our mission with our vision. We need to know what it is that energizes our people. And, we need to mobilize our people by inspiring them with an important mission to begin with. Change driven in the direction of our mission makes all the difference in the...

Practical

Build things that people need and you'll always be needed. Just remember, you may have to change how you build those things. People's needs change and those needs are often more complicated than they seem. There is also a power difference between "classic" and "obsolete." As hard as it is, leaders need to navigate that difference. Build things that people need -- practical goods. And keep improving how you do it. -- doug smith

When Comfort's Got to Go

Are you comfortable with something that's no good for you? I sometimes find myself completely comfortable with a routine, habit, or situation that I somehow know isn't in my best interest and yet there is something cozy and comfortable about the reliably consistent. Even when it's reliably disappointing, at least it's reliable. We struggle to let go of the reliable. We struggle to approach the unknown. We struggle to let go. Solving a problem may require you to change something your'e still comfortable with. That won't be easy. That might take some courage. I'm willing to work on that this week - how about you? -- Doug Smith

What Can Be

What can be possible right now? Is there a problem facing you that you've been avoiding because it feels like there are already just too many things going on? It's easy to fall into an "all or nothing" mindset where, unable to solve ALL of the problems we manage to solve NONE of the problems. That there are too many problems to solve them all shouldn't stop us from solving the ones we can. If what can be is one solution to one problem that is a wonderful place to begin. -- doug smith

Thriving Teams

Thriving leaders thrive as their teams thrive. It's a partnership. It's a deal. It takes constant support and service to sustain a high performance team. Thriving leaders recruit with the enthusiasm they show for their team. People can tell when your team is cohesive, cooperative, and collaborative and people crave that for themselves. Create and support a team that supports each other and others will rally to the cause. You have no weak links. You have no poor performers. You have no superstars. You do have team members who need your guidance and support. That's the role of a leader. -- doug smith

Enjoy AND Improve

Do you enjoy success? If that seems like a silly question (Of COURSE I enjoy success!) think about it from another perspective. Sometimes we can taper down our enjoyment and appreciation of something because we know it's not perfect yet, and how can we be happy if it's not perfect? I do that somethings. It's not helpful. OF COURSE it's not perfect: nothing else and nothing ever will be. There are no perfect people, processes, performances, or plan. If we wait for perfection, we'll just keep waiting (and probably without gaining ground...) Let's do both. Let's enjoy our current level of success and achievement while also working to improve it. Performance must constantly improve, AND we can enjoy our exiting improvements. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

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