Lift Your Creativity

As you may know by now, the LAITHOS partners—ME, Jen, and I—rotate responsibility each week for sharing our perspectives on leadership impact. This was my week and, as I opened my computer, that paralyzing “writer’s block” descended upon me.

I racked my brain to find what I considered a topic that hadn’t been covered. After all, how dare I repeat a concept? Ten minutes … 30 minutes … the clock kept ticking. And as the minutes passed, I tried even harder to find something interesting and insightful to share. Again, nothing emerged to drive my fingers poised on the keyboard.

Then, the lightbulb flashed on. My fingers flew across the keyboard – sending a text to ME and Jen, asking for a word or a phrase that might fuel some inspiration. Their quick response contained a myriad of topics and I thought “Why am I so less creative than my partners?” As I looked at their ideas, a floodgate of potential topics opened.

On reflection, it hit me: I love building on others’ ideas. My creativity is sparked by others’ perspectives. I love brainstorming, exchanging ideas, collaborating with others on deliverables. I have never been one who enjoys working completely on my own. I’m a believer in “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Learning what brings out the best in you and understanding how to harness creative/innovative thinking is critical to your leadership impact. Next time I won’t wait so long to raise my hand for creative input; but I will wait to share one of my new inspired topics until my next turn.

If you have any topics you’d like to read about in the coming weeks, please share them in the comments below – and, thank you, in advance, for being a spark for my creativity!

This Week’s Challenge: Over the next few weeks, when you get “stumped”, try something new to jumpstart your creativity. Take a walk outside to clear the fog. Listen to music to tap into another sense. Dive into it and see what organically shows up. Phone a friend. Notice what shifts with each type of approach – eventually, you will home in on what supports you best. What other avenues could you use? The sky’s the limit. Put your creativity to the test.