The Deliberate Creative

Building on episode 45, this episodes gives you three simple tools to help you move past your inner critic and get unstuck. Three tools to help you be more creative and take action towards innovation.

What You’ll Learn

• Three tips to help you take action against your inner critic
• How Post-It Notes can help you get unstuck
• How to leverage the power of your To Do list to be more creative

Resources to Help You Overcome Your Inner Critic

• Post-it Notes
• Scrivener
• David Allen's Getting Things Done
• Climer Cards
• Episode 22: Creativity Boosters
• Episode 24: How to Use Climer Cards to Increase Creativity

The Weekly Challenge

Pick one of the recommended tools and try them out this week. If you are not sure which one to start with, use Post-It Notes and see how they help you.

Do you have ideas, but then critique them to death? Do you want to be more creative, but you inner critic pushes the creativity away? Are you afraid of rejection? If so, listen to this episode and learn about three things that impact our inner critic and what to do about it. You can start being more creative and put your ideas into action.

What You'll Learn

• Three types of friends who impact your ideas
• How your ego might be getting in the way of your creativity
• The power of saying yes

Resources to Help You Overcome Your Inner Critic

• On Writing by Stephen King
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield
• The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron
• Climer Cards

The Weekly Challenge

Notice where you can say "yes, and" more often in your life. Practice by saying "yes" at least once this week, but see if you can do it once each day. What changes? What did you notice?

Diverse teams can be more creative, yet team members’ diverse backgrounds and identity can also lead to unwanted conflict. In this episode, Dr. Tanya Williams shares her insights about diversity, difference, power, and privilege and how to move past that uncomfortable conflict into a place of authenticity and possibility. Possibility is a precursor to creativity. This episode will help you tap into the power of diversity within your team and bring out their true creativity.

What You’ll Learn

* Why diversity matters in teams

* The types of conflict diversity can cause

* Why diversity can be difficult to talk about

* Three steps to help you build inclusion in your team

* What is means to “create space”

Diverse teams can be more creative, yet team members' diverse backgrounds and identity can also lead to unwanted conflict. In this episode, Dr. Tanya Williams shares her insights about diversity, difference, power, and privilege and how to move past that uncomfortable conflict into a place of authenticity and possibility. Possibility is a precursor to creativity. This episode will help you tap into the power of diversity within your team and bring out their true creativity.

What You’ll Learn

• Why diversity matters in teams
• The types of conflict diversity can cause
• Why diversity can be difficult to talk about
• Three steps to help you build inclusion in your team
• What is means to "create space"

About Tanya Williams

Tanya O. Williams, Ed.D is a self defined Social Justice Educator, Life Lover, Possibility Creator, Liberation Seeker and Hope Giver. In her over 20 years as an administrator and educator in higher education working at institutions such as the University of Illinois, Southwestern University, Mount Holyoke College, Union Theological Seminary and University of Massachusetts Amherst, she has been able to maintain her mission to provide and create spaces in relationships, conversations, communities for all people to feel seen and appreciated for their authentic selves. She comes to her work from a belief that humans are capable of greatness, that our world is beautiful, and that the world can be better for everyone. She sees the work that she does through Authentic Coaching and Consulting – helping organizations and individuals align to their values and visions for a socially just world - as part of a contribution to a larger plan, and believes that if we all can live in authenticity, oppression and discrimination won’t stand a chance.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• Tanya Williams, Authentic Coaching & Consulting
• LeaderShape
• Episode 23: How Conflict Impacts Team Creativity
• Episode 26: Is the Imposter Syndrome Decreasing Your Creativity?
• Beverly Daniel Tatum

The Weekly Challenge

Notice and reflect. 1. Do an internet search on Social Identity. What do you learn? 2. Notice who is on your team or in your workplace. Who do you see? What do you notice? 3. Work to understand power and oppression and how it shows up in your daily life, particularly in your work teams.

So often when trying to be innovative and produce a new product, program, or process we try to make it perfect. Striving for perfection is a huge creative barrier. In this episode, artist, author, and speaker Jason Kotecki talks about tinkering. The dictionary defines tinkering as “to repair, adjust, or work with something in an unskilled or experimental manner.” Learn how tinkering can help you, and your team, be more creative.

What You’ll Learn

* What Tinkering is, why it’s important, and how to use it to increase your creativity

* The cause and cure for Adultitis

So often when trying to be innovative and produce a new product, program, or process we try to make it perfect. Striving for perfection is a huge creative barrier. In this episode, artist, author, and speaker Jason Kotecki talks about tinkering. The dictionary defines tinkering as "to repair, adjust, or work with something in an unskilled or experimental manner." Learn how tinkering can help you, and your team, be more creative.

What You'll Learn

• What Tinkering is, why it's important, and how to use it to increase your creativity
• The cause and cure for Adultitis

About Jason Kotecki Jason Kotecki is an artist, author, and speaker who considers himself a professional reminderer and permission granter. He is also a husband, dad, Batman fan, Star Wars watcher, retro T-shirt wearer, and avid eater of sugar-laden cereal. Jason is the author of five books, including Penguins Can't Fly +39 Other Rules That Don't Exist. Through his inspirational thought leadership and humorous anecdotes, his mission is to demonstrate how the secrets of childhood are timeless. Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• The Cure Adultitis Institute
• Jason Kotecki's website (with awesome artwork): escapeadulthood.com
• Free Tinkering ebook by Jason Kotecki
• Penguins Can't Fly book by Jason Kotecki

The Weekly Challenge

Start a Tinkering Project. What small project can you add that will allow you more tinkering? Use one of Jason's examples or invent your own. Share your project in the comments below!

The research is clear: teams are indisputably more powerful than individuals in solving problems. However, teams can sometimes get in their own way due to poor team dynamics or mediocre process. In this episode, Dr. Bill Jacox explains how team coaches can help push a team to a higher level of team performance. Like Olympic athletes, high performing teams have coaches that help them thrive. Learn the top 5 skills and qualities team coaches need and how they can help teams. Interested in being a team coach or do you think your team needs a coach? If so, this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn

* What a team coach is, and we are not talking about sport teams here.

* How team coaches impact teams

* Top 5 skills and qualities of team coaches

The research is clear: teams are indisputably more powerful than individuals in solving problems. However, teams can sometimes get in their own way due to poor team dynamics or mediocre process. In this episode, Dr. Bill Jacox explains how team coaches can help push a team to a higher level of team performance. Like Olympic athletes, high performing teams have coaches that help them thrive. Learn the top 5 skills and qualities team coaches need and how they can help teams. Interested in being a team coach or do you think your team needs a coach? If so, this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn

• What a team coach is, and we are not talking about sport teams here.
• How team coaches impact teams
• Top 5 skills and qualities of team coaches

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About Bill Jacox Bill is a seasoned director, facilitator, trainer, manager, and coach with substantive experience both as a practitioner and trainer in the fields of leadership development, staff development, team building, change management, team alignment, culture, engagement, and performance. With 20 years experience influencing others, providing strategic direction, and aligning learning programs to organizational needs, Bill loves to assist organizations and individuals in developing their leadership capacity. He has assessed, developed, and implemented leadership development programs within for-profit, not-for-profit, and higher education organizations. Developing and delivering high quality comprehensive learning strategies and programs to help organizations achieve their performance objectives is an area of professional practice that he is particularly passionate about. He lives in the San Fransisco Bay Area with his family, providing training and organizational development services to Alameda County. Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• What Are the Key Qualities and Skills of Effective Team Coaches? by Bill Jacox
• Bill Jacox on LinkedIN

The Weekly Challenge

Follow Bill's advice and spend some time observing another team. What did you notice? What did you learn? Share your experiences below in the comments section.

Creativity matters. It makes a huge difference in so many ways. This episode focuses on 3 reasons why creativity is important. Use this information to get your team or organization excited about applying creativity to the work you all do together. The impacts can be amazing!

What You'll Learn

• 3 reasons why creativity matters for businesses, organizations, schools, and families
• The details of huge economic gain that organizations have achieved from applying Creative Problem Solving, TRIZ, and other creative processes.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• Birdi, K., Leach, D., & Wissam, M. (2012). Evaluating the impact of TRIZ creativity training: An organizational field study. R & D Management, 42(4), 315-326.

• Epstein, R., Schmidt, S., & Warfel, R. (2008). Measuring and training creativity competencies: Validation of a new test. Creativity Research Journal, 20(1), 7-12.

• Firestien, R. L. (1996). Leading on the creative edge: Gaining competitive advantage through the power of creative problem solving. Colorado Springs, CO: Pinon Press.

• IBM 2010 Global CEO Study: Creativity Selected as Most Crucial Factor for Future Success

• Pressfield, S. (2002). The War of Art. - great book!

In the last 15 years researchers in the field of Positive Psychology have discovered amazing things about our minds. They debunked some long-held myths and are helping us better understand human behavior, including creativity. In this episode Dr. Tina Hallis talks about the connection between positivity and creativity, the important difference between positivity and positive thinking, and how you can increase positivity in your life.

What You’ll Learn

• What the research says on how positivity increases creativity
• How cortisol impacts our body
• Tina's favorite strategies for increasing positivity

About Tina Hallis Tina Hallis, Ph.D., is a professional speaker and founder of The Positive Edge. She spent more than 20 years as a scientist in the biotechnology field. Then, in 2011, she discovered a new and exciting science called Positive Psychology, which focuses on how we can all live our best life. Tina was so fascinated by this science, she decided to hang up her lab coat, and start her own company, The Positive Edge, so she could bring this life-changing information into organizations. Because she believes if there is one place we could use help staying positive, it’s at work. Tina is certified in Positive Psychology through the WholeBeing Institute, she is an Authorized Partner for Everything DiSC, and a Professional Member of the National Speaker’s Association. Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• The Positive Edge - Tina Hallis' website
• The research by Richie Davidson on happiness

The Weekly Challenge

Pick out one tip that Tina shared and try it for one week. How did it go? Share your experiences below in the comments section.