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. 

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. 

• 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

• 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

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. 

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.

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

• 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

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.

[powerpress]

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!

• 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. 

• 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.

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.