The Deliberate Creative: Recent Episodes
Amy Climer
If you have ever been confused by how to be creative or how to get your team to be more innovative, listen up. In this podcast, Dr. Amy Climer explains research, demystifies the creative process, and gives practical advice and strategies to help you build an innovative team. Learn about leading creative teams, deliberate innovation, and the creative problem solving process. Move past the myths and get real about innovation and creativity.
Space matters. In this episode, Architect Donald Rattner shares the research on how to design your space to enhance your creativity. Donald shares several simple changes you can make. Then, he examines Amy's office and provides advice on how she can make her space more conducive to creativity. Then, Amy implements those changes and reveals the new office layout.
What You’ll Learn * The three A's of designing a creative space * How our brain's perception of our space impacts our creativity * What prospect refuge theory is and how to use it to your advantage * Learn about the new "resimercial" design craze for workplaces
About Donald Rattner Donald M. Rattner is the author of “My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation” and principal of Donald M. Rattner, Architect. As a consultant he draws on scientific research to help individuals and organizations maximize occupant creativity in workplace, residential, wellness, hospitality and retail environments. Educator and author as well as practitioner, Rattner’s publications include “The Creativity Catalog,” “Parallel of the Classical Orders of Architecture,” entries in professional reference books, and numerous contributions to print and online channels. He has taught at the University of Illinois, New York Academy of Art, New York University, Parsons School of Design, and online. Workshop and lecture venues include NeoCon, Metrocon, Creative Problem Solving Institute, Creative Mornings, and many others. His work has been featured on CNN and in such publications as The New York Times, Work Design Magazine, Builder, L-Magazine, and Better Humans. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in art history from Columbia and a Masters of Architecture from Princeton University. Weekly Challenge Assess your space. Keep a log of when/where you are doing your best work and when/where are you doing your least successful work. Then, what changes might you make to help you be more creative?
Resources * Donald Rattner's Website * Donald Rattner's Book: Your Creative Space * Focus At Will * Coffitivity
Deliberate creativity encourages gaining clarity about the problem at the beginning of the innovation process. However, that's not how we always work. It's common to create something new while maintaining ambiguity around the purpose of the solution. Dr. Johnathan Cromwell found this in his research while studying a start-up company that was creating a social robot. After observing hundreds of hours of team meetings he noticed a process he calls emergent innovation. In this episode, he explains his research and helps us understand how emergent innovation works.
What You’ll Learn * The difference between emergent innovation and deliberate innovation * Elements of emergent innovation * How to get comfortable with ambiguity
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About Dr. Johnathan Cromwell Johnathan Cromwell is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Strategy at the University of San Francisco. His research focuses on creativity and innovation in organizations, particularly how people collaborate with each other as they tackle vague, open-ended, and ambiguous problems. Through this research, he aims to develop a new theoretical framework called "dynamic problem solving" that explains why, when, and how people change the way they approach problems as they deal with various constraints during the innovation process. This work has been recognized by the Academy of Management with the 2018 OB Division Best Paper Award. He earned an S.B. in Chemical-Biological Engineering from MIT and a Doctorate in Management from Harvard Business School.
Weekly Challenge John challenges us to try improv cooking as a way to explore emergent innovation. Use the ingredients in your kitchen and come up with a dish. Use those ingredients to shape your dish and see what emerges.
A polymath is a modern-day Renaissance person. They have expertise in a range of fields and their diverse experiences help them be more creative. Dr. Angela Cotellessa was the first person to do a dissertation on modern-day polymaths. In this episode, she shares with us what she learned about polymaths and how it relates to being more creative.
What You’ll Learn * What is polymathy and why does it matter? * What are the themes of modern-day polymaths * What we can learn from polymaths to help us be more creative.
About Dr. Angela Cotellessa Dr. Angela Cotellessa is dedicated to helping individuals reach towards their fullest potential.
Her doctorate from George Washington University is in Human & Organizational Learning. The focus of her doctoral research and dissertation was on modern day polymaths: people with broad, varied expertise in both the arts and sciences.
Since 2007, Angela has worked for the American federal government. From 2007 to 2013, she was a non-political, civil servant at the Executive Office of the President. Since 2013, she has worked at the Center for Leadership Development, helping make the federal government more effective, one leader at a time.
Angela lives near Washington, DC with her husband, Joe, and her daughter, Lily. For fun, Angela enjoys traveling internationally, music, and learning.
Weekly Challenge Angela gives us two challenges this week.
- Try something new. It doesn’t even have to be outside of your comfort zone. Just something new. Reflect on it. What did you learn?
- Think about an issue or challenge you have. Is there another area of your life that you could apply to solving this problem?
Wow! It's episode 100! In this episode, Amy Climer interviews four long-time listeners who share what they learned from The Deliberate Creative Podcast. They talk about their own insights and changes they made in their lives based on listening to the show. Prepare to be inspired!
What You’ll Learn * How four listeners have applied the learnings from the podcast to their work and life * Insights into Amy's recent creative block * News about the future of The Deliberate Creative Podcast
Resources * Episodes about Creative Problem Solving: 003, 004, 005, 006, 007 * Episode 8: FourSight Thinking Profile with Blair Miller * Episode 20: How Your Mindset Explains Everything * Episode 21: Identify Your Creative Blocks * Episode 26: Is the Imposter Syndrome Decreasing Your Creativity? * Episode 64: Five Steps for Presenting Ideas with Jack Hannibal * Episode 70: How to Ask Questions with Chad Littlefield * Episode 91: The Skills You Need To Be a Design Thinker with Dr. Dani Chesson * Book: The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield
Human-centered Design requires learning people's real needs. It means moving past assumptions and engaging with people to better understand their experiences. Some of the most powerful tools in the Human-centered Design process are ethnographic interviews and other types of ethnographic research. This episode explains what these tools are and how to use them to help you gain a deeper understanding of their real needs. The results will be increased creativity and innovation.
What You’ll Learn * What ethnographic research means in the context of design and creativity * 4 types of ethnographic tools that are helpful for solving problems creatively * Tips and advice for conducting ethnographic research such as interviews, walk-a-mile, contextual inquiry, and observation.
Resources * IDEO.org * Suri, J.F. & Howard, S.G. (2006).Going Deeper, Seeing Further: Enhancing Ethnographic Interpretations to Reveal More Meaningful Opportunities for Design. Journal of Advertising Research. * IDEO's Design Kit Course
Weekly Challenge Practice doing at least one ethnographic interview this week.
Human-centered Design is about looking at people's real problems and creating solutions that meet their needs. In this episode, learn the definition and basic steps of human-centered design and how it can help you solve problems more creatively.
What You’ll Learn * The definition of human-centered design * Why human-centered design matters and how you can use it in your work/life * The six-step human-centered design process
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Resources * The Lab, Office of Personnel Management * Fundamentals of Human-centered Design for federal employees * Creative Problem Solving Institute * IDEO.org and IDEO.com
Weekly Challenge Think about a problem you are trying to solve. Who are the stakeholders involved? Who do you need to talk with to gain a deeper understanding of the actual problem.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days. Thanks!
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Intrapreneurs are problem solvers who are being recognized as the driving force behind innovation in organizations. Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw is leading the charge in this new way of working. In this episode, she shares how to be an intrapreneur and how to create a culture that fosters creativity and intrapreneurialism.
What You’ll Learn * What intrapreneurs do and why it matters * Three practices to foster intrapreneurialism * Barriers that prevent intrapreneurialism * An example of a large organization who implemented intrapreneurialism and reclaimed over $1 million in lack of productivity.
About Irena Yashin-Shaw, Ph.D. CSP Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw, is a liberator of underutilized talent within organizations. She is an innovation and creativity expert, thought leader and practitioner dedicated to creating intrapreneurs – people who think and act like entrepreneurs while working inside organizations. She works with leaders in both the public and private sector who want a critical mass of high-performing, dedicated, energized employees who will help create a future-ready organization.
With a PhD in creative problem-solving and a Masters in Adult Education, Dr. Irena is a rare combination of deep academic knowledge, real-world entrepreneurial experience and entertaining speakership who has been working in the fields of innovation and creativity since before they became the new workplace imperatives. In addition to her work as a corporate educator, advisor and mentor, she is an international conference speaker who has taken ‘edutainment’ to an art form. As a Certified Speaking Professional she loves to challenge smart, savvy and sophisticated people who want insight rather than information and an experience rather than a presentation.
Irena lives in Brisbane, Australia, but considers herself a global citizen, with a commitment to being part of the solution for the big challenges that define our age.
Charles Day is an accidental consultant. After building a successful, creative film editing company others started asking for his input on developing their company to be more creative. In this episode, he shares his insights and what he’s learned about organizational creativity. What You’ll Learn * common practices of the most creative businesses * Three elements leaders need to do a lead a creative organization * Four weapons every leader needs - and they don’t cost anything
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About Charles Day In addition to running The Lookinglass, Charles is a Principal of the Boswell Group which provides psychodynamic management consulting to CEOs, corporate directors, and senior leaders. He is also an Adjunct Professor at New York’s Columbia University, where he has taught the art and science of building companies that unlock 'Profitable Creativity’, and he coaches at The Harvard Business School in their Executive Education Program. Charles writes frequently for Fast Company and speaks regularly on Creative Leadership.
Resources * Climer Consulting Resources Page * Episode #100 - Want to be a guest? * Charles Day's website * Episode #69 with Greg Climer * Fast Company article: How To Achieve Profitable Creativity, The Secret Fuel Of Exceptional Companies by Charles Day * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge See if you can identify everyday creativity within yourself and others. Acknowledge the creativity and focus on giving creative feedback.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Conversations are the heart of what we do. The type of conversations we have impact all aspects of our business and personal life. Creative organizations have conversations that lead to creativity. In this episode, Dr. Cheri Torres shares how to engage in conversations that matter and how to help your organization be more creative. It is surprisingly simple and you can start implementing change immediately.
What You’ll Learn * Four types of conversations and which ones to avoid * The two simple Appreciative Inquiry practices * The impact of conversations that matter and how one hospital went from low patient satisfaction scores to amazing within one quarter
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About Cheri Torres, Ph.D. Working with Cheri, people learn to use everyday conversation to dramatically improve outcomes for their organization and relationships. Leaders and team members develop their capacity to use Appreciative Inquiry to foster productive and meaningful engagement, even when facing complex problems. The success her clients experience is not magic. Her approach is grounded in the most current research in positive psychology and neurophysiology. Leaders working with her learn to create the kind of relational dynamics that ignite the full potential of their teams and organization, resulting in high performance, innovation, and goal achievement. Culture change and strategic planning become opportunities for engaging all stakeholders in conversations that create change from the inside out.
She has worked across all sectors: corporate, government, education, and social profit/NGOs, supporting their capacity for learning and innovation, shared leadership, teamwork and collective impact. She has trained thousands of trainers and teachers in the use and practice of Experiential Learning, Appreciative Inquiry, and other strength-based processes. In addition to North America, she has worked in India, Mexico, Canada, South America, and Europe.
Cheri holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Collaborative Learning from the University of Tennessee. She also holds an MBA, a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology, Level 2 certification in Cultural Transformation Tools/Barrett Values Centre, and Level II certification in Spiral Dynamics Integral. She has authored numerous books and articles. Her most recent book, Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement, was published by Berrett Koehler in May 2018.. She lives in Asheville, NC with her husband, Michael; their two dogs, Logan and Annabelle; and two cats, Ziggy and Lucy.
Resources * Book: Conversations Worth Having * Cheri's website * Karl Rohnke Creativity Award * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge Pay attention to the conversations you have this week. When you find yourself in a negative conversation, ask a generative question. See what happens and how it flips the conversation into something with a more positive, hopeful, and productive spin.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Understanding the four levels of creativity can help you assess yourself and your colleagues. In this episode, Daniel Cape explains the four levels and talks about experiential education and creativity.
What You’ll Learn * The four levels of creativity and examples of each * The level we judge ourselves on and how that can inhibit our creativity
About Daniel Cape Daniel Cape is a doctoral student at Saybrook University earning his degree in psychology with a focus on creativity studies. He has over 15 years of experience in the field of experiential education. Daniel’s previous work included U.S. and international camp experiences, a project-based learning school, young-adult transition programs, and serving in the Army National Guard as a combat engineer officer. He started the non-profit EPIC Smiles where he teaches caricatures to children around the world. He is author of the book From Experience to Creativity: The experiential educator’s incomplete guide to creativity and created EPIC Cards which teach and promote creativity.
Resources * Daniel Cape's website * Daniel's book: From Experience to Creativity * Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge See if you can identify everyday creativity within yourself and others. Acknowledge the creativity and focus on giving creative feedback.
It's nearly impossible learn skills without failing some of the time. In this episode Dr. Amy Climer examines the connection between learning and failing. She shares some stories from her own life and how she was able to use failure, mistakes, and mess-ups to further her learning and her creativity.
What You’ll Learn * How failure is inevitable in the learning and creative process * The importance of transferable skills
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Resources * How to Create a Podcast Review * Amy's email: amy@climerconsulting.com
Weekly Challenge What is one thing you're working on improving? What is one thing you can do to progress toward developing that skill? Next, reflect on how that went. How do you react when you succeed, when you fail, when things don't go quite as planned?
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
This episode is about the financial impact of creativity to an organization. What is the ROI in creativity and innovation? Does it matter if employees are creative? Is it worth investing in training to help people be more creative? Learn the five levels of employee creativity, the financial impact they have on the organization, and why creativity training is worth the investment.
What You’ll Learn * Five levels of employee creativity and the financial impact they have * Why creativity training is well worth the investment * Examples of companies who saw huge returns after creativity training.
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The Deliberate Creative™ Training is designed to provide the creativity skills employees need to move to a higher level of creativity. An in-depth training can move employees up a level and over time they can become amazing assets to the organization’s innovative approach resulting in thousands of dollars of increased revenue or decreased expenditures.
[Tweet "“Creativity is both a skill and a process.” - @AmyClimer"]
Resources * Episode 78 with Roger Firestien * Epstein, R., Schmidt, S., & Warfel, R. (2008). Measuring and Training Creativity Competencies: Validation of a New Test. Creativity Research Journal, 20(1), 7-12. * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Leave a review on iTunes
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Dr. Dani Chesson is a thought leader in design thinking. Through her research she identified six core capabilities that design thinkers possess. In this episode, she walks us through those six core capabilities and helps us understand how to be better at coming up with creative solutions to problems.
What You’ll Learn * The six core capabilities of design thinkers * Why visual expression helps creative problem solving * The importance of separating out the ideation and evaluation of ideas * How one company saved millions on a benefit program by using design thinking.
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[Tweet ""Failure isn't a bad thing. Failure is about learning. Design thinkers have gotten comfortable with taking risks and learning from them. " - @DaniChesson on The Deliberate Creative Podcast"]
About Dr. Dani Chesson Designer turned change manager, turned strategy consultant, Dr. Dani Chesson is the creator of Chesson’s Design Thinker Profile, an assessment that measures design thinking capabilities in individuals and teams. As a Design Thinker Coach, Dani helps her clients discover untapped opportunities and put them into action so they can reach their full potential.
Design thinking has been the center of Dani’s career and research interest. Throughout her career, Dani has leveraged her training as a graphic designer to help organizations create new products and services, adopt emerging technologies, and successfully implement large-scale change. A former Vice President at Bank of America, Dani has over a decade of experience leading global teams through large-scale innovation and change projects. She has also held leadership and consulting roles at Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting, Sherpa, LLC, and HSBC.
Dani holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication with a focus in graphic design. She holds a Master of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Organization Development from Queens University of Charlotte where her research focused on how designers approach problem solving. Dani earned a PhD in Leadership and Organizational Change from Antioch University where her research involved developing an assessment for measuring the capabilities of Design Thinkers.
You can learn more about Dani’s work at www.designthinkerprofile.com and, she can be contacted via email at dani@chessonconsulting.com
Resources * Dani Chesson's website: designthinkerprofile.com * Dr. Tina Seelig's Failure Resume Assignment * What I Learned from a Big Failure (inspired by Amy's interview with Dani) * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge Share with one person one failure event in your life and what you learned from it. Then, journal about it. You can listen to Amy's episode about a big failure she experience a few years ago. What's yours? Post your failures below.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Inspired by guests Jeff Leisawitz (episode 89) and Dr. Dani Chesson (episode 91), Dr. Amy Climer shares the story of a big failure she experienced in 2006-2007. Most importantly, she talks about what she learned, what she would do differently, and how you can mitigate your risk on a project that might fail.
What You’ll Learn * The story of Amy's failed art practice * What Amy learned from being a professional artist * Advice for starting a project that might fail
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Resources * See Amy's art at: amyclimer.com * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Leave a review on iTunes
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Jeff Leisawitz is a musician, artist, and writer whose mission to to help everyone be more creative. His focus is on teaching the power of using creativity as a tool to be seen, expressed, and healed.
What You’ll Learn * How he accidentally wrote a book * The impact of creativity on the world * Jeff's advice on getting more creative
About Jeff Leisawitz Jeff Leisawitz burns with a mission—to inspire writers, artists, musicians and everyone else to amp up their creativity, heal their hearts, and shine in the world. Jeff is an award-winning musician/producer, a critically acclaimed author and internationally distributed filmmaker who has devoted his life to the art of creativity. As the guy behind Electron Love Theory, Jeff fused interviews with Seattle’s WTO demonstrators into electronic music, garnering more than a quarter million downloads worldwide. Jeff has released five studio albums and has landed more than 5,000 music placements in film, TV and multimedia— including clients like HBO, MTV, Discovery, Microsoft, NBC and many others. As the founding writer for Seattle’s taste-making alternative rock station 107.7 The End, he chronicled the alternative grunge scene in the 90s. After training as a Life Coach and practicing NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Re-Patterning) Jeff landed a gig as an adjunct faculty member at Pacific Lutheran University— teaching college students to rock. Seriously. When creative businesses and organizations like King County Library System, Brown Paper Tickets, Tacoma School of the Arts, Northwest Film Forum, Gage Academy, The Writers Store and others need an Awesome Infusion, Jeff leads workshops and events to fire up the creative spirit and empower people to tap into their true potential. Not Fing Around— The No Bullsht Guide for Getting Your Creative Dreams Off the Ground is Jeff’s first book. Resources * Jeff Leisawitz's website * Book: Not Fing Around: The No Bullsht Guide for Getting Your Creative Dreams Off the Ground * Camp Log-n-Twig (now closed) * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge Create a new habit! What would serve you well - writing 10 minutes a day, a drawing a day, a poem a day, look for more beauty in the world? Make that small change and reap the tremendous benefits.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Dr. Teresa Lawrence has found a unique niche teaching project managers how to be more creative and effective by using tools and techniques from Creative Problem Solving. In this episode, she explores how project managers can use divergent and convergent thinking and better use the specific tools they select.
What You’ll Learn * The definition of a project * How to know where to start in a project * The importance of using divergent and convergent thinking in project management * How to use the activity Card Sort
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About Dr. Teresa Lawrence Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM, provides training, facilitation and coaching in creativity and the application of creative problem solving in all methodologies of Project Management across all industries. In addition to consulting as a project manager and trainer, she provides professional services in the management of strategic initiatives and change. Over 10,000 Project Managers have earned PDUs from Teresa’s workshops, presentations and webinars. Teresa is an alum of the International Center for Studies in Creativity (ICSC) and serves as the VP for Certification Training in the Buffalo PMI chapter. She is the past recipient of Buffalo Business First “Women of Influence” and the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education “Distinguished Alumni” awards. Teresa is a previous superintendent of schools and the current president of International Deliverables, LLC. You can contact Teresa at teresa@internationaldeliverables.com or find her on projectmanagement.com.
Resources * Teresa's website: internationaldeliverables.com * Project Management Institute - projectmanagement.com * PM Network * PMXPO * Project Management in Practice * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge Think about a project or task you are currently facing. There are many elements that need to get done. Do the technique Card Sort that Teresa mentioned. If you could only do one of the tasks, which one will get you the furthest along right now. Use this to prioritize the top three thing that would have the greatest impact.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Jane Dunnewold shares what she has learned about creativity in her decades as an artist and creativity teacher. She talks about how she stays creative in her own life and how she fosters it in her students. Her insights are applicable to artists and non-artists alike.
What You’ll Learn * Who is "the committee" and why you need to be aware of them. * The one piece of advice that all artists on this podcast have shared. * How the power of a simple conversation could change someone's happiness at work
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About Jane Dunnewold Jane Dunnewold teaches and lectures internationally about art and creativity. She has mounted numerous one-person exhibitions, including Inspired by the Masters (Visions Quilt Museum 2016). Her work won Best of Show in the exhibition Timeless Meditations (Tubac Art Center/2013). She is a recipient of the Quilt Japan Prize, and Gold Prize at the Taegue (Korea) International Textile Exhibition.
Dunnewold has authored numerous books, including the classic Complex Cloth (1996). Interweave Press published Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design on Fabric (2010.) In 2016, North Light Books published Creative Strength Training: Prompts, Exercises and Stories to inspire Artistic Genius. She is the former President of the Surface Design Association.
Resources * Jane Dunnewold's website * Jane's Creative Strength Training online course * Episode 83 with artist Hollis Chatelain * Episode 69 with artist Greg Climer * We! Connect Cards by Chad Littlefield * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge Jane offers two challenges for the week. 1) Each day, take a photo of something close up. Spend a minute or so paying attention to those small details. What do you notice after doing this for a week? 2) Think of something that you would like to know about other people, something you are curious about. Ask those questions when you are meeting new people or talking with someone you don't know well.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Steve Garguilo is an expert at taking action. In this episode he explains his blueprint for how to take action on ideas, big or small. You will learn what gets in the way and blocks us from taking action as well as strategies to help you and your team take action and make progress.
What You’ll Learn * How to take action on your ideas * Learn how to adapt a bias towards action * How the difference between productive and unproductive procrastination
About Steve Garguilo Steve Garguilo works with people from all walks of life from all over the world to help them make their ideas happen.
He led the revolution to transform the culture of the 5th largest company in the world by instigating and shaping a grassroots movement at Johnson & Johnson that engaged 23,000 employees and led to countless stories of product and people development. Steve’s groundbreaking programs are known for being incredibly engaging and highly immersive and interactive. Net Promoter Scores for his programming range from +86 to +100.
Garguilo has also worked on social ventures globally, including in Kenya and India. In 2014, he completed The Mongol Rally, a 10,000-mile adventure from London to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, fundraising for the African Prisons Project.
He has lived all over the world and has spoken at TED and TEDx events across the globe in the United States, Switzerland, Brazil, Scotland, Tunisia, and Lithuania. A global citizen, he has visited each of the 48 contiguous United States and is a member of the “century club” having visited over 100 countries.
Resources * Book: Surge by Steve Garguilo and Sergiy Skoryk * Steve on Twitter * Steve's websites: stevegarguilo.com and actionsurge.com * giantflamingo.com * Episode 84: Using Goal Setting to Increase Creativity * The Deliberate Creative on C-suite Radio * Upcoming free webinars * Leave a review on iTunes
Weekly Challenge What is one big idea that you want to take action on? Then, ask yourself what is one thing you can do to make progress on this right now. It is overly simple, but it's important. Give it the importance it deserves. Take that first step and get started this week.
Are you looking for some good books about creativity to read for 2018? If so, here are the top 5 books I recommend the most. They will help you be more creative in your personal and professional life, as well as to help you lead your team and organization to innovate more. Happy reading!
What You’ll Learn * Amy's top recommended creativity books * A short review of each book
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Resources * Book: The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield * Book: From Experience to Creativity by Daniel Cape with contributions by Dr. Amy Climer * Book: Collective Genius by Linda Hill, et al. * Book: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull * Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert * Podcast: Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert
Weekly Challenge Pick one of these 5 books and start reading! Then, let me know what you think.
If you want to be creative, you have to be deliberate. Setting goals is an important part of being more creative. Many people claim they want to be creative, but don't actually do anything about it. In this episode, learn Dr. Amy Climer's process for how she sets and achieves her goals. Learn what didn't work for her and how she fixed that problem.
What You’ll Learn * The importance of writing down your goals * Barriers Amy faced in previous years and how she overcame them * A process for making your goals more visual so you can remember and achieve them
Resources * The yearly, quarterly, and weekly goal setting posters Amy uses * Episode 8: FourSight Thinking Profile with Blair Miller * Bullet Journaling
Weekly Challenge Download the goal setting posters. Spend some time writing down 3-5 yearly goals. Then, write down 3 goals for this quarter and for this week to help you meet those goals. What is one step you can take today to get started on those goals?
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Hollis Chatelain is a textile artist and humanitarian. She also teaches creativity. In this episode, she shares exercises and techniques she teaches her students to help them tap into the creativity that is already within.
What You’ll Learn * New exercises to help you get new ideas * Why and how to embrace boredom * Why journaling might not be the best way to foster your creativity
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About Hollis Chatelain Hollis Chatelain has inspired people around the globe with her award-winning scenes of multicultural life. She first went to Africa with the PeaceCorps in 1980.
Influenced by the 12 years she lived in West Africa working with humanitarian organizations, her work has always reflected her dedication to social and environmental issues.
Hollis has worked as a professional artist for over 40 years creating textile paintings that convey the untold stories of women, children and the environment.
Resources * Hollis Chatelain's website * Hollis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Weekly Challenge Go sit in a place where you feel relaxed. Just sit and daydream. Be in the moment. What do you see, hear, smell? Tap into your senses and what's going on around you. It's not emptying your brain as in meditation, it's about noticing and being bored. Do this for 15 minutes. Can you do it for 7 days? What did you notice? Do you start looking forward to it?
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Toxic employees cause significant harm to organizations and decrease creativity. Dr. Mitch Kusy is an expert in everyday civility and has studied toxic personalities in organizations for years. In this episode, he explains how toxic employees hurt organizations financially and otherwise. He discusses why managers don’t deal with them and why they need to. He offers advice and strategies for dealing with people with toxic personalities.
What You’ll Learn * The financial impact of toxic employees and why you shouldn't ignore them * Strategies for dealing with toxic employees to improve your organization and increase creativity
[powerpress]
About Mitch Kusy Dr. Mitchell Kusy, a 2005 Fulbright Scholar in Organization Development, is a full professor in the Graduate School of Leadership & Change at Antioch University. A registered organization development consultant, Mitch has consulted with hundreds of organizations nationally and internationally; he has been a keynote speaker around the globe.
Mitch has helped create organizational communities of respectful engagement, facilitated large-scale systems to successful change, and engaged teams through assessment and team-designed actions—all with a focus on improving organizational culture and long-term return on investment. He previously headed organization development for HealthPartners and the leadership development area for American Express Financial Advisors. Before his leadership in national and international organizations, Mitch was a full professor at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, where he co-designed the doctoral program in organization development. Previous to Why I Don’t Work Here Anymore, Mitch co-authored five business books. In 1998, he received the Minnesota Organization Development Practitioner of the Year Award. He resides in Minneapolis, MN and Palm Springs, CA and may be contacted at mitchellkusy@gmail.com.
Resources * Mitch Kusy's Website (email Mitch for a free copy of the Kusy Toxic Cost Worksheet) * Mitch's new book: Why I don't Work Here Anymore: A Leader’s Guide to Offset the Financial and Emotional Costs of Toxic Employees * Book: Toxic Workplace!: Managing Toxic Personalities and Their Systems of Power by Mitch Kusy and Elizabeth Holloway
Weekly Challenge Apply one of the strategies that Mitch outlined in the podcast episode! He offered these three strategies specifically:
- Conduct the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the situation - Is this going to backfire? Has feedback failed previously? What is my intention giving feedback?
- Look at your own performance management system - Are the values spelled out?
- If you decide to give feedback, look at the nuances in how you can approach it as described by Mitch.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Jessica Pettitt is a diversity and social justice educator. She talks about her new book Good Enough Now and how teams can learn to collaborate at a deeper level, embrace diversity, and get real with each other.
What You’ll Learn * How to be Good Enough Now * The three common response patterns and how to identify yours * How your response patterns can help you collaborate at a deeper level
[powerpress]
About Jessica Pettitt Jessica Pettitt, M.Ed., CSP, pulls together her stand up comedy years with 15+ years of diversity trainings in a wide range of organizations to serve groups to move from abstract fears to actionable habits that lead teams to want to work together. With a sense of belonging and understanding, colleagues take more risks with their ideation, conserve precious resources through collaboration, and maintain real connections with clients over time.
Resources * Jessica Pettitt's website * Book: Good Enough Now * Freebies and handouts from Good Enough Now
Weekly Challenge Take some time and create a list of your crucible moments in your life. Identify how your third rail showed up in each of them. What do you notice?
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
At different points in the creative process we might come upon some anxiety related to creativity. In this episode, Amy Climer talks about three common factors which cause anxiety related to creativity and three tips so that you can move through the anxiety and start implementing your creative ideas.
What You’ll Learn * Three common factors which cause anxiety related to creativity * Three tips to help manage and ease anxiety related to creativity
Weekly Challenge Reflect on the ways in which you might be feeding your own anxiety related to creativity and give one of these tips a try. The world needs you and your creative ideas!
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
In this episode we're flipping the script. Guest Will Wise is an expert at using questions to create connections. Today, he will be interviewing Amy Climer and demonstrating how to ask powerful questions. You'll learn how to ask better questions through an exciting live Q&A session.
What You’ll Learn * How to ask more powerful questions and create deeper connections with others * How to build trust in your team * One simple thing your team can do to be more creative today. * The vision that drives Amy's focus on creativity - you are a part of it!
About Will Wise Will Wise has over two decades of experience custom building leadership programs for corporate and nonprofit groups. He has earned a reputation as one who can transform groups and people into their best selves. Tens of thousands of people have been empowered with positive communication skills after spending some time with Will and We!™ Most recently, Will has also added author to his list of accomplishments with the release of his new book, Asking Powerful Questions.
Will lives in State College, PA with his amazing wife, Heather, and their three children.
Resources * Will Wise's website * Will's new book, Ask Powerful Questions * Link to free ebook (through Oct 21, 2017) and other free resources (after Oct 21) * Episode with Chad Littlefield about How to Ask Questions * The Artist's Way * Episodes 03 through 08: The Creative Problem Solving process
Weekly Challenge Be aware of what you are curious about and ask questions about it. Ask questions beginning with a "how" or a "what", not a "why." Take the risk and then listen to see what shows up.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Dr. Roger Firestien is a master facilitator of the Creative Problem Solving process. He has been using it, studying it, researching it, and teaching it for 40 years. In this episode he shares his thoughts on facilitating a well-crafted Creative Problem Solving session. He talks about how to get the best results for the clients, how to be an amazing facilitator, and some tips he has learned over the last four decades.
What You’ll Learn * How one company saved $50,000/week after using Creative Problem Solving * The tools Roger Firestien uses more than any others * Three levels to strive for in your own facilitation practice * How to design the physical space to achieve maximum results
About Roger Firestien Dr. Roger Firestien has taught more people to lead the creative process than anyone else in the world.
By applying Roger’s work in creativity:
- Clorox solved a 77-year-old problem in 15 minutes;
- General Motors came up with a $1.50 solution that saved the company $50,000 a week;
- Mead Paper developed a world-class line of products and saved $500,000 a year;
- The Los Angeles Times set their vision for the future;
- Buffalo, New York received One Billion dollars for economic development.
Called “The Gold Standard” of creativity training by his clients, he has presented programs in creativity to over 600 organizations nationally and internationally ranging from major fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, universities, associations and churches.
Dr. Firestien is Associate Professor and the Senior Faculty member at the world renowned International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY Buffalo State. He is the author and co-author of five books.
Roger’s expert views on creativity have been reported in Fast Company and The New York Times.
When Roger is not traveling, he lives in Buffalo, New York, and regularly works cattle on the SK Hereford Ranch near Medina, New York
Resources * Roger Firestien's website - here you will find the resources he mentioned, as well as the GM Story and other helpful examples. * Climer Cards
Weekly Challenge Take a look at how you show up as a facilitator. Remind yourself of your purpose to serve others.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
In this episode, Amy describes the five dysfunctions of a team as outlined in the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni and provides ways that leaders might address each of these dysfunctions.
What You’ll Learn * The five common dysfunctions of a team * What you might do as a team leader to overcome these dysfunctions
Resources * The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni * Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone * The Deliberate Creative Podcast Episode 8: FourSight with Blair Miller
Weekly Challenge Download the cheat sheet for this episode below and rate your team on each of these levels. If your team is not at a 4 or 5, create a plan to address the dysfunction within your team.
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
In this episode, Michael Diettrich-Chastain explores the connection between making change and creativity. He explains seven elements needed to implement change in your life and how to use that to be more creative.
What You’ll Learn * The connection between change and creativity * The CHANGES model and how you can use it to be more creative in your life * How self-care can impact the bottom line
About Michael Diettrich-Chastain Michael Diettrich-Chastain is the founder of an independent Organizational Consulting and Coaching firm – Arc Integrated.
Michael has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Spanish as well as a Master’s Degree in Counseling. Michael is a Licensed Professional Counselor in North Carolina. In addition to his background and experience in psychology, Michael is also a Certified Communication Coach as well as a trained facilitator in the Advanced Insights Profile, Actualized Leadership Profile and Group Culture Profile.
As a leadership coach, Michael has helped organizational leaders and teams become more effective in recognizing how to inspire, engage, resolve conflict and communicate with others. Through coaching, Michael helps individuals recognize and develop strengths in order to become more effective in their careers and personal lives.
Michael has facilitated trainings on leadership, team building, communication, emotional intelligence, employee engagement, self-care and other topics. Michael has facilitated trainings nationally across the US. As a recipient of the Group Study Exchange Scholarship, through Rotary International, he has traveled internationally delivering trainings and education about his fields of work.
Michael has studied eastern martial arts for more than a decade. While this study is a passion for him personally, he often incorporates philosophies from his experience into his work with individuals and organizations. He has facilitated trainings on leadership, stress reduction, communication and conflict resolution while infusing concepts from his martial arts study and background.
Resources * Michael's Website * Free chapter of Michael's new book * Article: Research reveals self-care improves healing experience * Article: Seeing it both ways: Openness to experience and binocular rivalry suppression
Weekly Challenge A daily practice is a key component of being more creative and effective in life. Michael challenges listeners to start doing something each morning that focuses on yourself. It could be mediating, walking, exercising, writing, etc. Developing ourselves helps us show up more present with our teams and in the work we do.
Darcy Luoma shares her philosophy about being Thoughtfully Fit. Just like one would intentionally train to run a marathon, we need to train to be more mentally and emotionally fit. Darcy shares the six components you need to improve many areas of your life - whether it's being more creative with a team or improving your relationship with your spouse. She gives actionable insights and shares stories of her own personal shifts.
What You’ll Learn * The six components of being Thoughtfully Fit * Hear stories about how to be more intentional about how you show up in life
Resources * Darcy Luoma's website * Episode 52 with Darcy Luoma: How Multi-tasking Decreases Productivity * Ask a Manager blog
Weekly Challenge Strengthen your core. When you find yourself in a difficult situation pause, think, and act. Listen to the episode to learn more. Share your experiences in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you!
Creativity is about the survival of ideas, pushing and pulling them out of us, giving them shape, and nurturing them into the world. It rarely happens alone. More often teams and groups are critical to creative ideas reaching adulthood. Yet, teams are complex. They can be the greatest champions for an idea or instantly kill it. In this episode, Amy Climer talks about the 3 elements of collaborative creativity that teams need to help ideas survive and thrive.
What You’ll Learn * The three elements of collaboratively creative teams. * What happens when ideas are shot down too early
Resources * Episodes about Creative Problem Solving: 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008 * Episode 52 with Darcy Luoma: How Multi-tasking Decreases Productivity * Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Weekly Challenge Think about a team you are a member of. How do they rank in the three elements of collaborative creativity? Where are the weaknesses and strengths? What does the team need to learn in order to be more creative together?
This episode explores the similarities and roots of three common creative processes: Design Thinking, Human Centered Design, and Creative Problem Solving.
What You’ll Learn * The history of creative process * The similarities between three popular creative design processes * Why understanding these is valuable to your work as a team leader, manager, or creative team member.
Resources * Episodes about Creative Problem Solving: 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008 * Episode 37 with Keith Sawyer * Book: Explaining Creativity by Keith Sawyer
In this episode, things are flipped. Podcast host Amy Climer is interviewed by Meg Bolger and Sam Killermann from Facilitating XYZ. Amy talks about how she learned to facilitate and explores facilitating creativity in teams. This is a replay from an episode on Facilitating XYZ, first aired on May 16, 2017.
What You’ll Learn * The difference between a presentation, a training, and a facilitation * How to get more ideas and engagement from workshop participants * How to address "idea fatigue" and the value of getting bored * The Creative Problem Solving process and how it works with teams
Resources * Facilitating XYZ * Climer Cards * The Creative Problem Solving Institute * Amy's Top 6 Creativity Books * Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action * Book: Experience and Education by John Dewey * Book: The Processing Pinnacle by Steven Simpson * Matt Church * Book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni * Book: Open To Outcome: A Practical Guide For Facilitating & Teaching Experiential Reflection * Book: The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron * The complete video with closed-caption and show index is available on YouTube
Implementing creative ideas can be a big challenge for teams. In this episode Project Manager Professional Brian Davidson explains how to use project management tools with teams to make any project a success. He provides simple, clear processes useful for non-project managers to lead their teams through to execution. He examines typical challenges team face with collaborative, creative projects and what to do about them.
What You’ll Learn * The step-by-step process of how to create a project management map, a work * A simple way to get your team to collectively create a project plan and timeline * Common pitfalls teams make when trying to implement innovative projects and what to do about it
About Brian Davidson Brian Davidson is a Project Management Professional and Certified Scrum Master with 13 years experience leading 32 projects in United States, Middle East, China, and Asia-Pacific region. He is passionate about leading teams to achieve project success. Brian is particularly interested in combining both innovation skills with execution skills to help people and teams achieve their innovation goals. He is also a project management coach and readily shares his experience and expertise with those interested in learning about project management. Contact him at info@mypmdevelopment.com. Resources * Brian's website: www.mypmdevelopment.com with sample project templates and tools * www.smartsheet.com for an online, collaborative project plan template. * One Page Project Manager (www.oppmi.com) for a 12-step, one-page, project plan template and related books. * HBR Article: Innovator's DNA by Dyer, Gregerson, and Christensen
The Weekly Challenge Work through the project charter exercise Brain explained and share it with others. How did it go? What did you learn? Share your experiences and questions in the comments below! Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days. Enjoy!
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
Chad Littlefield has studied questions. He knows how to ask excellent questions that lead to open, intriguing, creative conversations. He explains how to ask useful questions that help people be more creative. Learn tips on how to craft the best questions, build team trust, and increase creativity.
What You’ll Learn * The essential elements of well-crafted questions * The reason "why" questions close off creativity * How to use questions to drive creativity
About Chad Littlefield Chad Littlefield, M.Ed., is the co-founder and CEO of We!™. He has spoken at TEDx and is the author of the Pocket Guide to Facilitating Human Connections. As a speaker and professional facilitator, Chad designs fun, challenging, and engaging experiences and tools that break down communication barriers, and increase connection and engagement. He has worked as an instructor at Penn State University and led the design team who created We! Connect Cards™ which are now being used to create conversations that matter within companies and campuses in over 50 countries around the world. Chad has the privilege of consulting, coaching, and facilitating within organizations like JetBlue, Starbucks, Penn State, Cigna, Typeform, United Way, Goodwill, TEDx and dozens more. Resources * Chad Littlefield's website * We! Connect Cards * We!™ Newsletter * Movie: Patch Adams with Robin Williams * Patch Adam's Gesundheit! Institute * Amy Climer's Dissertation * Episode 60: "Might" it a Mighty Word
The Weekly Challenge In the next week, talk with three strangers. They could be people in your daily interactions, like a cashier, and ask them an open-ended question that starts with "what" or "how." The questions need to come from a place of genuine curiosity. In the comments below share what questions you asked and what happened. Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days. Enjoy!
In this episode, I interview artist Greg Climer. Yes, he's my brother, but he's also an amazing artist and a professor at the Parson School of Design in New York. He talks about his artistic practice, where he gets his ideas, and offers advice for how to get more creative.
What You’ll Learn
- Three tips from artist Greg Climer to help you be more creative
- How Greg comes up with new ideas and how you can do the same
About Greg Climer
Greg Climer is an artist whose work, though primarily textiles, bridges media and explores ephemeral experiences, film, sculpture and technology. His exploration of craft forms inverts methods and explores making through a queer lens.
He was a 2016 Artist-In-Residence at the Museum of Art and Design, where he created the animated quilts. His work has shown in the Mint Museum of Craft and Design (North Carolina), Kustera Projects (Brooklyn), Fred Frelinghuysen Presents (Brooklyn), and other galleries throughout the United States.
He is an Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and the Associate Director of First Year at Parson School for Design in New York City.
Resources
- Greg Climer's website
- Greg Climer on Instagram
- Greg Climer in Fast Company magazine
- Parson's School of Design
- The tool Greg and Amy both use for daily writing - 750words.com
- Podcast Bored and Brilliant
- Episode 35: The Leadership Style Continuum
- Episode 40: How Positivity Can Increase Creativity with Dr. Tina Hallis
- Episode 44: How Diversity in Teams Can Increase Creativity with Dr. Tanya Williams
The Weekly Challenge
Take Greg's advice this week and find 4-5 magazines you wouldn't normally read and dive into all of them at once. What ideas come up? Share your thoughts and experience in the comments!
Transcript
Feel like reading instead of listening? The transcript will be available in a few days. Enjoy!
Purna yoga focuses on the philosophy that life is yoga. In this episode, Letitia Walker shares what she has learned from her decades of practicing yoga and her life as a philosophy professor. She talks about the connection between the spark (creativity), the mind, and the body. If you are blocked it may be because one of these is out of balance. She explains how to tell what's off and how to rebalance yourself so you can be more creative.
What You’ll Learn * Three elements within you that need to work together to get those creative moments * Three simple questions you can ask yourself everyday to help you be more creative * What to do when one of more elements is out of balance
About Letitia Walker Letitia Walker is a certified Purna Yoga Instructor at the 500 Hour level, currently pursuing her 2,000 Hour certification at Purna Yoga College. She has been practicing since 1998, teaching since 2004, and has studied with noted teachers: Aadil Palkhivala, Savitri, Michael Stone, Elise Browning Miller, and Matthew Sanford.
Purna means complete. As a Purna Yoga instructor, Letitia’s classes and workshops address the entire you – body, mind, emotions and spirit – by drawing on four pillars of knowledge:
- Asana & Pranayama rooted in the alignment-oriented practice of BKS Iyengar as refined by Purna Yoga co-founder, Aadil Palkhivala
- Nutrition & Lifestyle Choices that meld the best of Ayurveda, Chinese, and Western medicine
- dynamic and transformational Heartfull Meditation techniques created by co-founder Savitri
- Applied Philosophy, which takes the breadth & wisdom of the ancient yogic texts and applies them practically to modern living
Off the mat, Letitia, along with her husband, is the author of Sock Monkey Dreams: Daily Life at the Red Heel Monkey Shelter (Viking Studio, 2006) and also designs her own line of graphic tees (Look Good Tees). She loves cooking, gardening, and spending time with friends and family, most notably her husband, Whitney, writer and master DJ extraordinaire, and Didi and Dolly, the cutest rescue shih tzus on the planet.
Resources * Letitia Walker's website: liveyoganow.com
- Letitia's CreativeMornings talk with the carpal tunnel series and Mental Centering technique
- Purna Yoga College
The Weekly Challenge Take some time each day to think about the three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Beyond that, work on the pause. Pause before you react. Take a deep breath before you respond. This allows time for the spark to emerge and for creativity to flourish.
In 1914, 28 men embarked on a dangerous expedition to the South Pole. Led by experienced Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, the men faced more peril that they could have ever imagined. In the middle of Antarctica their ship sunk. No one on the planet knew their situation. Shackleton was determined to get all the men home alive. Defying all odds, he succeeded. His unconventional leadership approach saved the men and even 100 years later there is much we can learn from Shackleton. This episode shares Shackleton's story and the leadership principles relevant to leading any team.
What You’ll Learn * Hear the story of Shackleton's incredible journey to the South Pole * Learn Shackleton's leadership principles and why they are relevant today
Resources * Book: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing * Book: Leading at the Edge by Dennis Perkins * Book: Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from a Great Explorer by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell * Blog Post: Five Elements of Shackleton's Leadership
The Weekly Challenge Select one of the leadership principles. What can you do to make progress towards it? Take one step. Share comments in the shownotes at climerconsulting.com/067. I'd love to hear what you did and how it went. Note: You can find images and the free summary sheet at climerconsulting.com/067.
Learn how to use space as a tool to enhance creativity within your team and your organization. Mike Marcus is the Assistant Director of Creative Placemaking & Property Development at The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design. In this episode, he teaches us about creative placemaking, explaining what it is and how it can help your team develop and implement creative ideas. He shares three components of creative placemaking and how you can being using with your team.
What You’ll Learn * What creative placemaking is and how it might impact you and your team * Three tips for implementing creative placemaking and making your organization more creative
About Mike Marcus Mike Marcus serves as Assistant Director of Creative Placemaking & Property Development at The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design. He is responsible for leading the organization’s property development initiative, The Hive AVL – a creative campus for making, learning and enterprise, and its related programmatic element, the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship. The project includes multiple University partners and economic development organizations.
Mike is passionate about cultivating vibrant communities and robust creative economies. He is particularly interested in the intersection of urban planning and economic development through the lens of the arts, local manufacturing, design and the maker movement. Mike is part of the core organizing committee for CreativeMornings Asheville and sits on the board of the Asheville Design Center. He holds a graduate certificate in Creative Placemaking from The Ohio State University, Columbus and a Bachelor’s Degree in City & Regional Planning from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California.
Resources * Center for Craft, Creativity, and Design * Email Mike - mmarcus@craftcreativitydesign.org * Mike Marcus on LinkedIn * CreativeMornings * Book: Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration * Book: Spaces for Innovation: The Design and Science of Inspiring Environments
The Weekly Challenge Ask three people this question: When a creative idea strikes for them, what is their optimal environment to further develop the idea? This can help you create new thinking about space and hopefully lead to positive changes.
Immunity to Change is a powerful tool to help us figure out what is preventing us from making the change we want in our lives, whether it is being more creative, exercising more, or finishing a project. Something is creating the "immunity" that is stopping the change. In this episode, Immunity to Change facilitators Amy Climer and Jen Wilson explain how Immunity to Change works and how to use it. You will walk through creating your own map to lead you to understanding yourself and hear an example of how to use the process. The process helps individuals, teams, and organizations make the changes they want to make.
What You’ll Learn * How to use the Immunity to Change process to facilitate change in your own life. * Big assumptions you might be making and how to test them * How to use the Immunity to Change map to uncover what has been preventing you from changing.
About Jen Wilson Jennifer Wilson is a consultant, facilitator and coach. She founded her company, New Leaf Coaching and Consulting LLC, in 2006 with a mission to help people in progressive, mission-driven organizations work well together so they can do amazing work in the world. She has consulted across the U.S. and beyond in diverse settings, from wilderness backcountry to NYC boardrooms, with organizations such as Sierra Club, NRDC, Open Society Foundation, REI, Esperanza Unida, and Wisconsin Public Radio. Jennifer co-founded two urban high schools dedicated to serving marginalized youth.
Jennifer is skilled at deeply listening and synthesizing what she hears into workable ideas that reflect the input of all constituents. Her facilitation style surfaces innovative ideas that challenge current conditions to re-energize organizational culture and the way teams function. Jennifer allows people the space to boldly innovate and stretch, creating opportunities for real change to happen. She helps leaders sustain their resiliency by bringing emotional intelligence and mindfulness practice into the work. Jennifer's has an MA in Counseling and Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis and is trained in coaching, transformational consulting, experiential learning, and outdoor education. She studied Immunity to Change with Dr. Keegan and Dr. Lahey at Harvard University. Outside of work, you can find her wandering around mountains and wilderness with her favorite trail partner (her husband), paddling local waterways, or lost in a really good book. The Weekly Challenge Download the free Immunity to Change Map here. Then, listen to the episode for directions, pausing where needed to complete the map/worksheet. Then, test out one of your Big Assumptions this week. Share your results and impressions in the comments below. Resources * Jen Wilson's website * Book: Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy!
How we present our ideas affects the audience's reactions. When presented poorly creative ideas get shot down or ignored. In this episode, you'll learn a five-step process that will lead to effective presentations. The steps apply to simple, informal presentations or high-stakes keynotes. Whatever the context, former actor Jack Hannibal shares how to design and deliver presentations so you can get the results you want.
What You’ll Learn * How you can design your presentations to get positive responses from your audience * The five step model to present your creative ideas * The three most common hurdles in delivering presentations
About Jack Hannibal A professional actor since childhood and teacher of acting for over 20 years, Jack knows firsthand what it takes to command a room with authenticity and presence. He is also good at showing others how to do the same. Jack is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City where he studied acting under Sanford Meisner. He has performed on and off-Broadway and has appeared in numerous TV programs and commercials. In Los Angeles, he taught acting privately and at UCLA Extension. Jack holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. He lives with his wife in Asheville, NC, where he maintains a private psychotherapy practice and is on the teaching staff at Asheville Insight Meditation.
Jack’s extensive experience as a performer, teacher of acting, psychotherapist, and meditation teacher, makes him a presentation coach second to none. His clients include: Children’s Hospital Foundation, Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Sports West, Fox Big Ten, MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, Sony Electronics, Panasonic Avionics, Parsons Engineering, GemStar TVGuide, Quest Diagnostics, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, and The Martin Agency.
Resources * Presentation and Presence Website * Jack Hannibal's website
The Weekly Challenge Jack offers two challenges for the week. The first is to get out and speak as much as possible. The more presentations you do the more comfortable you will be. Look for opportunities through Toastmasters or your local library, take an Improv or acting class, or share a story at an open mic event. The second challenge is to pay attention to the way the people in your life tell stories. Notice what works and what doesn't. See if you can start to notice their underlying structure. Ask yourself, who was the protagonist in that story? What were they after? What obstacles did they overcome? What was the point of the story? In addition, pay attention to the way the storyteller spoke. How did they use their hands and body to enhance or diminish your experience of the story? Look for how the speaker married expositional information (data) with dramatic narrative. Were you able to “see” the situation they told you about or not? Feel free to share your insights in the comment section below. We'd love to hear from you!
Managing up, also called leading up, or followership, is a critical skill at any level of an organization. In this episode, educational consultant Julie Koenke talks about the nuanced skill of managing up. She explains how it can help you better work with your supervisor and help your organization get the results you are aiming for.
What You’ll Learn * The definition of managing up * What managing up looks like with your supervisor * Why being a "good soldier" isn't what your boss is looking for * How managing up helps all levels of the organization succeed
About Julie Koenke Julie Koenke is the Director of the Great Lakes College and Career Pathway Partnership. Prior to this role, Julie worked as the Director of Secondary Programs and Pathways Partnerships for the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) in Wisconsin. She led MMSD’s efforts to implement personalized pathways with a Linked Learning approach across 16 middle and high schools. Julie has 17 years of experience developing public/private partnerships. She has developed numerous partnerships between public schools, non-profits, higher education institutions, businesses, foundations, and industry in order to bolster student achievement and success. During her 17 years of service in MMSD, she developed partnerships that increased participation in after school programs, increased high school graduation rates, college enrollment rates, access to and achievement in advanced and rigorous coursework for students of color.
Julie has over 20 years of experience as a youth worker, community educator, professional developer, and district administrator working towards systems level change in the City of Madison, WI. She brings an expertise in developing effective collaborative teams, change management, and a passion for creating equitable schools and communities. She has a Master of Fine Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts and an undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.
Resources * Harvard Business Review article about Managing Up
The Weekly Challenge Your challenge this week is to set up a meeting with your supervisor and ask two questions: 1) What can I do differently? 2) How can I best support you? Your supervisor might be surprised by your questions. Their response will help you do a better job of managing up and meeting the organizational goals. Let us know how it goes by leaving a comment below. Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!
There is no script for life and there is no exact script that will help you be more creative. In this episode, Amy interviews Chris Esparza about the power of Improv and how to work without a script. The skills and principles of Improv, borrowed from the world of theater, can help you deal with the ambiguity of leading creative teams.
What You’ll Learn * What Improv is and how it can help your teams be more creative * The three principles of Improv and how to use them with your team * The importance of preparation versus planning * How Chris was able to take five weeks off from his full-time job to dive deep into Improv in Chicago
About Chris Esparza Chris is a listener-in-progress, leadership learner-educator, applied improvisor, and accidental runner. He currently serves as the Associate Director at the University of Oregon's Holden Center for Leadership & Community Engagement. He shares both administrative and programmatic responsibilities across the center, including coordination of the LeaderShape Institute, Catalyst, and our Strengths-Based Leadership programming. Recently, he has been active in infusing principals of improvisation into the center’s curricular objectives, facilitating workshops and trainings across campus on adaptability, ambiguity, change, creativity, group development, and power and status.
Chris grounds his work in experience with leadership development, group facilitation, diversity and inclusion, and applied psychology. Chris attended Stanford University for his bachelor's degree (Psychology) and UC Santa Barbara for his master's and doctoral work (Counseling Psychology). Outside of work you might find Chris running on the riverside paths in Eugene, OR, eating lots of Mexican food, or participating in the world’s largest treasure hunt (geocaching).
Resources * IO Improv Theatre * Book: Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madsen * Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert * Book: Everything's An Offer by Robert Poynton * Book: Training to Imagine by Kat Koppett * Applied Improvisation Network * International Leadership Association * University of Oregon Holden Center * Chris Esparza on Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn
The Weekly Challenge Your weekly challenge is to apply the rules of improv in your work and life: Let go. Notice more. Use everything. Apply an improvisor's mindset and see what emerges. Share your experiences in the comments below.
Are you overwhelmed with too many ideas? Do you have too many ideas and need to figure out which are the best? In this episode, learn how to select the best ideas. How to use criteria to manage and rate your ideas. Then, learn to test the top ones before doing a full-blown implementation. Try the weekly challenge and let us know how it goes!
What You’ll Learn * How to select the best ideas to implement * The most common criteria used for selecting ideas * How to prototype and test the top ideas
The Weekly Challenge Apply what you learned this week. Use the criteria matrix idea to rate your ideas. Select the top ones and test them. Use the prototyping approach to test several ideas. Which ones rise to the top? Share your comment and questions below.
Learn how the simple five-letter word "might" can help you be more creative. Might is a mighty word! When you change the format of your questions it leads to impressive results. This episode explains how to make a small shift and generate new, creative, original ideas.
What You’ll Learn * Why "might" is a mighty word * How to change the way you ask questions to generate new ideas * How to increase the sense of possibility with your team, your family/friends, and your self
Resources * Episode 5: Creative Problem Solving – Ideate
The Weekly Challenge Use the word “might” at least three times a day for the next week. Try it when talking with your boss, bringing up a problem in a team meeting, asking your kids questions, talking about the future with your spouse. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways you might use the word “might” to create a sense of possibility and openness, and ultimately to generate more ideas. One of those ideas could lead to an amazing breakthrough.
Sleep is a huge factor in our ability to be creative and come up with new ideas. Recently, there has been more research about how sleep affects our brains. This episode explores the effects of sleep on our creativity. Learn how you can get more sleep and how to support your teams to get more sleep and function at an even higher and more creative level.
What You’ll Learn
- Why you and your team need more sleep
- Six ways you can improve your sleep
- How you might be preventing your team members from getting the sleep they need to perform their best
Resources * Climer Cards * Free Climer Cards eBook * How to set Do Not Disturb on your iPhone * How to set Do Not Disturb on your Android * Flux for Mac * Article: Creativity - The Unconscious Foundations of the Incubation Period * The Model Health Show Podcast Episode 147: 10 Ways Sleep Can Give You a Better Brain
The Weekly Challenge Get more sleep! Try a few of the suggestions mentioned in this episode and try them more than once. Challenge yourself to implement one of the suggestions at least five nights in a row and observe what happens. Ask your family members and colleagues if they notice a change!
Team meetings are an opportunity to gather input, share ideas, and explore strategies. However, in many teams there are some team members who talk more, while others are less vocal. Every person’s input if valuable, otherwise they shouldn’t be on the team. In this episode, learn six techniques to equalize the voices in team meetings. The powerful techniques are easy enough to implement in your next meeting. This is the third episode in a three part series about team meetings.
What You’ll Learn * Six techniques to help equalize input from team members * How to hear from the less talkative members * How to get the full potential from team members
Resources * Climer Cards * Free Climer Cards eBook * Episode 56: Five Ways to Open Your Team Meetings * Episode 57: Five Ways to Close Your Team Meetings
The Weekly Challenge Try one of the six techniques with your team at your next team meeting. Let me know how it goes. What happened? Feel free to share your experience in the comments below.
Meetings are often the primary communication tool for teams. The way meetings begin and end impact the quality of the meeting. The episode explains five different ways to end your team meeting. The techniques encourage reflection and allow everyone to gain data about where the team is at. The episode builds on 056 which talked about how to open a meeting.
What You’ll Learn * Why being intentional about how you end your meetings can help your teams be more successful. * Five techniques to close your team meetings. * How to increase reflection from team members and gain more insights into member's perception of a topic.
Resources * Climer Cards * Free Climer Cards eBook * Episode 56: Five Ways to Open Your Team Meetings
The Weekly Challenge Try one of the five techniques to close your team meeting. How did it impact the meeting? How did it help the team? Feel free to share your experience in the comments below.
Meetings are often the primary way a team works together. The format and process of team meetings affects how a team works together, their sense of purpose, and their ability to innovate. By changing the format of a meeting you can increase trust among team members, improve communication, and do better work together. In this episode, learn five ways to begin your meeting that will help build your team to be even stronger.
What You’ll Learn * Why starting a meeting with a short activity can help your team be more productive and focused * Five ways to begin your meeting that will help you focus on your goals and increase camaraderie and trust
Resources * Climer Cards * Toppers Pizza Five Core Values
The Weekly Challenge Try one or more of the meeting openers at your next meeting. What happened? How did it affect the meeting? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Do you ever doubt your creativity? Do you ever think you just aren't creative enough or you don't have a creative bone in your body? If so, this episode is for you. Amy explains why the planet needs your creativity and reminds you of your creative potential. If you are doubting your creativity listen to this episode!
What You’ll Learn * How the stories we heard at a young age impact our creative self-identity * The role genetics play in your creativity * Why the world needs you to be creative
Resources * Book: A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson * Quote: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~ From A RETURN TO LOVE by Marianne Williamson © 1992 (Paperback; pp 190-191)
The Weekly Challenge Try to identify where those negative messages about creativity came from. When have you received positive messages about your creativity? Do you ignore those and focus on the negative ones? How can you shift your thinking to realize you are creative? The planet needs your creativity!
Every one of us has our own unique, interpersonal style. In essence, we all have a default, natural behavior that we are most comfortable with. This behavior is called your Social Style. Social Styles explain our communication preferences, how we deal with conflict, and how we interact with others. By understanding your own style and others’ you can learn to become more versatile therefore enhancing work relationships, resolving conflicts more effectively, and creating effective change. You'll learn your Social Style and how to adjust to better work with colleagues, partner, and friends.
What You’ll Learn * Your own personal Social Style * Three ways to increase your versatility in working with others * Hear an example from Amy's life where she adjusted her style with great success
Resources * Book: The Social Styles Handbook by Wilson Learning * Website: Social Styles by Wilson Learning * Episode 8: FourSight with Blair Miller * Orangutan Survival Species Plan
The Weekly Challenge Determine your own Social Style. Figure out one way you can adjust your approach to better match someone else's style. What happened? How did it go?
If we keep operating at maximum intensity we won't continue to perform at maximum intensity. Without intermittent periods of rest creativity and productivity suffer in both teams and individuals. This episode explores the need for recovery time after intense projects and look what happens when we don't pause, slow down, and let ourselves rest.
What You’ll Learn * Why recovery time for your brain is as important for creativity * What happens when we don't slow down, take vacations, and give our brain time to rest.
Resources * Podcast: Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert * Episode 52: On Multitasking with Darcy Luoma * Book: Art of Thought by Graham Wallas, 1926
The Weekly Challenge Figure out your "end game" with the current projects and other things that are causing stress for you. Is there an end date? If so, what will change? If not, how can you make some changes to your life to allow more space and recovery time for your brain. This will increase your creativity! Share your comments below.
The average employee experiences 56 interruptions each day and consequently loses two hours of productivity each day. In the episode, learn about the myths of multitasking and how it impacts the culture of teams. Darcy Luoma shares stories and experiences from her life and her clients about how multitasking can hurt teams. It decreases creativity, effectiveness, and productivity. Learn how to shift your focus and be more creative.
What You’ll Learn * The harms of multi-tasking, in particular how multitasking might be ruining your relationships * How multitasking impacts teams * Three ways to decrease multitasking and increase productivity
About Darcy Luoma Darcy Luoma, certified professional life coach, dynamic facilitator, fun and engaging public speaker, has expertise in leadership, team development, emotional intelligence and personal effectiveness. Her optimistic attitude, playful and intuitive style has helped hundreds of clients achieve remarkable results, including greater work/life balance, a clearer vision, and enhanced leadership.
Her master’s thesis (MSOD, Pepperdine University) showed profound results that life coaching significantly increases overall life satisfaction and improves personal and professional growth. Darcy recently completed 12 years as the Director of U.S. Senator Herb Kohl's office and is now a full-time leadership coach and organization development specialist. Along with balancing being a mom of two daughters, she enjoys spicy Chai lattes, boot camp, hot yoga, adventure travel, competing in triathlons, and afternoon naps. Darcy brings passion and practical ideas for action to her highly engaging presentations! To learn more visit DarcyLuoma.com.
Resources * Darcy Luoma's website
- Book: The Myth of Multitasking by Dave Crenshaw
The Weekly Challenge Turn off your sounds notifications on your phone for one week. Notice the impact? Notice how present it allows you to be. Be conscious of when you check emails and shift to setting certain times each day to check. Listen to the episode to learn why this can be so effective.
People want and need feedback, particularly Millennials. However, telling someone "nice job" is not effective feedback. In this episode, communications strategist Lee Caraher explains how to give feedback that results in real change. After a series of hiring failures she researched Millennials and became an expert, even writing a book called Millennials and Management. Several chapters focus on feedback because it is so critical, not just for Millennials, but for every generation. Listen to learn how you can help your team be more successful by giving effective feedback.
What You’ll Learn * Three tips to giving better feedback * How to improve brainstorming results when working with introverts * Forget the Golden Rule - live by the Platinum Rule
About Lee Caraher Lee Caraher is a CEO and acclaimed communication strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She started Double Forte in 2002 to work with good people, doing great work for good companies. Her clients span well-loved Bay Area brands including Clif Bar and CamelBak, hot Silicon Valley start-ups, financial service companies and wine and spirits companies. This is not her first rodeo, and she's learned a lot along the way that she shares freely with others in the hopes that everyone can reduce the drama in the workplace. Now her friends and colleagues call her "The Millennial Whisperer."
After struggling with how to work well with Millennial clients and now staffers (more than half of Lee’s staff is under 35) and then working to figure out how to make that work, Lee has written a positive and practical book about the topic, “Millennials & Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work.”
Lee has a reputation for building cohesive, high producing teams who get a lot done well and have fun at the same time. She is a straight talker who doesn't hold too many punches, although she does her best to be pleasant about it. Her big laugh and sense of humor have gotten her out of a lot of trouble.
She started her career in communications in Boston and then moved to California to work with well-known PR firm The Bohle Group and then Manning, Selvage & Lee. She moved to the Bay Area in 1995 to serve as the Vice President of Corporate and Consumer Communications at the $1.6 Billion SEGA of America. She then served as Executive Vice President of The Weber Group and Founder and President of Red Whistle Communications, both Interpublic companies.
Lee is active in the community and currently serves on the Board of KQED Public Media, Grace Cathedral’s Board of Trustees, and on the Board of Trustees of Menlo College, Atherton. Previously Lee served on the Board of Directors of The Marine Mammal Center, was the Chair of the Board for Community Gatepath, San Mateo County’s largest organization serving the needs of people with developmental disabilities, and was the founding Chair of the Board for the St. Paul’s Choir School. She consults with other non-profits on effective board organization and practices.
A graduate of Carleton College, with a degree in Medieval History, which she finds useful every day, Lee lives on the Peninsula with her husband, two sons, and their blind cat Al.
Resources * Lee Caraher's book - Millennials & Mangement: The Essential Guide to Making It Work at Work * Lee Caraher's website * Lee Caraher's firm Double Forte
The Weekly Challenge Notice when you say the word "but," then switch with the word "and." Set up a process so you interupt yourself and start changing how you communicate. Those small three letter words can be powerful and switching them out can lead to impressive results.
Creative synergy is the interactions amongst team members where the collective creative results are greater than the sum of their individual efforts. When teams achieve creative synergy they have the potential to be more creative and innovative. This podcast shares my brand new research about creative synergy in teams, including the three components of creativity synergy and details about the new Creative Synergy Scale.
What You’ll Learn * Which variables that have the greatest impact on team creativity. * The three components of creative synergy. * How to use the Creative Synergy Scale to increase creativity in your team
Resources * Episode 33: The Difference Between Teams and Working Groups * Episode 3: The Creative Problem Solving Process * Book: The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach and Smith
The Weekly Challenge Which of the three elements of creative synergy do you think your teams need to develop? Talk with your teammates and get their opinion.
Getting an idea is just the beginning. The next step is nurturing and developing that idea from a tiny seed into a something worthwhile. This episode share three important steps to build and nurture your ideas so you can use them to change the world.
What You’ll Learn * How ideas are like sunflowers and why that matters to you * How showering, driving, and sleeping can help you develop your ideas into rich plans * How to push your ideas further so you can begin to take action
Resources * Episode 7: Creative Problem Solving - Implementation * Episode 26: The Imposter Syndrome * Episode 45: How to Say No to Your Inner Critic * Episode 46: How to Take Action Against Your Inner Critic
The Weekly Challenge Take one of your ideas and build and nurture it for a full week. What do you need to do to take it that next step? Make it public! Share in the comments your idea and how you are nurturing and building it.
Very few teams reach high-performing status. Those that do all have six things in common. This episode reveals the research on high performing teams and explains the six basics every team needs to become high-performing. A free slide deck accompanies this episode.
What You’ll Learn * Six basics of high performing teams * Three types of teams
Resources to Help You Overcome Your Inner Critic * Free set of slides to accompany the episode! * Book: The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach & Smith * Episode 33: The Difference Between Teams and Working Groups
The Weekly Challenge Listen to the six basics of high-performing teams. Identify one area your team has a gap. Have a conversation with your team about that gap. What can you do to improve in that area? Share comments or questions below in the show notes. Would love to hear from you!
Companies lose billions in the U.S. alone due to low employee engagement. In this episode Dr. Sharon Livingston explains how to engage team leaders and provides tips on how to coach the leaders to lead their team towards more creativity and innovation.
What You’ll Learn * Why team leaders need to identify their passion * How leaders can identify their passion and bring out their team's passion * The power and impact of being employee focused
Resources Mentioned in this Episode * Sharon's book Get Lost Girlfriend * International Coach Certification Alliance (ICCA) * Contact Sharon - (603) 505-5000 or drsharonlivingston at gmail dot com
The Weekly Challenge Think about a time in your life (recent or many years ago) when you felt real and alive. Tell yourself a story about it. What do you notice? Then, see if there any connections between that and your work life, personal life, or relationships. To take it a step farther, ask that same question to a friend, spouse, colleagues, or your team. What do you learn? What alignment (or misalignment) do you find between your passion and your life? Share your reaction in the comments.
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 [...]
The post Episode 44: How Diversity in Teams Can Increase Creativity with Dr. Tanya Williams appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
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
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
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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.
Everyone gets stuck at times. You know that feeling where you want to be creative, but it's just not happening. Instead you procrastinate, you avoid the project, or you do other "important" things. This episode explains reasons why we get stuck and provides solutions to move into full creative breakthrough mode. Ready to get unstuck? Just click play!
What You’ll Learn * How to figure out which stage of the creative process you are stuck in and then how to move forward * General tips that will help you move forward, regardless of where you are stuck * Techniques to help you move into breakthrough thinking and active creating
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Blog post: Three Tips to Help you Focus When Writing * Climer Cards * Zig Zag Cards * Strict Workflow by Matchu * Focus@Will * Book: The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield
The Weekly Challenge Try out one of the tips or tools shared this week. How did it go? Share your experiences below in the comments section.
A strong sense of purpose is one of the most powerful elements impacting a team's creative success. In this episode hear what the research says about team purpose, as well as stories from my personal life where the power of purpose has been important.
What You’ll Learn * How team purpose impacts a team's success * Two elements critical to a team's sense of purpose
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Book: Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong by Larson & LaFasto * Book: Drive by Daniel Pink * Research: Pinto, J. K., & Prescott, J. E. (1987). Changes in critical success factor importance over the life of a project. New Orleans. 328-332. * Research: Pearce, C. L., & Ensley, M. D. (2004). A reciprocal and longitudinal investigation of the innovation process: The central role of shared vision in product and process innovation teams (PPITs). Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 259-278. * Book: The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach & Smith * Book: Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Lencioni * Episode 17: Seven Norms of Collaboration
The Weekly Challenge Invite your team to talk about their purpose. At your next team meeting, ask each team member to write down on a Post-It Note what they believe is the team's purpose. Hang each on the wall and gather around to read them. What do you notice? Is there alignment or confusion about the team purpose? Then, facilitate a conversation to clarify that team purpose, if needed.
In this episode, Keith Sawyer talks about the Zig Zag model of creativity, one that he developed after years of research with creative teams. He explains how he developed the model, how to use it, and shares a few practical tips you can implement right away to help your team, or yourself, be more creative.
What You’ll Learn * The eight stages of the Zig Zag model to creativity * What business teams can learn from Jazz Improv groups * How juggling can help you be more creative
Dr. Keith Sawyer is one of the country’s leading scientific experts on creativity, collaboration, and learning. A professor of education at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, he studies creativity, learning, and collaboration. After receiving his computer science degree from MIT in 1982, he began his career with a two-year stint designing videogames for Atari. His titles included Food Fight, Neon, and Magician. From 1984 to 1990, he was a principal at Kenan Systems Corporation, where he worked as a management consultant on innovation technologies. His clients included Citicorp, AT&T, and U.S. West. In 1990, Dr. Sawyer began his doctoral studies in psychology, where he studied creativity with Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (author of best selling books such as Flow and Creativity). Since receiving his Ph.D. in 1994, he has dedicated his career to research on creativity, collaboration, and learning. He has been a jazz pianist for over 30 years, and spent several years playing piano with Chicago improv theater groups.
Dr. Sawyer has published fourteen books and over 80 scientific articles. His research has been featured on CNN, Fox News, TIME, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR and other media. A popular speaker, he lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on creativity and innovation.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Zig Zag (Book) by Keith Sawyer * Zig Zag Cards by Keith Sawyer * Explaining Creativity by Keith Sawyer * Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration by Keith Sawyer * Keithsawyer.com * ZZdeck.com * climercards.com * Wallas, 1926. The Art of Thought - the source of the first creativity model
The Weekly Challenge Engage in the third step of the Zig Zag "Look" and take yourself on a field trip to a new art museum or a new town. Pay attention to what is different. What do you notice? What inspiration do you find? You can find this idea and many others in Keith Sawyer's deck of Zig Zag Cards.
This episode brings together topics from three previous episodes: 9, 34, and 35. I explain the connection between Stages of Group Development (episode 9), Three Elements Teams Need to Succeed (episode 34), and the Leadership Continuum (episode 35). Understanding all of these together and can help your team move into the Performing Stage and become amazing and more creative.
What You’ll Learn * When to adjust your leadership style according to the group's stage of development * Why you shouldn't always intervene when your team is in conflict
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Free Cheat Sheet about Leadership Styles * From Conflict to Resolution: Managing and Mediating Conflict at Work workshop Amy's leading in Milwaukee on April 26, 2016 * Climer Cards * Tuckman, B. W. and Jensen, M. A. C. (1977) Stages in small group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies 2; 419-427. * Episode 9: Stages of Group Development * Episode 34: Three Elements Teams Need to Succeed * Episode 35: Leadership Styles Continuum
The Weekly Challenge Download the Cheat Sheet and teach your team about the stages of group development, the leadership styles, and about task, process, and relationship. Then, invite feedback on your leadership style.
Teams need to attend to three elements in order to be successful in their work: task, relationship, and process. Balancing and attending to these three can lead to high functioning, creative, successful teams. This episode explains what each of these are and how to attend to all three.
What You’ll Learn * The difference between task, relationship, and process for teams * Why teams need to attend to task, relationship, and process, but not at exactly the same time.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Episode 23 - How Conflict Impact Creativity * Episode 8 - FourSight, an Interview with Blair Miller * Episode 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 - The Creative Problem Solving Process * Climer Consulting Facebook Page * Amy's Twitter Feed
The Weekly Challenge Take a look at the team(s) you are in. Where can they make the most improvement - in task, relationship, or in process? Talk with your team about the importance of each of these and dialogue about how you can improve to make the team even stronger.
The word team is often used a bit too casually to refer to any group of people working together. However, not all groups are teams. Knowing whether or not your group is a team or a working group can make a difference in how you work together. Both are valuable, but treating a working group like a team or visa versus can cause problems. Listen to this short episode to learn the difference and why it matters. What You’ll Learn * The definition of a team and working group and why you need to know the difference.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * The Wisdom of Team by Katzenbach & Smith
The Weekly Challenge Assess the groups you are a part of, which are teams and which are working groups? Talk with the group and come to a consensus. Talk about why it matters.
In this episode, Sarah Gibson of Accent Learning and Consulting talks about intergenerational teams. You'll learn what a generation is and the defining events that created the five generations alive today. Learn how generations might clash in the workplace, yet they need each other in order to be the most creative.
What You’ll Learn * The definition of a generation * The four types of generations in the workplace today * How intergenerational teams might have more conflict and what do to about it * How to help your intergenerational team be more creative
About Sarah Gibson Sarah Gibson founded Accent Learning and Consulting, LLC in 2004 because it allowed her to share her passion for speaking and teaching practical workplace skills that help individuals and businesses succeed. Since then, Sarah and her team have helped companies understand the impact of workplace communication through a large variety of professional development and leadership classes.
Sarah wrote The Zoom Guide to the Generations to help people learn more about the impact of generational pieces in the workplace. She has worked with more than 100 organizations across a variety of industries throughout North America. Beyond her corporate experiences, Sarah has also taught for the University of Wisconsin-Madison evening MBA program and as an adjunct instructor at Madison College, UW-Whitewater and North Dakota State University. Sarah holds a Master’s degree from North Dakota State University.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Free Generational Job Aid by Sarah Gibson * Sarah Gibson's website * Book - The Zoom Guide to the Generations * Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The Weekly Challenge This week, pay attention to the different generations you work with. What do you notice in meetings and other interactions? Share with your team the job aid from Sarah Gibson and have a conversation about how your different generations show up in your work and interactions. Share in the comment section or send me an email and let me know how it goes.
I am often asked to explain what creativity training is and how it works. In this episode I clarify creativity training by walking through sample activities and describing a typical creativity training. I also explain three different types of creativity training and the one you need will depend on your goals. Organizations much continue to innovate if they want to thrive. Creativity training gives team members the tools and techniques they need to be more creative and solve problems for the organization.
What You’ll Learn * The importance of being creative and how creativity training can help * Three different purposes of creativity trainings
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Zig Zag Creativity Cards by Keith Sawyer
The Weekly Challenge Think about how you can be more creative in 2016. Do you need creativity training? Can you deliver training to your team? Reach out if you need help. It's what I do best!
Parents want the best for their kids. They give their kids advice to help them grow into healthy, happy, and successful adults. However, the best-intentioned career advice might be decreasing the creativity in your kids and that might be causing a number of other problems. In this episode Amy Climer talks about how you can make a living doing anything and why saying Yes to your kids’ career ideas might be the best way to help them live healthy, happy, and successful lives.
What You’ll Learn * How your best intentions as parents might be decreasing your kids creativity * How the career advice you give your kids might impact their creativity
The Weekly Challenge When you hear a child talk about what they want to be when they grow up, say yes. Say yes even if you don't know how they can do it. There are so many options today and by limiting the career options of kids we decrease their creativity and teach them that there are only certain professions that are worthwhile. Say Yes!
In this episode I interview middle school teacher Will Gibbs. Will was a participant in the North Carolina Outward Bound Educator's Initiative in 2009-2010. Now, six years later he has completely changed how he teaches his students with a focus on a caring classroom. The results are impressive. What he does in the classroom can be [...]
The post Episode 29: How One Teacher Builds Trust in his Classroom appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
In this episode I interview middle school teacher Will Gibbs. Will was a participant in the North Carolina Outward Bound Educator's Initiative in 2009-2010. Now, six years later he has completely changed how he teaches his students with a focus on a caring classroom. The results are impressive. What he does in the classroom can be done in nearly any context with teams including adults or younger kids.
What You’ll Learn * How and why Will Gibbs spends 7 days on building community before starting the curriculum. * How to build trust and community amongst students and team members. * The value of a virtual campfire * How to get students to not commit one of your pet peeves
About Will Gibbs Will began teaching at the ripe old age of 22. He started in a computer lab as a technology teacher at Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach, moving into the history department shortly thereafter. He is now in his 11th year at The Episcopal Academy outside of Philadelphia, PA. There, he is the Middle School History Department Chair, a classroom teacher, and coaches soccer, squash, and lacrosse... along with dozens of other roles taken on by Independent School teachers. Will is a 2009-10 participant in the Educator's Initiative with North Carolina Outward Bound. Upon finishing the program, Will has redesigned his entire pedagogy and is continually searching to improve and push the boundaries.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * North Carolina Outward Bound Educator's Initiative * The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, PA * Padlet collaboration tool * Book The Caring Classroom by Laurie Frank * Will Gibbs Twitter handle: @mrgibbs34 * Will Gibbs Email: wfgibbs at episcopalacademy dot org
The Weekly Challenge This week, follow Will's advice and make one change to begin developing a sense of community and trust within your classroom or team. How did it go? What were the results? Share in the comment section below or send me an email.
This episode topic was requested by several listeners. In a recent survey, several asked how to build trust in teams. This episode introduces three ways to start building trust within you team. But first, I explain why trust matters and how it impacts creativity.
What You’ll Learn * Two types of trust that are important to creativity * The relationship between trust and conflict * Three strategies you can implement to increase trust within your team.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Take the Team Survey - support my dissertation research! * Episode 17: Seven Norms of Collaboration * Book: The Progress Principle by Amabile & Kramer * Dougherty, D., & Takacs, C. H. (2004). Team play: Heedful interrelating as the boundary for innovation. Long Range Planning: International Journal of Strategic Management, 37(6), 569-590. * Fairchild, J., & Hunter, S. T. (2013). 'We've got creative differences': The effects of task conflict and participative safety on team creative performance. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 48(1), 64-87. * Peltokorpi, V., & Hasu, M. (2014). How participative safety matters more in team innovation as team size increases. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(1), 37-45.
The Weekly Challenge This week, try to do one of the suggestions shared in the podcast: Either implement regular meetings or set up a structured process to help team members get to know each other. How did it go? What were the results? Share in the comment section below or send me an email.
This week's topic comes from a listener who was curious about how to engage reluctant team members and participants in trainings. Do you lead trainings? If so, listen and learn two strategies to help you get participants engaged, interested, and learning more during your trainings.
What You’ll Learn * Two ways to ensure participants stay engaged during your trainings * The 5 attitudes that participants have during trainings
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Download the Free 5 Ways of Being Cheat Sheet * Workshop: Make it Experiential
Do you ever feel like you are a fraud? The Imposter Syndrome haunts many people, especially if you are successful. In the episode, learn about the Imposter Syndrome and how it might be hurting your creativity. The good news - once you understand it, it's easy to change. Listen and learn four steps to combat the Imposter Syndrome and start being more creative in your personal and professional life.
What You’ll Learn * What the Imposter Syndrome is. * How to know if you have the Imposter Syndrome. * Four steps to move past the Imposter Syndrome and be more creative.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Podcast Steal the Show * Book The War of Art * Book The Artist's Way * The Imposter Syndrome on Wikipedia
The Weekly Challenge This week, pay attention to when and where you experience the Imposter Syndrome. Where does it creep in? Write down what those situations are. Do you see any trends? Then, follow steps 2-4 in the podcast to combat the Imposter Syndrome. Share in the comment section or send me an email and let me know how it goes.
Most of us have been in bad meetings that felt like such a waste of time. Don't be that leader! In this episode, you will learn three simple tips to make your meetings more powerful, more meaningful, and more financially responsible. What You’ll Learn How an unproductive meeting can waste your organization $500 0r more. Three simple facilitation tips [...]
The post Episode 25: Facilitation Tips for Leading Better Meetings appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
Most of us have been in bad meetings that felt like such a waste of time. Don't be that leader! In this episode, you will learn three simple tips to make your meetings more powerful, more meaningful, and more financially responsible.
What You’ll Learn * How an unproductive meeting can waste your organization $500 0r more. * Three simple facilitation tips to improve your meetings and stop wasting time and money. * Why you should avoid icebreakers * How to engage participants and create meaningful dialogue that leads to results.
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Artist Hollis Chatelain * Book Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. This book has some great meeting techniques. * Book The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition): Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures - sometimes images can be more powerful than any verbal explanation. This book will teach you how, even if you can't draw.
The Weekly Challenge This week, try one of the three techniques mentioned in the episode. How does it change your meetings? Share in the comment section or send me an email and let me know how it goes.
Climer Cards are a fun, powerful tool that can be used to help teams expand their creativity, increase their engagement, and get to know each other better. In this episode, learn how this inexpensive, simple deck of cards can be used for many activities whether you are facilitating the Creative Problem Solving process, teambuilding activities, or having a conversation about meaningful topics. You can also modify the activities to use other images or playing cards. The options are endless!
What You’ll Learn * What are Climer Cards * Activities to help teams get to know each other * Activities that facilitate deeper conversation about specific topics * Where to buy Climer Cards (they are only $20)
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Climer Cards Free eBook * Climer Cards website * Episode 5: Ideation
The Weekly Challenge Buy a deck of Climer Cards and try one new activity! Share your experience below or on the climercards.com website under "stories."
Conflict has a big impact on a team's level of creativity. You may be surprised to learn that teams need conflict in order to be creative. In this episode, learn what the research has revealed about the best types of conflict and the best approaches of conflict for creativity. You'll also learn about creative abrasion and 4 tips on how to achieve the optimal level of conflict with your teams.
What You’ll Learn * Two types of conflict - one that is helpful for teams and one that is harmful * Five approaches to conflict and the three that increase creativity * The definition and importance of creative abrasion * Four simple things you can do to get the optimal level of conflict in your team
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Groupthink article by Jonah Lehrer - this is the article I talked about that I shared with the team * Jehn, K. (1995). A multi method examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 256-282. * Badke-Schaub, P., Goldschmidt, G., & Meijer, M. (2010). How does cognitive conflict in design teams support the development of creative ideas? Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(2), 119-133. * Episode 5: Ideation * Episode 17: Seven Norms of Collaboration
The Weekly Challenge Try one of the four techniques to increase creativity in your team. What happens? Share in the comment section or send me an email and let me know how it goes.
There are many ways to enhance your creativity. This episodes explains seven tips for how to become more creative. It requires you to be deliberate, but the results can be spectacular.
What You’ll Learn * Seven ways to boost your creativity * Tools and resources you can use to become more creative
[powerpress]
Resources Mentioned in the Episode * Book The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron * Julia Cameron's Artist's Way website * 750words.com - a tool for writing Morning Pages online * amyclimer.com * Pinterest * Evernote * Strict Workflow
The Weekly Challenge Try at least one of these creative boosters this week. What happens? Share in the comment section or send me an email and let me know how it goes.
Upcoming Workshops with Amy Climer From Conflict to Resolution: Managing and Mediating Conflict at Work - November 6, 2015, Milwaukee, WI
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? Download the PDF Transcript. Enjoy! (will be uploaded in a couple of days)
What is your story? The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves impact so many aspects of our lives, from our physical health to our success and happiness. Mindsets are the way we think about our skills, abilities, talents, intelligence, and attributes. Do you believe your intelligence is set or that it can be cultivated with effort and practice? How about creativity, the quality of relationships, or personality attributes? Find out how the research of Carol Dweck and others is making a big impact on people's lives.
What You’ll Learn * The difference between the Fixed and Growth Mindsets * Why your mindset impacts the stories you tell yourself * How the stories you tell yourself impact your happiness and success
Resources * Book Mindset by Carol Dweck * Carol Dweck's TED Talk
The Weekly Challenge If you are really honest with yourself, there is probably at least one area of your life where you hold the Fixed Mindset. Identify that area and see if you can begin to shift your thinking to build a Growth Mindset. Notice what changes for you.
In this episode Amy Climer examines the research on how to build creative teams and provides six actions leaders can take to enhance their team’s creative output.
What You’ll Learn * Two myths about creativity that are common in teams and business * Six ways leaders can build creativity in any team * Three ways to build trust amongst your team
The Weekly Challenge Which of the six actions can you begin this week with your team? Talk with you team to see which areas they feel are most important. Make one step towards helping your team become more creative.
This episode is a conversation with Elaine Gale, a brilliant writer and writing teacher. She talks about creativity within both the research and writing process. We cover many topics including faith in the creative process, guilt, shame, building muscles around the creative process, resistance, surrendering to the beauty of the creative process, the connection between fear, love, and creativity, and tips to get past the creative blocks.
What You’ll Learn * Where guilt and shame stem from in creativity and writing * How Michael Jackson can help you be more creative * How to build muscles around the creative process * The connection between fear, love, and creativity * The importance of reconnecting what you love
About Elaine Gale Dr. Elaine Gale is a California-based writer, professor, comedian, speaker, trainer and journalist who co-founded the nonfiction literary series TrueStory and loves artists, writers, community, humor, play, possibility, healing, exploring and learning. She is a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and worked for the Utne Reader, the Star Tribune, the Boston Phoenix and has published in many national mainstream and literary magazines. She is the writing center director for Antioch University's PhD Program in Leadership and Change and a tenured professor at California State University Sacramento in Communication and Journalism.
Resources and Links: * Book: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield * Michael Jackson's Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' * Dr. Andrea Lambert South's dissertation * Elaine's website: elainegale.com * Send Elaine an email if you'd like to receive a list of her favorite quotes about creativity. Email her at elainegale at gmail dot com. * International Podcast Day (Sept 30) and contest * How to Write a Review in iTunes
The Weekly Challenge This week Elaine Gale challenges us to explore how we can bring a sense of curiosity in our life and examine what can we approach with a beginner's mind. More details in the podcast.
Teams who work well together are able to be more creative. In this episode, learn how the Seven Norms of Collaboration can help your team work better together and be more innovative and creative.
What You’ll Learn * The Seven Norms of Collaboration * How to help your team begin using the Seven Norms
Resources and Links: * Seven Norms of Collaboration Cheat Sheet * Thinking Collaborative - find Seven Norms of Collaboration Assessments and other tools * International Podcast Day (Sept 30) and contest * How to Write a Review in iTunes
The Weekly Challenge Select one of the Seven Norms of Collaboration to focus on for the week. See how well you can do each day at your selected norm. What happens? What changes do you notice with your team and with other relationships?
In this interview Rosemary Rein, The Director of Learning and Evaluation at Wikimedia Foundation, talks about how she democratizes innovation to work towards Wikimedia's mission to share the sum of all human knowledge with the world. You'll hear how Wikipedia, and it's umbrella non-profit the Wikimedia Foundation, uses techniques and processes such as Creative Problem Solving, design thinking strategies, Fail Fests, Hackathons, the Pixar Process and the Friday Notes Sessions to unleash creativity, product and process innovation. Learn how to create a culture of openness to help use these strategies with your teams. End with an engaging weekly challenge and call to action to start leading your team to more innovation.
What You’ll Learn * How Wikipedia uses Creative Problem Solving and other strategies to lead innovation * Tips for creating a culture of openness and innovation * The power of Fail Fests and Hackathons
Resources and Links: * Hackathons, as explained on Wikipedia * Book: Creativity, Inc. - learn aboutPixar's Design Process and the Friday Notes Sessions * Climer Cards * Fiverr.com * Commons.wikimedia.org - source for free photos * Creative Problem Solving on Wikipedia * Learning Patterns and Evaluation Tools from Wikimedia * Rosemary Rein's website * International Podcast Day (Sept 30) and contest * How to Write a Review in iTunes
The Weekly Challenge This week Rosemary is challenging you to ask yourself or your team the question - what is the one top challenge if you could fix would make your life so much easier? Put that in the frame of "In what ways might I..." or "In what ways might we..." and fill in the blank with a challenge you are having. Share and post on the board at your next team meeting, then do a rapid brain writing process with Post-it notes. Aim for 25+ ideas. More details are on the podcast at [26:00]. Post reflections and/or results in the comments section below.
Upcoming Workshops by Amy Climer Effective Speaking and Presentation Skills - Sept 23-24, 2015, Milwaukee, WI
From Conflict to Resolution: Managing and Mediating Conflict at Work - October 28, 2015, Milwaukee, WI
Creativity is all about implementing change. If you want to implement creative ideas, you should know how change works. In this episode we look at how we think change works and how it actually works, examine an important change model, and delve into eight important aspects of leading change.
What You’ll Learn * The difference between change and transition and why it matters * How we think change will work and how it actually works * The Bridges' Change Model * The Change Formula and why you must know it to succeed * Eight tips for leading and managing change and transition with any group
The Weekly Challenge What is one thing you can do differently this week to help you implement your new project within your team or organization? How will you apply one of the eight tips shared in the episode? Share in the comments and let us know how it goes.
Upcoming Workshops with Amy Climer Effective Speaking and Presentation Skills - Sept 23-24, 2015, Milwaukee, WI
From Conflict to Resolution: Managing and Mediating Conflict at Work - October 28, 2015, Milwaukee, WI
Polarities are opposites possibilities that exist in tension with each other. Dr. Liz Monroe-Cook explains polarity thinking and the importance of understanding polarities in order to engage in deliberate creative thinking. What You’ll Learn What polarities are and their importance in our lives. Hear several examples of polarities that you'll recognize in your own life. How one organization [...]
The post Episode 14: Polarity Management and Creativity appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
Polarities are opposites possibilities that exist in tension with each other. Dr. Liz Monroe-Cook explains polarity thinking and the importance of understanding polarities in order to engage in deliberate creative thinking.
What You’ll Learn * What polarities are and their importance in our lives. * Hear several examples of polarities that you'll recognize in your own life. * How one organization used polarity thinking and polarity mapping to develop a win-win solution to what would have been a win-lose or even lose-lose situation. * How to create a polarity map to begin to examine polarities in your own life.
Resources and Links: * Polaritypartnerships.com * Polaritywisdom.com * Episode 003 - an overview of Creative Problem Solving and a good review/exploration of divergent and convergent thinking * How to Write a Review in iTunes
The Weekly Challenge The weekly challenge is to create your own polarity map, as Liz explains in the episode [17:03]. After completing the map, share any insights or learning about yourself in the Comments. You can also use the Comments section to ask Liz Monroe-Cook questions about polarity thinking.
Vicky Cassidy of Grid Productive teaches us how teams can get more efficient and effective when trying to implement a creative project. She shares meeting techniques and tips, online tools, and a great story about how one team implemented a creative project with success.
What You’ll Learn * Tools your team can use to stay on track and productive * Tips to avoid those boring, time-wasting meetings and how to make them more efficient * How to move forward when your team is stuck with one part of a project
Resources and Links: * Slack - free communication tool for teams * Asana - free project management tool for teams * Todoist - free project management tool for teams and individuals * Grid Productive - Vicky Cassidy's productivity company * How to Write a Review in iTunes
The Weekly Challenge The weekly challenge is to try out one or more tools to help you and your team by more productive. Share in the show notes what you think and results you are seeing.
Learn about team development from a group of educators who participated in an 8-day North Carolina Outward Bound course. Through backpacking, rock climbing, and challenging themselves they learned more about team development than they expected. Listen to their stories and how they will apply what they learned to their classrooms and schools. What You’ll Learn How hiking together [...]
The post Episode 12: Team Development through Outward Bound appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
Learn about team development from a group of educators who participated in an 8-day North Carolina Outward Bound course. Through backpacking, rock climbing, and challenging themselves they learned more about team development than they expected. Listen to their stories and how they will apply what they learned to their classrooms and schools.
What You’ll Learn * How hiking together taught this group the power of having a common language * The impact of a shared team vision * Ways to build trust amongst teams
The Weekly Challenge In this episode participants talked about shared vision, goals, building trust, and scaffolding the team development. Pick one of those to focus on this week with your team and do one thing to help your team move forward. Share in the comments what you did to help your team grow. Feel free to also use the comments section to ask Amy questions.
Being creative requires taking some risks. Sometimes it's the risks that hold us back from moving forward and being creative. Learn about two types of risks, what it really means to step out of your comfort zone, and how to test assumptions you might have about your fears.
What You’ll Learn * Learn the difference between inherent risk and perceived risk * What is really means when you hear "step out of your comfort zone" * How to test your assumptions about your fears
[powerpress]
Resources and Links: * Climer Cards Kickstarter project from 2012
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? Download the PDF Transcript. Enjoy! (will be uploaded in a couple of days)
The Weekly Challenge Take a risk! Test your assumptions by taking a risk to help you be more creative. Share in the comments what happened when you took the risk, no matter how small or big it was. Feel free to also use the comments section to ask Amy questions.
While there are no specific traits that all creative people possess, there are some dimensions found in many highly creative people. These dimensions are like spectrums or paradoxes and creative people often manage to move along these dimensions with ease. Listen and see which of these dimensions you exhibit in your life and work. What [...]
The post Episode 10: 10 Dimensions of Creative People appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
While there are no specific traits that all creative people possess, there are some dimensions found in many highly creative people. These dimensions are like spectrums or paradoxes and creative people often manage to move along these dimensions with ease. Listen and see which of these dimensions you exhibit in your life and work.
What You’ll Learn * The 10 dimensions found in highly creative people * The many paradoxes that creative people are able to manage * The difference between big "C" and little "c" creativity
Resources and Links: * Csikszentmihalyi's book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
The Weekly Challenge Share in the comments which of these dimension you feel you possess. How do they show up in your life? Feel free to also use the comments section to ask Amy questions.
Learn how your team's stage of development impacts their creative performance. We explore the five stages of group development, how creativity is impacted by each stage, and how to adjust your leadership style based on the team's stage.
What You’ll Learn * The five stages of team development * How your team's stage will impact their creative performance * How to adjust your leadership style based on your team's stage of development and help them achieve higher performance
Resources and Links: * Free Stages of Team Development Assessment Tool * Don Clark's Performance Juxtaposition website (author of the stages of group development assessment) * The research study explaining the five stages of group development - Tuckman, B., & Jensen, M. A. (1977). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group & Organization Studies, 2(4), 419-427. * North Carolina Outward Bound School
Transcript Feel like reading instead of listening? Download the PDF Transcript. Enjoy! (will be uploaded in a couple of days)
The Weekly Challenge Your challenge for the week is have your team take the assessment survey and then discuss the results. Tell us about your team in the comments: What stage are they in? How does their stage impact their creative performance? Feel free to also use the comments section to ask Amy questions.
Learn about the FourSight Thinking Profile and how teams can benefit from understanding their own creative preferences. In this interview with Blair Miller, one of the developers of FourSight, he shares stories and information about how to enhance your team. The last story he shares will help you see how to move your team from so-so to amazing.
What You’ll Learn * How to use your natural creative preference to enhance your own and your teams's creativity. * How team members can build on each other's strengths to become creative collaborators
Resources and Links: * FourSight Thinking Profile
The Weekly Challenge Your challenge for the week is take the FourSight Thinking Profile. Share in the comments your profile and how it impacts your work. Listen to the episode for a 20% discount too!
In this episode you will learn tools to use for stage four of the Creative Problem Solving process - Implement.
What You’ll Learn * How to create a comprehensive action plan * The importance of identifying Assisters and Resistors * The power of the Jump Start Action
Resources and Links: * Download the entire CPS workbook (includes worksheets for Episodes 004-007) * The Progress Principle by Teresa Amabile & Steven Kramer
Write a Review and Win! Enter the Podcast Review Contest! Write a review by July 12, 2015 and you'll be entered to win a free deck of Climer Cards or a series of three creativity coaching sessions with Amy Climer. Details here.
The Weekly Challenge Your challenge for the week is to design your action plan and do one thing toward reaching your action plan. Share in the comments one step you did towards your plan!
In this episode you will learn tools to use for stage three of the Creative Problem Solving process - Develop.
What You’ll Learn * How to evaluate, strengthen and select your best ideas * How to use the PPCO tool to further develop your top ideas * How to design and use an Evaluation Matrix to assess the best idea to implement
Resources and Links: * Download the Develop workbook (includes Clarify & Ideate worksheets too) * Climer Cards - a simple deck of cards that can spark thousands of ideas * Book Decisive: How to Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip and Dan Heath
Write a Review and Win! Enter the Podcast Review Contest! Write a review by July 12, 2015 and you'll be entered to win a free deck of Climer Cards or a series of three . Details here.
The Weekly Challenge Your challenge for the week is to use the PPCO and Evaluation Matrix to narrow down to one idea that you will then implement. Share your selected ideas in the comments!
In this episode you will learn tools to use for stage two of the Creative Problem Solving process - the Ideate Stage.
What You’ll Learn * Idea Generation tools besides the classic brainstorm * How to defer judgment to generate hundreds of ideas with a team or individually * How to select the top ideas for further development * Variations for individual and team ideations Write a Review and Win! Enter the Podcast Review Contest! Write a review by July 12, 2015 and be entered to win. Details here.
The Weekly Challenge Your challenge for the week is to generate dozens or hundreds of ideas for your own creative challenge. Share your challenge statement and your best ideas in the show notes at climerconsulting.com/005!
In this episode you will learn tools to use for the first stage of the Creative Problem Solving process - the Clarify Stage.
What You’ll Learn * Why the Clarify Stage of CPS is important * The 3 steps within the Clarify Stage * How to develop a challenge statement that guides the rest of the CPS process * Three activities to help you get clarity and develop your own challenge statement
In this episode I explain the Creative Problem Solving Process and how to use it to be more innovative in any area of your life. What You’ll Learn A brief history of the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving Process The difference between divergent and convergent thinking and why you need both The four steps of the Creative [...]
The post Episode 3: The Creative Problem Solving Process appeared first on Dr. Amy Climer.
In this episode I talk about the three elements you need in order to be creative. We explore intrinsic motivation, expertise, and creative thinking skills. What You’ll Learn The three elements you need in order to be creative The three components of intrinsic motivation The four steps to the Creative Problem Solving process Resources Amabile, [...]
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In this episode I explain the definition of creativity and difference between creativity and innovation. You might be surprised at what you learn! Find out why how creative you think you are makes a difference and about two types of creativity. What You’ll Learn The research-based definition of creativity The difference between creativity and innovation [...]
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In this episode I talk about why I'm starting The Deliberate Creative Podcast. It will help you decide if this it the right podcast for you. I share the podcast goals, my background, and what inspired me to start The Deliberate Creative. What You’ll Learn The purpose and goals of The Deliberate Creative podcast Amy Climer's [...]
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