Creative Leadership Is...

Vision Driven

As a visionary, you are aiming at a target that others don't see yet, so you'll need to be inner directed, patient, and persistent. Also, you'll need to create a scene of the vision in the hearts and minds of your early adopters. (I prefer that term over the word "followers.") Be sure they can see, hear, and feel it in their imaginations. This is the basis for creative leadership that is...

Integrative

Genuine holistic concern for your early adopters is essential in order for them to be 100% "there" (i.e. "whole") for you. Get their minds, bodies, spirits, and emotions on board. Offer them access to coaching, and hire one for yourself. You may even consider coach training for yourself and/or others. Coaching skills are wonderful tools for the creative leader!

Give your early adopters compelling reasons to develop their own intrinsic motivation to stay with you in body, mind, and spirit. If you try to lean on just your credentials or, worse yet, just a title, these crutches will snap like dry twigs and leave you sitting in the dust! Help your early adopters grow, and they will return the favor, because creative leadership is...

Inter-Developmental

Through working with your early adopters, you will change and benefit from the synergy of the group. See them as your partners. Model behaviors for them that they can take out into the world on behalf of your vision.

Positive regard, support, and affirmation should be allowed to flow freely from you and to you within the group. Seek out the valuable resources of your early adopters for manifesting your vision.

Learn to read the energy of your team in action, and use this information for morale maintenance. Tune in so you'll know when the energy of the group is dragging. Change the pace or tone of the group's activity accordingly, and reframe vague or uninspiring aspects of the project at hand.

Encourage buy-in from your early adopters by getting them involved in the development of goals, strategies, mission statements, and the like. If you've empowered your team sufficiently, you won't fall into the trap of micro-managing. Save your shepherding for the...

Sacred Stewardship of Your Vision

Your early adopters will help you with this stewardship if you let them. You and your team are a collective, protective vessel for your precious, embryonic vision!

Keep the vessel sound by maintaining and encouraging impeccable integrity (yes, "wholeness" again) and authenticity. Nurture your vision by providing it with a firm foundation for the collective vessel...physically, emotionally, spiritually, and environmentally. Coaching can help tremendously with this, too. Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for details about a complimentary session!

Once this foundation is in place, you are free to be...

Flexible

You'll be ready to turn on a dime when you need to. (See my April 1, 2008 post.)

If you and your team act on your inspired ideas at the point of 75% certainty, you'll need to be ready for rapid course adjustments as the actions bring you closer and closer to 100% manifestation. It will also keep you out of the trap of waiting around for 100% certainty, which is a much bigger risk, because you just can't get there from here without inspired action. So go ahead and follow your intuition to the fullest manifestation of your vision!

My best to you,
Susan

P.S. To those in the greater Philly, PA, area: Registration closes on Monday, April 28, for my Advanced Journaling Workshop that will be taking place on Sunday, May 4. Please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for details.

If you're a journaling fanatic like me, but you can't be at the workshop, email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for details about ordering my guided journal, "The Whispering Heart." Thanks!

***All of Susan's creative4life posts are copyright of Susan Cleaver.***

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