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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When Opportunity Knocks....

Will you have the flexibility to turn on a dime when opportunity knocks? Check your supplies of these resources:

• Time
• Space
• Energy
• Attention
• Enthusiasm
• Clear-Headedness
• Money
• Personal Boundaries
• Self-Confidence
• Self-Esteem
• Willingness to Move Forward Through Fear
• Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Health
• Tolerance for Ambiguity
• Environmental Support Systems, Including People
• Awareness of Opportunities
• Patience
• Inner-Directedness, for Deflecting Nay-Sayers and Stereotypes

I suggest that you print this list out and review it often, so you are always prepared when great opportunities come along. If you can think of more resources that I missed, please add them in the comments section!

Thanks,

Susan

P.S. To those in the greater Philadelphia, PA, area: I'll be leading an Advanced Journaling Workshop on Sunday, May 4, from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for more details.

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

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What's Holding You Back?

Check out these creativity squashers and their corresponding remedies:

Creativity Squashers-----------------Creativity Accelerators

"Yeah, but...."--------------------------"What if...."

"It hasn't been done before...."-------"Then I'll have to be first!"

"It's all been done before."-----------------"I'll find a new twist!"

Motivation from outside you.--------------Motivation from inside.

Too much or too little structure.-----------Just enough structure to-----------------------------------------------------hang your thoughts on.

Depression.-------------------------------Strong emotional health.

Anger or resentment.---------------------Forgiveness and letting go.

Fear.-------------------------------------Do it anyway.

Trying to please everyone.------------Being authentic.

Hidden pay-offs for staying stuck.-----Expose them and weigh them------------------------------------------------against the pay-offs-----------------------------------------------------------for letting yourself be creative.

Burn-out.--------------------------------Self-care.

Ignore your intuition.-------------------Invite your intuition.

Standard outlining.---------------------Tony Buzan's Mind Maps (R).

Perfectionism.--------------------------Self-acceptance.

Striving.---------------------------------Playfulness.

Having something to prove.-----------Having something to discover.


So go out and discover! What if...?

Please keep my other readers and me posted on your progress!

Be well,
Susan

P.S. To those in the greater Philadelphia, PA, area:

On Saturday, April 12, I'll be exhibiting and offering free Reiki samples at the Boyertown Community Health and Wellness Fair from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The fair will be held at the Boyertown Area Sr. High School, 120 Monroe Street. And there is no charge to attend! Stop by my table to chat, pick up some info on "stressing less," and try some Reiki!

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

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Two Great Books for the Creativity in All of Us

Both of these books remind us, right on their back covers, that you don't have to be an Artist with a capital "A" to benefit from these books. I'm pleased to recommend them here because I feel the same way about this blog!

Living Your Life Out Loud: How to Unlock Your Creativity and Unleash Your Joy by Salli Rasberry and Padi Selwyn

Specifically, the back cover says, "Creativity is not just for artists--it's everyone's birthright." I agree!

Who could resist a book with such chapter subtitles as, "Write Yourself a Play Prescription Today," and "The Thirty-Minute Breakation"? Here's my favorite quote from the book:

"The path to joy comes from creative expression. When you make the time and space to harness the energy in your life, you can begin to express your unique creativity. Your joy will increase. Your confidence will grow. Your life will be transformed. You will be living your life out loud."

Marry Your Muse: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity by Jan Phillips

The back cover says, "...everyone who wants to live life as a work of art will find inspiration and practical suggestions in this joyous book."

Here are a few of the inspiring chapter titles:

• You Are Worth the Time
• Giving the Artist Within Half a Chance
• Start Anyway
• The Little Wise Ones
• The Art of Activism
• Pass the Stardust, Please

And from this book, my favorite quote:

"To live creatively is to live from the soul, to shape our circumstances out of our deepest desires instead of conforming our dreams to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Once we experience the joy and power of creating our own lives, we find that creating in other arenas comes naturally, an outflow of the abundant energy that comes with being true to our essence."

Please comment on your experiences with these books, with living creatively, or with other relevant resources you have found useful. Thanks!

Happy reading,

Susan

P.S. I offer complimentary trial tele-coaching sessions by phone, one per person. To set one up, contact me at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Creativity is my specialty, but most other topics are welcome, too, such as dealing with transitions, starting a new project, etc.

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

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Remember "Max Headroom"?

Max was a computer-generated TV character who sounded like he needed a defrag. Sometimes I feel like my head needs a defrag! How can we restore our "maximum headroom" with all that's going on up there?

May I suggest some recycling? For example, process:

• worry into actionable concern
• anger into corrective action
• guilt into remediation
• doubt into reasonable risk
• judgments into observations
• willy-nilly distractions into a queue to be handled during your lower-energy times of the day
• low-priority tasks into delegatable, delayable, or deletable tasks

Please leave us a comment if you're making "headway" with your "headroom", and how that creates space for your creativity to flourish!

Thanks,

Susan

P.S. to folks in Southeastern PA: My workshop topics for the next two weeks are "Simplifying Your Life, "Making Discovery Boards," and "Embracing Imperfection." Follow this link to the Boyertown Arts & Activities Alliance: http://www.boyertownpa.org/News/1-23.AAA-Activities-nwMFT_37.aspx for details!

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

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A Valentine's Gift for Your Creativity

Well, Intrepid Creators, February is here ... the month of hearts and flowers and turning our attention to our romantic relationship if we have one. If so, I hope this relationship supports your creativity. But what if it doesn't, or what if you're between relationships at the moment?

Regardless of your relationship status with another, when it comes to supporting your creativity, how you relate to yourself is always of utmost importance. Ask yourself these questions:

Do I have clarity around my values? Are those values reflected in how I live and what I create?

Do I feel and display a sense of authenticity? If not, why not? Is it because of a fear of criticism? Is it because your persona has hardened into a mask, making difficult for even you to recognize your true self?

Do you allow yourself some solitude each week, when you can meditate, journal, collage, or just stare out the window?

I know these are tough questions, and the needed changes that may be implied by some of your answers could take some work. Hang in there anyway, just as you would with a romantic relationship that's important to you. Your creativity will thank you in ways that will long outlast candy and flowers!

My best to you,
Susan

P.S. to those of you in Southeastern PA: Please check out this site for details about several workshops I'll be teaching in February and March for the Boyertown Arts & Activities Alliance: http://www.boyertownpa.org/News/1-23.AAA-Activities-nwMFT_37.aspx!

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

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The Amazing Dr. Maisel!

Who are the role models for your creative role models? Chances are, one of them is Eric Maisel, Ph.D. He's a creativity coach with a psychotherapist's background who has written over 30 books (fiction and nonfiction). How does he do it? I suspect it has to do with what he calls his "innate wackiness"!

I'll give you a quick look at just three of his many books on creativity. All three of these include great exercises.

The Creativity Book: A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance

For me, following the weekly format of the book would be like eating only one corn chip a week. I gobbled up the whole book within a few weeks!

Here's one of my favorite quotes from the closing paragraph of the book: "I pray that you couple your creative efforts with the other elements of a life worth living: intimate relating and compassionate action in the world."

A Life in the Arts: Practical Guidance and Inspiration for Creative and Performing Artists

This workbook addresses practical considerations that you might see in other creativity books, such as combining art and business, but Maisel also covers the grittier topics that we don't like to think about. These are topics such as depression, anxiety, isolation, and rage. I can tell you from personal experience how grateful many artists will be to see these issues covered so openly!

In this book, Maisel also covers a topic that I haven't seen anywhere else, and that is, how does a person leave (or scale back on) the arts if needed or desired. The reason could be physical, as with an injured dancer, or emotional, as with a case of burn-out. Whatever the reason, Maisel spells out a plan for easing your way out and dealing with the feelings of loss that go with it.

Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Completing Your Work of Art

The coach in me found Maisel's explanation of appropriate and inappropriate clarity to be of particular interest.

If you've been actively creative for any length of time, you know that anxiety can't be ignored; it must be dealt with. The Appendix on "Anxiety Management Strategies" in this book provides many useful techniques for dealing with anxiety before, during, and after the creative process.

Check Out Dr. Maisel's site at http://www.ericmaisel.com/!

My best to you,
Susan

P.S. Last call for complimentary email support (once a week for four weeks) for your 2008 resolutions! Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to get started.

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

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