Creativity and Empowerment

Both our sense of empowerment and our sense of our creativity arise from a connection with the self -- and both have a forward-facing aspect as well, as we experience the many ways in which the world responds to us, our initiatives and our creative ideas.

When we engage our creativity, we connect to something important inside of ourselves. As we cultivate that connection, we increase our sense of personal power.

And in parallel, our sense of empowerment can help us tough it out in our creative endeavors, especially when we need to go against the grain in the realization of our visions.

We have a very personal relationship with both creativity and empowerment -- which is not to say that we do both of them well, all the time. But they certainly cut to the heart of who we are. There's also a sense of initiative, or agency, embedded in both: in acting on them, we change our environment.

Perhaps the height of empowerment is what Abraham Maslow famously called "self-actualization," the human drive to develop ourselves into our full selves, and live life from that perspective, as much as possible. Maslow saw a connection between creativity and empowerment. During a time when creativity was often studied in the lives of great artists and scientists, Maslow became interested in what he called "self-actualizing creativity," which he considered to be "synonymous with...essential humanness." According to this view, whether making a poem or a soup, a creative life becomes an empowered one.

references: Maslow, A. H. (1968) Towards a Psychology of Being.

photo credit: Lincolian (Brian)

Amy Frazier, MSc.is an organizational and leadership development consultant based out of Seattle, Washington. Her work is targeted toward improving organizational health and human effectiveness though a multi-disciplinary approach to successful creative thinking.
more at: Stages of Presence.com.

What's new?

How do you define creativity?

While there are many definitions -- and while we can all decide on the one that resonates the most for us -- one of the most accepted definitions in the field of creativity studies, is that something is creative when it demonstrates novelty and usefulness.

There's something new about it which catches our attention, and entertains our imagination, and which serves us in some important way.

Leaving the "usefulness" portion aside for a moment, how might we get to the new stuff? In what ways might we generate novel ideas in our own creative thinking?

Generating ideas is referred to as divergent thinking. Our brains do it naturally, but that doesn't mean we always do it well. Effective divergent thinking requires that we keep open to possibilities, and not judge them too quickly.

There's lots of good information about the important role of divergent thinking in creativity, and how to be effective at it. If you have the desire to know more, I hope to see you on Saturday at the session on Enhancing Incubation!

Wouldn't it be great if...

Wishful thinking.

We all do it. Or, we should. Wishful thinking helps us get in touch with what's inside. It helps us keep open to possibilities.

Keeping open, and being able to visualize what's inside are creative skills. People who naturally use these kinds of creative skills are in touch with their personal, authentic creativity on a deep level, and it transforms their lives.

Incubation -- well-recognized as a sort of mysterious, dark, space where answers or insights are formed -- is an important part of the creative process. Some people believe it's possible to enhance incubation and make it more effective.

So: wouldn't it be great if...we could improve our own incubation?

This is where we'll begin in the Creativity: Enhancing Incubation breakout session. Wouldn't it be great if you were there!

Green Light Style

Green Light action and language are the protocol for success in business and beyond.

The Green Light Goal: Create the greatest good, in the best way, for the most people, for the longest time. With that goal in mind, here are two examples:

Your Green Light style shows when you choose actions that unify rather than separate. Your Green Light style shows when you set a goal for excellence rather than perfection.

Childhood Dreams

As temperatures reach 95 in the normally temperate Pacific Northwest, I find myself visiting my husband's parent's farm and reminiscing about my childhood summer daydreams.

One of my dreams from a very young age was to be a farmer. My mother grew up on a farm and hated it. I think she sometimes wondered how I could be her child. There were times when I was obsessed with the idea of getting up early to feed the animals, milk the cows, gather eggs, and harvest whatever crops were ready. I could see myself in the shoes of both the city mouse AND the country mouse. I'm sure I was romanticizing the whole idea at the time, and somehow it still really appeals to me.

About the time junior high rolled around, those dreams were replaced by an obsession with the opposite sex. And then there were the many, many extracurricular activities of high school, working my way through college, starting a family, and climbing the career ladder. Childhood dreams were easily replaced with big-girl dreams like getting married, raising a family, and having a career.

As I approach middle age, I think back to those childhood dreams. Which have I given up on? Which have I accomplished? And, most important, which never seemed possible, but are now within reach? Some seem to have happened upon me almost by magic. One of those is the possibility of living on a farm.

For now, I'm thrilled to have a business career I love so much. Thanks in large part to my in-laws, I'm also thrilled to know that living off the land is a dream that's possible. And I'm very grateful that they give me the opportunity to help out at their farm, learn something about living a sustainable lifestyle, and have the experience of being a farmer, even if only for a few days at a time. In the meantime, I'm also enjoying living next door to a farm, where I get to enjoy a view of our neighboring cows.

What would be possible for you if you rekindled some of your childhood dreams?

Leadership Coaching with Horses

Like most little girls, I loved horses. There was something magical about the way they looked at me, like they could see into my soul. I probably sat on a horse for the first time when I was younger than I can remember. At the age of maybe 6 or 7, I felt powerful and confident sitting up so high and being able to influence such a large, powerful animal at such a young age. My uncle used to take me riding. He'd sit me in front of him on the horse. I don't know if my memory of galloping bareback with the wind in my hair is real or a dream. It's all the same. 

My grandfather's farm hand used to let me "help" him with the horses. One day he was breeding them, and one got out of hand and started running for the barn door. He yelled for me to hold it closed from the outside. The horse barreled through, knocking me to the ground. I vividly remember a hoof landing hard mere inches from my head. I knew I'd been lucky when I saw the look of panic on the farm hand's face. He did me a great service by having me stick around and continue working with the horses rather than going in. That was probably my first lesson in facing my fears. He later died in a motorcycle accident and became the first person I knew who died. I no longer recall his name or what he looked like but I will always remember the way he made me feel capable and respected at such a young age.

When my grandparents moved away from their farm, that was nearly the end of my time spent with horses except for a couple of trail rides in college. So when my friend Peggy invited me out to her farm to see her Tennessee Walking horses, I wasn't sure what to expect. The magic returned just as if it had never left. Peggy and Willow coached me to a whole new level of courage and confidence. 

That's why I'm so excited to bring you the opportunity to join me, 13 other adventurous HR, leadership, and development professionals, an extraordinary executive coach, and a herd of Tennessee Walking horses for a day of profound possibility at Silk Purse Farms in Enumclaw, Washington on Friday, September 30. Tickets are on sale at http://www.hrpossibilities.eventbrite.com/.

Here's what Peggy has to say about what you can expect:

As HR professionals you are constantly hearing how others are perceived in your organizations.  And from years of listening, you know that those perceptions are wildly colored by the perceiver.

Ever long for a vehicle that would offer people an unbiased view of themselves that they could hear and understand immediately………without resistance?

As HR Professionals you are also charged with finding the means to help people change their ‘less than optimal’ behaviors. Coaching is widely seen as the most effective because of its laser beam focus on the specific individual and tailored interventions in his or her behalf. And it’s time intensive and expensive.

Ever long for a vehicle that would allow people to shift their behaviors in one session, with the ability to immediately apply it in their daily lives?

Executives from Boeing, Microsoft, Swedish Medical Center, United Launch Alliance, and numerous small businesses, schools, and not for profits have done just that.

Come spend a relaxed day at Silk Purse Farm with Peggy Gilmer and her herd of equine coaches. Experience for yourself:

• Tools for expanding your ability to accurately perceive a situation and act with discernment. 
• The horses unerring ability to accurately read and respond to your leadership.
• How to shift your behavior in a moment and the difference it makes in your followers.
• An opportunity with unprecedented ROI in the world of executive coaching.

Communication Rules

I recently discovered that I had a crap load of rules for my communication with others. I had so many rules about my communication, that I couldn't speak without breaking one, and if I was trying not to break one, I simply didn't know what to say. Here's a sampling:

Don't:
Gossip
Interrupt
Talk too much
Brag
Be phony
Be annoying
Make anyone feel bad or hurt their feelings
Sound stupid
Make anyone else look bad
Make myself look bad
Be passive-aggressive
Be bossy
Complain
Whine
Withhold
Feel sorry for myself
Talk when there's no one listening
Cuss
Say things that don't matter
Be defensive
Make excuses
Be arrogant
Be insecure
Be anxious

And the list goes on. These rules came from years and years of learning about communication, from the first time my parents told me never to lie at the age of 4 to the last bit of feedback I got on my performance review.


I had a very profound breakthrough in courage and self expression lately that exploded all of my rules. That doesn't mean I'm going to start communicating in all of the ways listed. That means I'm now more aware of the conversations in my head that limit me, and I can choose to communicate out of a commitment to share myself and make a difference rather than a commitment to looking good and being perfect.

In what ways do you withhold yourself from others and limit your self expression? Do you put yourself in a box and hide who you really are and how you really feel because that's the way you've been taught?