In 1950 J. P. Guilford, then President of the American Psychological Association, urged a greater emphasis on creativity.  When I began my business in 1994 it seemed the pendulum had swung the other way.  My practice focused on ‘creativity in business” and I was told that creativity was fairly discretionary.  I often used the word ‘innovation’ because it sounded more corporate.  My potential clients wanted performance management and leadership execution development more than leadership creativity.

Now, on the heels of the IBM CEO study citing Creativity as the top desired leadership skill we have new research suggesting that American creativity is on the decline.

Oh dear.

(Thanks to my dear buddy, Doug Brockbank, for alerting me to this article in Newsweek.)

By that I mean, do you spend enough time savoring the goodness in your life?  Are you aware as you experience the pleasures of your life?

I know I don’t spend enough time savoring.  And therefore I am embarking on a small challenge:  I am taking a Daily Savoring Vacation.

The authors of Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience suggest an exercise of taking a Daily Vacation Exercise.

Once a day for a week treat yourself to something pleasurable.  Pay attention to the experience.  Notice.

Here are the guidelines for the Daily Vacation Exercise.  Download it and join me!

Here’s a video from our friends at Fast Company:

Ahhh, such good advice.  From now on I am going to focus on one th—–whoa!  What’s that?  How cool!

What is a course correction?  When a spacecraft gets off of its trajectory, or path through space, it must be put back on the right path. The location of the spacecraft is determined and its course vector (the speed and direction of its flight) is calculated. This is compared with the path it should be on. A new vector is computed that will put it back on course. The ship’s attitude thrusters aim the ship and the main thruster pushes it along the path. (Source)

As we entered 2010 I hope that many of you created some goals for yourself with respect to your creativity.  Perhaps you wanted to learn a new skill.  You began to plan that art retreat.  You bought a new camera with the goal of weekly photo outings.  You resolved to set aside two hours a week for your writing.

Today is the Summer Solstice.  Those of us in the northern hemisphere officially entered summer.  This is a wonderful time for you to take stock of the year so far.  Between now and the end of the month I encourage you to set aside some time to review your personal and professional goals, especially with respect to your creativity. Ask yourself questions like:

• What is working well with respect to my creative goals?
• Where am I getting support?
• Can I amplify support?
• What important goals do I still want to include in the year?
• What might get in my way?
• What one small thing I could do to lower the obstacles?
• What’s one easy thing I could do for myself this week?

If you are pleased with your progress, Bravo!!!  You may only need a tiny course correction.  You may feel like you can add some more fuel for greater progress.

If you’d like a kick-start or some temporary support for your creative work you might consider a sample coaching experience to get clarity or encouragement.  You might find the formal structure of a workshop gets you out the door.  You may benefit from a commitment to a buddy for monthly creative-time.

Wherever you are in your “path through space” a course correction will certainly move you closer to your destination.

To infinity and beyond!!!

But I get weary of the awkward recitations of a persona’s credentials.  Where you went to school…the amazing positions…or, the worst, Two Truths and a Lie.

The next time you’re connecting with a team suggest the alternative resume as a beginning exercise.

The Alternative Resume

Not only is it a more intriguing way to enter into a new connection with a colleague.  It’s also a fascinating exercise to do.  Whittling down to the essential adjectives is thought-provoking.

SO, I absolutely LOVE this woodpile.

The artist is Alastair Heseltine in British Columbia.  He makes beautiful, useful things.  He makes everyday things, like woodpiles, beautiful.  Enjoy more of his creations here.

The most exciting part of the study for me was this:

About 60% of CEOs polled cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, compared with 52% for integrity and 35% for global thinking. Creative leaders are also more prepared to break with the status quo of industry, enterprise and revenue models, and they are 81% more likely to rate innovation as a “crucial capability.”    (source: Fast Company)

That’s right.  Sixty percent of the CEOs surveyed felt CREATIVITY is a crucial skill.  Leadership is not all about operational excellence and squeezing the budget.  It’s more about creative problem-solving.  Leadership is about challenging the status quo.  It’s about doing the creative thinking to innovate.

The challenges of leadership today, and, especially, in the future REQUIRE creativity.

So what might that suggest?  I can think of a few things:

• Assess the composition and creative strengths of your leaders and leaders-to-be.
• Invest in development that builds 1) capacity to do collaborative creating (versus competing and evaluating) and 2) skills to use tools and techniques beyond brainstorming
• Reward creativity (as uncomfortable as that might be when compared to compliance)
• Assess your culture for how well it supports creativity

Even if you’re not all convinced we can well imagine that CEOs are looking ahead.  The fact that they recognize the value of creativity is good news for us all.

You can read a summary of the report in Fast Company.  You can access the entire report here.

Foment the Revolution.

I want this in MY town!

Have fun!