Insights for the Savvy
Issue #35
February 7, 2006
By Claudette Rowley
MetaVoice Coaching & Consulting
Insights for the Savvy offers tools and tips for
identifying your true purpose and calling life and mobilizing the
courage and resources to pursue it.
In This Issue...
Is creativity an underutilized professional resource?
You bet!
Read this month’s insight for tips and strategies to expand
your definition of creativity, understand your own creative contributions
and tap into your creative expression for a refreshing new perspective
on your work life.
On another note: I'd like to interview a newsletter subscriber
who has identified his or her life purpose and is living that purpose
(or on the way to manifesting it). If you fit this description,
please contact me! I can be reached at claudette@metavoice.org.
My best to you for a great month!
Claudette
Here's
What You Need To Know
* ARTICLES – Is your publication – print or online
– looking for quality content? I have literally dozens
of articles available for reprint. Please contact me at claudette@metavoice.org
for a list of titles.
* SPEAKING – Are you a member of a professional organization
that brings in speakers? Do you work for a corporation or non-
profit organization that hires trainers? I’m currently
booking speaking engagements for 2006/2007. For a description
of my
presentations, please go to http://www.metavoice.org/presentation.
* Order your copy of A Guide to Getting: A Clear, Compelling
Vision today! Click here for more information and to order
http://www.metavoice.org/book
Insight of the Month
The Business of Creativity
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
- Anonymous
How’s work? Challenged with interpersonal issues? Uncertain
of how to bring a new endeavor into fruition?
Try getting creative.
When asked how they capitalize on their creativity at work or at
home, many people I encounter say “Oh, I’m not creative.”
In my
experience, this denial stems from a narrow definition of creativity:
creative people are artists, musicians and writers -
not plumbers, sales managers or chief financial officers.
Creativity isn’t only the purview of architects and ad writers.
It’s available to everyone. In fact, it’s a critical
and often
overlooked component of professional success.
Creativity is about keeping your mind open to new ways of
viewing problems, interacting with people and accomplishing
tasks. It’s about taking a fresh look at an old or familiar
situation. It’s about noting your own impulses – what
energizes
or excites you in your work – and giving your creative right
brain the same credence you give your analytical left brain.
It’s about moving away from the way “things are always
done.”
When you harness your creativity at work, you reap:
- A better sense of your range of abilities. Not only is
repressed creativity uncomfortable, it limits your definition of
yourself and leaves a percentage of your skills and talents on
the table, unused and unavailable.
- A more comprehensive view of your skill set. You most likely
have a broader skill set than you realize. And awareness
precedes skill.
- Greater problem solving ability. Approach a problem from an
entirely new direction and watch it resolve in unexpected ways.
- New perspectives on situations. Looking at a situation from a
different perspective opens up a new range of options for
decision making.
- A new tool for trusting your “gut.” Right brain thinking
ignites both creative thinking and your intuition. By using your
creativity, you open the door more widely to trust your “gut”.
If you feel stumped about your own creative contributions at
work, don’t worry. This isn’t unusual. Take a minute
and review
the following questions. If you answer “yes” to any
of them,
you’re on your way to regularly harnessing creativity at work.
- Do you take an innovative or “no rules” approach
to business and life?
- Do you view situations through a variety of lenses?
- Are you open minded when interacting with employees, peers and
management?
- Are you curious? Do you question ideas, decisions or situations?
Still not feeling connected to your creative self? Ask a trusted
colleague to give you feedback. Ask him or her to reflect your creative
contributions back to you. Also notice the ways in which you’re
creative outside of work.
Analytical thinking and creative thinking are both critical components
of professional success. Use both halves of your brain to breathe
new life into your work or strategically guide it in the directions
it needs to go. Tune in to your creativity and look at your work
with fresh eye.
Shake things up. Get creative.
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Different Voices
“The trouble with many plans is that they are
based on the way things are now. To be successful, your personal
plan must focus
on what you want, not what you have.”
- Nido Qubein
“When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave
their hearts at home.”
- Betty Bender
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Insights for the Savvy is written and produced by Claudette Rowley.
If you have questions or comments, please
send them to info@metavoice.org.
To find out more about Claudette and her coaching and consulting
services, visit
http://www.metavoice.org
or call 781.316.1923.
Copyright 2002-2006, Claudette Rowley. All Rights Reserved.
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