Have you seen the Ted Talk by Brene Brown? I recently saw it (as well as her interview on Oprah) and was floored by the topic. I immediately bought the book “Daring Greatly” and had to share it with you. It is about showing up courageously (with your whole heart) and being vulnerable. 

As a leader what does that mean for you? It means rehumanizing work so that people stay engaged, feedback is open, the purpose of the work people do is clear, and that employees are not fearful of change (or adapting to rapidly shifting environments). It is allowing for failure in an organization without putting shame on people so that creativity and innovation can thrive. It is leaning into inspired leadership (or showing through your actions engaging work styles rather than just through what you say). It is about showing up and allowing people to thrive and not just survive in your organization.

She says in the first chapter we need to examine what we are up against as leaders in order to get to this place of rehumanizing the work place. She says we are currently in a culture of “Never Enough.” She says this comes from scarcity or a pervasive feeling of lack (e.g. - lack of time to get every thing done, lack of money, lack of abundance, lack of opportunity when the economy is in recession, lack of safety).  She continues to say that we spend an inordinate amount of time comparing ourselves (or our organizations) to others  based upon a fictional account of how great we think they are creating a sense of scarcity.

She says it also comes from the major shifts the country has gone through since 9/11 (wars, recession, a natural disasters, an increase in random violence) which has traumatized us as a culture. She says “worrying about scarcity is our culture’s version of post-traumatic stress,” and rather than coming together to heal we are left angry and scared.

She says the three components of scarcity that are influencing our culture:

• Shame - are we tying self-worth to achievement, productivity, or compliance?
  
• Comparison - are we constantly comparing and ranking? Are we stifling creativity?
  
• Disengagement - are people afraid to take risks?
  

She says the opposite of scarcity is enough or Wholeheartedness. At the core this is vulnerability or worthiness, facing uncertainty, exposure, emotional risks and knowing that I am enough.

Are you leading from a place of scarcity? Would you answer yes to any of the questions above about the three components of scarcity? Is your organization functioning from a place of lack? If so, keep reading the next blog posts to find out how you can shift that culture.

As I continue to review Susan Cain’s book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking” I move on to Chapter 3. Here the author begins to discuss the power of the introvert. 

She talks about how the world is moving towards more of a GroupThink mentality where businesses are focused on team work, meetings, and innovation through working together. Even schools are moving towards this model in small group learning and group projects. And even on the internet she argues that things like Facebook and Twitter also move towards GroupThink. 

She said, however, that some of the people who are the most creative and/or the best at what they do spend a lot of time alone practicing the skill set that is so masterful. She gives the example of Steve Wozniak, the creator of the first computer for Apple. Although he participated in a group with liked minded people that helped to instigate his thinking, he spent a lot of time on his own to develop it. 

She calls it Deliberate Practice where people identify the tasks or knowledge just of out their reach, strive to upgrade their performance, monitor their progress, and revise accordingly. She says that practices that do not follow this pattern actually are counterproductive as they reinforce current cognitive patterns.

She also says that the work environment they are in contributes to this creativity. A closed work environment helps. She says that “open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory.” By having an open environment it leads to more stimulation which can impede learning.

She also argues that group brainstorming sessions don’t work as people tend to sit back and let others do the work, one person takes over and others are forced to sit back and not contribute, and/or there is the fear of looking stupid in front of other people.

Finally she does admit that that creativity cannot be done in isolation, but needs a mix of introverts and extroverts, solitude and interaction with people, and finally an ability to have settings where people can circulate with others when they want to/need to. It did take a collaboration of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs to create Apple.

I agree with Susan that many times my most creative moments are when I am “deliberately practicing” but it also cannot be done without any social interaction or outside ideas getting involved sometimes in order to truly create the best solution. What do you think? When are you at your most creative? Is it when you are in groups with others or on your own?

In the last section of the book Gay Hendricks talks about two major topics time and relationships.

Time
For time he says that we need to shift from a Newtonian view of time (that there is a scarcity of time or that either you will have not enough of it or too much of it) to an Einsteinian model of time - one of taking ownership of time as something inside of you. You are the source of it and can make as much of it as you want. 

Huh? You might be saying? I too was having a hard time understanding this concept, but the essence is we can relax into time instead of constantly fighting against it. The more you relax and be (e.g. - especially during the times when you can’t control time) the more productive you are in the times you can actually be doing something.

Relationships
The second topic he discusses is relationships. He says that  many people who are successful are in unsatisfying relationships often because of the Upper Limit Problem. He says as you bring two successful people together it can be magnified so he says becoming more aware of the tendencies each person has to self-sabotage, also being open to communication, allowing for some space to integrate the relationship with some alone time, and allowing for the full lifecycle of emotions can help in pushing through the Upper Limit Problem.

All of this is to say that relationships can be successful and satisfying as long as there is awareness, communication, and understanding of this Upper Limit Problem.

So as you can see the Upper Limit Problem can impact so many parts of our lives. With a lot of awareness and insights from this book we can make different choices than having these limits continue to run our lives and/or our work situations. We can transcend these limits and move into greater and greater levels of success and happiness.

What is getting in your way of success in creativity, money, or love? What can you do to transcend those Upper Limits in your life and/or in your business today?

Guy Hendricks continues on with “The Big Leap” by saying that when we are enjoying high levels of success in finances, creativity, or relationships we often create high dramas in our lives in order to prevent us from feeling that enhanced success. This is the Upper Limit Problem.

He says that reason that we create this drama is from one (or more) of the four primary false beliefs or fears that we hold:

• Feeling fundamentally flawed - this belief tells you to play it safe and stay small. This is an old belief that can be triggered any time that you reach a new level of success. When this happens you can either return to your old set point or dissolve the underlying belief in order to move on to new levels of success.
  
• Disloyalty and abandonment - with this belief you feel like if you were successful you would be all alone and would leave behind all the people from your past. If you achieve success with this belief then you follow it with self-punishment.
  
• Believing that more success brings a bigger burden - here you feel that you are a burden from when you are really young so you feel guilty any time you are successful.
  
• The crime of outshining - this is a belief that you need to tone down your success in order to not outshine someone else.
  

He says these four beliefs are the root causes for us hitting our Upper Limit Problem. He says we can identify times when we are “upper-limiting” ourselves when we see we are doing the following behaviors:

• Worrying - worry when we cannot control something is just noise designed to keep us safe in our Zone of Excellence or Zone of Competence
  
• Criticism and blame - these are really ways to stop the flow of positive energy (even if the blame or criticism is directed at oneself)
  
• Deflecting - avoiding positive comments or acknowledgement in order to crimp the positive flow of energy keeps us from challenging ourselves to feel good.
  
• Squabbling - arguing often occurs as a race towards occupying the victim position in the relationship
  
• Getting sick or hurt - often are ways to show that you have an upper limit problem. There is a strong link between emotional and physical health
  

Letting yourself savor natural good feelings is a direct way to transcend the upper limit problem. Also awareness of when you are doing the above items and shifting them into more positive behaviors can be helpful.

Can you notice times when you are worrying, blaming, deflecting or getting sick? Are they upper limit behaviors for you?

I have been inspired by reading the book “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks. It is a great hand guide to moving past the blocks, which are holding you back from being the leader that you can be. 

The author says that just about everybody suffers from the “Upper Limit Problem” or a limited tolerance for feeling good. He says when people hit that upper limit they manufacture thoughts that make them feel bad, stopping their positive forward trajectory and bringing them back to the bounds of their limited tolerance. He says that people can break through the upper limit and move towards their “Zone of Genius” by addressing the thoughts that are holding them back or breath through the fog of fear it brings and turn it into exhilaration

He says there is a triad of items that grow in the same pace - abundance, love and creativity. If we are feeling good in one area it can trigger some old thought that will sabotage your behavior and bring you back down to your old feelings. But he says you can practice moving through this by focusing on the good feelings and not acting on the negative trigger. He says the upper limit problem needs to be dis-solved by shining the light of awareness on it.

He says that our activities in life and/or business occur in four main zones:

• Zone of Incompetence - this zone is made up of all the things you are not good at.
  
• Zone of Competence - you are competent at these activities, but others can do them just as well.
  
• Zone of Excellence - these are the activities you do extremely well.
  
• Zone of Genius - this is where you express your natural genius and is your ultimate path to success and life satisfaction.
  

The author suggests that the only zone that will produce the most fulfillment in our lives is by living in the Zone of Genius.

Where are you living in your life and/or business? Are you living in your Zone of Genius?

In “The Accidental Creative” Todd Henry speaks about two more areas that he believes are key in providing structure and rhythm to the creative process. These are:

4. Stimuli - he says “What comes in must come out.” It is for us to determine what is important to come into our sphere and what is just noise. He says to focus on stimuli that are challenging, relevant and diverse. He also says that three factors should play a role in the direction: 

• Maintain a study plan of stimuli you want to come into your sphere
  
• Structure your study plan into quarterly increments
  
• Assimilate information into wisdom by synthesizing data and seeing patterns that emerge
  

5. Hours - Henry says that we have to let go of our constant crunch on time. As creatives he says we are judged on our effectiveness, not our efficiency. If you want to have a lot of ideas then you have to structure time to do that by establishing the following:

• Idea Time - this is setting aside an hour a week to just generate ideas on your own. This is time to think outside of the box and allow yourself to be.
  
• Unnecessary Creating - taking the time to just explore fringe ideas, experiment, and try new things.
  

So how do you keep all of this on track - this structure and this rhythm? Well Henry says to have regular checkpoints to add discipline to your life. It includes weekly, monthly, and quarterly check-ins in each of these five areas to see where you are making progress and where you need to make adjustments. It is also a way to create accountability, traction, and clarify opportunities.

How are you managing the stimuli and hours? What are you doing keep track of your creativity? Which of these five areas can you implement in order to bring a bit more structure to your creativity?

For the majority of this book Todd Henry, the author, focus on five key areas that creatives can focus on to bring some structure to their creative process. This blog post will go into detail on the first three areas he discusses.

1. Focus - he says that the best way to focus your energy is to be a “Developer” or someone who can see the big picture, break it down into manageable parts, but can also veer off course every once in a while if needed. This allows for some flexibility while keeping in tune with the major objectives. He suggests a few different technique for focus:

• Be clear about the project objectives from the beginning. 
  
• Focus on the “Big 3” or the three biggest creative areas that you want insights on 
  
• “Cluster” work that are similar in nature so that your mind can focus on grouping activities
  

2. Relationships - Henry says “Investing in healthy, thriving relationships yields long-term benefits for everyone...” He says there are three ways to cultivate creatively stimulating relationships and that is: “to have relationships in which you can be real, relationships where you can learn to risk, and relationships where you can submit to the wisdom of others.” He lays out three strategies to enrich relationships:

• Start a circle - this is a group of people who can inspire you with their vision, their strategic thinking, and their track record of executing great ideas.
  
• Head-to-Heads - this is where two people get together and share new insights and new resources that they have gathered since their last meeting in order to keep a healthy competition and accountability with the other.
  
• Establish a Core Team - this a group of people who help you shape your decisions and career choices. This can be a Board of Advisors or a group of friends to share your successes and ask guidance in your down times.
  

3. Energy - energy management is a key to our success as it keeps us out of ruts and keeps us moving towards our goals. Henry suggests two main practices for energy management:

• Whole-Life Planning - here he talks about stepping back to examine our life as a whole and establishing a rhythm around energy management that takes into account all of our commitments.
  
• Pruning - eliminating less effective activity. “Each choice you make to do something is a choice not to do something else.” Pruning away things that keep you away from the priorities of the season will help you to have energy for the important projects in your life.
  

How are you managing your focus, relationships, and energy? Are there any tools listed above that you can begin to implement in your life in order to enhance your creative growth?

“The Accidental Creative” is about anyone who uses their mind to solve problems, create things, or innovate in their day to day work. So many leaders are creatives as they develop strategies, innovate new methodologies/processes, and design new inventions. 

This first blog post on this book focuses on the creative blocks or how being creative every single day can be so challenging. Todd Henry, the author, says that many things get in the way of creativity - not taking care of yourself, overworking yourself, not having enough structure, and not having a rhythm.

Creatives always seem to need to focus on the balance between possibility and pragmatism by balancing taking big risks, focusing on what they truly want instead of what is safe in the short term. This can lead to impacts to their creativity.

This leads to the following side effects of not maximizing our creativity:

• Unnecessary complexity
  
• Fear
  
• Unclear Objectives
  
• Opacity
  

All of this leads to dissonance or things just not adding up for a creative mind. All of this saps the creative’s energy leading to unfulfilled goals and desires.

What is sapping your energy right now? Are you stuck in doing work that is more pragmatic than possible? Do you have unclear objectives of what you really want to achieve this year? Are you stuck in fear of failure or fear of success to truly go after what you desire?

Next week’s post will focus on tools you can use to get out your creative rut as a leader.