How to enhance your Creativity Skills

'I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas ... I am merely extremely inquisitive' Albert Einstein

LEARNER, EXPLORER, PROBLEM SOLVER, THINKER and CREATOR

This is a Discoverer ... someone who gains energy through curiosity and has a zest for life to match it. Someone with a beginners mindset and 'What if?' on the tip of their tongue. An adventurer who explores, problem solves, thinks and creates to learn. Every team needs more than one!

One of my favourites is Russell, the 8 year old junior wilderness explorer in the Pixar film UP in 2009 who is missing his 'Assisting the Elderly Badge' and sees Mr Fredericson as the perfect candidate for his help. He, as do many children, embodies the curiosity of the discoverer and he has such a heroes journey adventure in the film! I have to mention , the other character I adore in UP is Kevin, Spoiler Alert - the 13ft female giant tropical bird - just wonderful! I so admire the imaginative minds that create such worlds!

Discovery skills unlock possibilities and adventures - real and imaginary ones; and we all need more of those right now. If you have not seen it - this, and all Pixar Animations, including the short films are a great place to start your learning journey to study curiosity, creativity and everything discovery! This is just the beginning and Imagineers provide a fun place to start because it is their job to live in this world 'What if?' possibilities.

Our first discovery question is: 'What 'assisting' badge could you seek to give you a new perspective on your work?'. Maybe helping others become Discoverers!

THE SHIFT TO THE 21st CENTURY CURIOUS LEARNER

As Sir Ken Robinson explains in his famous TED talk - we often give up on this imaginative world of wonder and our discovery journey as we move into adult mode way too easily; or as he puts it our creativity is educated out of us.

These are core Work^Life Skills and they are becoming even more important. We do not stop learning and inquiring when we leave School or College - we just start another chapter - and this book now lasts a lifetime. Not as sporadic adhoc interventions and grasping at certificates to show our competence, but a lifelong commitment to learning, growth and change. Our discovery skills will make this learning adventure much more meaningful, inspiring and relevant to our lives.

However we want to move away from seeing these skills in the traditional academic 20th century way i.e. logic versus creativity, with the latter as a lower order talent. With these skills active and honed, life is a lot more interesting. And whilst there is evidence that some of the discovery skills are enhanced genetically through being born with certain talents and traits - most can be developed. So the response 'I am just not creative' is not true - seek out opportunities to continuously build these skills.

SHOWCASE THESE SKILLS TO MAKE YOURSELF MORE EMPLOYABLE

Everyone knows creativity skills are highly sought after by employers. LinkedIn has defined 'creativity' as one of the most overused words in job profiles on the site. People put it down because they think they should have this skill even if they are not confident that they do. Business still sees a skills gap in their recruitment for people with them and the World Economic Forum cites 'curiosity and creativity' as global core skills for the next decade.

Why? These are some of the skills employers want you to master to help them and yourself, navigate the next decade. Not only do these skills help us problem solve and generate new ideas – they also help us to learn and adapt to change. In 2022 we need this 'Discoverer' skillset and mindset to unleash our inner creativity and learning gene. So if you are lacking in confidence and see this as something that only certain people can do - you need to change your thinking and build this future skill stack fast.

FROM SURVIVE TO THRIVE: OWNER, DISCOVERER, PLAYER and DELIVERER

At Hikmaty we focus on these four roles where building your soft skills and character traits/ attributes will help you thrive in the next decade.

In this newsletter our focus is on developing a DISCOVERER skillset and mindset because if you can stay inquisitive and learn - it opens up all sorts of options for all four roles.

This encompasses how you keep learning, explore to stay curious, observe the world, think, problem solve and get creative. It is your adventurer - your Pixar Russell!

THESE ARE THE DIFFERENTIATING WORK SKILLS

The AI robots have got logic and maths mastered but they are having a tougher time with the humanities. These skills represent our humanity and are our differentiator. To embrace your Discoverer it can help to think about these skills much more broadly around all Gardners 8 Intelligences to see the possibilities:

Linguistic - Writing| Musical - Auditory | Visual - Spatial| Logical - Mathematical | Bodily - Kinesthetic | Interpersonal - Working with others | Intrapersonal - Understanding our self | Naturalist - With nature |

AI enabling and enhancing humans discovery skill stacks is just beginning, and this is going to be a really exciting chapter in our development and the metaverse's. We need to master our Discoverer first and then embrace technology to broaden our talents - so we are driving the bus! Or just even on the bus!

Seizing new ground, making connections between people and ideas, working without a map - these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.

Seth Godin in Icarus Deception

A Discoverer – is someone who has creative curiosity and a beginners mindset; who is keen to learn; who wants to expand their talents, skills and expertise and who wants to build a toolkit to help them succeed.

The book ‘The Innovators DNA’ by authors?Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen set out to explore successful innovators and their skillsets. From their research they focused in on these five skills: Questioning, Observing, Experimenting, Ideas Networking and Associating*. These provide a very practical starting point to build discovery, learning, curiosity and creativity skills. If you master them you will change how you are perceived, the way you work and the results you achieve.

* Associating is the only skill that is significantly enhanced if creativity is an inherent talent. There are lots of tools to help you with this if you need some inspiration. The others are within everyone's grasp and are essential future skills.

We can only take a peek at a few Discovery ideas here. We are going to look at your Discoverer's mindset, becoming a curious learner, your observation skills and some resources to help you on your creative learning journey.

YOU NEED THE RIGHT MINDSET TO SET YOURSELF UP TO WIN

We always start with mindset because it is the fuel to start the fire. The mindset of a Discoverer is one where you are grabbing opportunities and solving problems by challenging the status quo, having a beginners 'what if?' outlook and are constantly exploring new possibilities.

For starters find some new ways to 'be' - Change can be good for you - liberate yourself from previous learned stereotypes, negative thinking and let go of past discouragements. You have to experiment, try out new things, have a growth mindset and embrace that it is OK to be wrong. Get good at seeing everything as an opportunity to learn. If you struggle with this for yourself, start by looking at how you manage and accept other people's mistakes. How can you be more supportive, tolerant, compassionate and kinder to others and yourself?

You can take more bold steps to be more open minded, receptive to new ideas and more accepting of others and their differences. When you meet adversity and challenges – accept it is what it is and persevere with GRIT and hope. It is easy to say these things yet hard to do, but if you are going to adapt in a world in constant flux it is the only attitude to have.

What do learning, creativity and curiosity look like for you right now?'; Who do you need to be to embrace your Discovery role?; Why is it important to you? and How do you set yourself up to win?

BE A CURIOUS LEARNER

Learning is at the heart of discovery - reflecting, learning how to learn and using your preferred learning style, being an active learner, cultivating a growth mindset for when needed and aiming for mastery. You need to be constantly seeking projects that test you, learning adventures, opportunities to grow, ways to enhance your skills and finding new skills that will differentiate you. Finding great projects to work on should be your starting point for this not going on courses. Learn in an environment where you can practice and master the skills in your working day.

Everyone is a work in progress. Permanent beta mode equals a lifelong commitment to continuous personal growth and questioning yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you are a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or a reinventing yourself mid-career. Great people, like great companies, are always evolving. They’re never finished and never fully developed.

Each day presents an opportunity to be curious, learn more, do more, grow more. It is the mindset of every entrepreneur of life. Focus on unlocking your potential so that you become the best version of you possible - with all the life experiences that a successful Work^Life involves. And you know what curiosity looks and feels like from the description above. Practice living in that state every day.

ACTION: Keep a learning journal to track what, where and how you learn. Keep an ideas journal to note down observations, questions, opportunities and thoughts. Keep a life journal to reflect on your thoughts, reading, ideas, learning, experiences and life events. Be curious, use your imagination and go on some adventures!

DISCOVERERS OBSERVE BY TAKING IN THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE

Experiences are hot topics and trending. The business world is constantly looking to improve the customer experience, just as companies look at the employee experience or online we have a user experience. You make judgements on brands based on your experiences with them. It is rarely about one experience but rather touchpoints when you connect and moments of truth that matter to you - that become one whole experience.

To be a discoverer you need to develop the ability to press the refresh button in your mind and take in the whole experience as well as each part - that may be as yourself or the customer or even as the problem you are seeking to solve! You are using your imagination, getting curious, constantly asking 'what if?' and having a beginners mindset.

The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes' Marcel Proust

New eyes in the broadest, most curious sense … questioning, experiencing, experimenting and observing in lots of different ways. Observing could be just with sight but that represents a crazy missed opportunity to use your other senses too: sound, touch, smell and even taste. What are you missing in how you currently observe?

For a change consider, this Discovery Skill as Kinaesthetic Observing - where you are using all your senses. When you walk into a room, take in a view or eat some delicious food you use all your senses - you have an experience - learn to observe in the same way. I once worked with a colleague who went blind in his forties. He explained how his other senses became so much more pronounced and helped him cope with his loss of sight. All our senses guide us in the world including our sixth sense intuition - use them all.

Have some fun. If you watch a child with some new object often the first thing they do is put it in their mouth! I am not suggesting you start doing the same :) – but consider how you can use all of your senses to better observe/ experience the world around you to generate fresh thinking and new ideas.

Then add in your ability to empathise, as simply a felt observation – you imagine yourself in a situation - what you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you taste, what you touch and how you feel - the whole experience. Then cultivate your ability to put yourself into someone else's shoes and the experience they are having.

ADVENTURE 1 - Magic Moments: Think of an event with family or friends that is coming up (birthday, anniversary, day out, date night, holiday, gathering). The task is to plan and deliver a 'Magic Moment Experience' for an individual or group.

Observe them and then look at the experience from their perspective. What do you want them to do? How do you want them to feel? What do you want them to see? What do you want them to hear? What do you want them to say? What is the overall experience you are seeking to achieve? Describe it in detail and empathise.

What will you need to create, do and arrange to bring this experience to life? Who will you need to be to make this happen? Do it and learn from it! Take this learning into your work role next time you are planning a team meeting or important presentation for a customer.

ADVENTURE 2 - Customer Experience: Whatever job you do, whoever is your customer - you are creating an experience for them - a poor, ok, good, great, amazing, memorable or life changing one - your choice!

Every day you deliver an experience to those you interact with. How would you grade yourself with the key relationships in your Work^Life? Choose someone important to you. Then look at someone you are important to.

Start by creating the experience you believe they each would want to receive, design your role in that experience, master the skills and be the person you need to be to deliver it. Do it, experiment and then ask for feedback to enhance it further. Learn. Repeat. Master these skills to improve your relationships and your work.

LEARN FROM GREAT CREATORS AND TUTORS

There are some great expert creative Discoverers to learn from like Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and a world of TED talkers! There are also some brilliant Authors/ Teachers in these spaces like Michael Gelb, Mihaly Csikzentmihaly, Seth Godin, Tom Peters, David and Tom Kelley, Twyla Tharp, Robert Fritz and Jim Kwik .

Plus you have the world of compelling autobiographies to discover - which often provide a wealth of brain food adventurers, as everyone who tells their own story leads a Discoverers life.

Brain Food : My advice would be start with 'How to Think like Leonardo Da Vinci' by Michael Gelb; 'Creative Confidence' by David and Tom Kelley; 'Mindset' by Carol S Dweck and get yourself a 'Creative Whack Pack'. And anything by Seth Godin including his daily blog.

Plus check out Elizabeth Gilbert and Sir Ken Robinsons TED talks on creativity, the autobiography of someone you admire to listen to on Audible and a couple of podcasters who inspire you. Just a few for starters - be selective and include something that you would not normally consider - you want lots of new normal!

The Discoverers New Guide

My latest find is a MUST HAVE - the perfect 2022 Discoverers Manual - 'Creative Acts for Curious People - how to think, create and lead in unconventional ways' by Sarah Stein Greenberg from Stanford D School. These are the people that gave us design thinking. This is a wonderful colourful playbook and toolkit.

More a dip into than read book - it is a brilliant resource to build those discovery skills. If you are not into reading - Sarah did a great interview with Chase Jarvis on his Live Show. You can find the hour long interview below.

We hope this smorgasbord (buffet) of ideas and thoughts in this Newsletter inspires you to take onboard your new Discoverer role and the curiosity that brings it alive. Just finding one idea to take forward might be the beginning of a new adventure for you!

WELCOME TO HIKMATY AND OUR NEWSLETTER INQUISITIVE MINDS

I am the founder Jilli Warwicker and this is my first 'Inquisitive Mind' newsletter.?I am known to be business savvy, resourceful, practical, a tad unconventional and creative - I want to use these skills and my wisdom to serve others. I am passionate about helping career professionals take ownership of their Work^Life success,?explore their talents and master the crucial in demand future skills and the mindset that matter most now.

I want you to unlock your potential, grow, grab opportunities, get noticed more, stay relevant and thrive not just survive in these uncertain and challenging times.

To do this Hikmaty has a series of frameworks and tools to help us guide, curate, synthesise, create, signpost and navigate the right content for your thriving Work^Life journey in the next decade. Yes, it is all very colourful because learning should never be beige!

Our Toolbox - We are guided by a grid of soft transferable future skill stacks to support our work and much more importantly your learning journey. At Hikmaty we focus on those 4 roles or domains and the skills that will help you thrive in 2022 and going forward. These roles are Owner, Discoverer, Player and Deliverer.

Over each of the next 4 months newsletter's we aim take one of the framework themes and explore elements of it to help you enhance your skills and stack new ones. The next Newsletter in April will focus on what it means to be an OWNER.

We believe that not only should learning be colourful, not beige - it should be community based too! Watch out for our new Hikmaty Hub Learning Community launching soon.

This is where our purpose, grids, frameworks and passion come alive to serve you in a new type of live lab learning community. We hope to welcome you there as a Founder Member creating something special together.

Enjoy your month and your discovery learning journey.