Natalie Nixon on creativity: "It's our ability to toggle between wonder and rigor to solve problems."
Some people think creativity is static. You’re either born creative, or you aren’t. I believe creativity is more of a muscle that you can strengthen. Sure, some people are born preternaturally fit, but we can all do a lot to get a lot stronger.
If you're looking to grow professionally, that’s important. Whether you're a writer or a hotel staffer or a surgeon, your ability to come up with new ideas will define your success and your potential in your future career.
Today’s guest is Natalie Nixon. She’s like a personal trainer for your creativity muscle. Natalie has a PhD in design management, and she’s written a book called The Creativity Leap. She has practical advice on how to improve your focus, take smart chances, and hone your curiosity. She thinks that YOU can be more creative.
You can download the episode to hear about it, or listen to it below. Then, please, share your own thoughts and tag them #HelloMonday so I can jump into the conversation.
??Here are some highlights….
On creativity: "It's our ability to toggle between wonder and rigor to solve problems."
On artists: "We have ghettoized creativity and the arts, and that's not fair to artists and it's not beneficial to our society at large because artists are actually excellent at creating space and time for both the wonder and the rigor."
On fostering creativity: "It's much more about being equipped to fall in love with process versus being solutions based and solutions-oriented."
More on fostering creativity: "We can exercise and cultivate creativity through what I call the three 'I's. And the three 'I's are inquiry, improvisation, and intuition."
On intuition: "I tell people now... that intuition is actually a much more efficient way to live."
On the conditions for creativity: "Creativity loves mess."
On the impact of COVID-19 and quarantines: "The silver lining is we get to redesign our relationship with time. We get to redesign our relationship with ourselves...We are learning to ask new and different questions. We're having to follow our gut and our intuition."
?? Office Hours: Taking your questions
What do you do to stoke your own creativity? How do you leave yourself a little room to think outside the box? Join me and our producer, Sarah Storm, this week for Office Hours. Bring a tip or an anecdote to share about something you do to shake up your routine and get a little more improvisational at work.
We’ll convene, as usual, Wed afternoon at 3pm EST. You can RSVP below, or send us an email to [email protected].
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Executive/Leadership Coach - Coaching SuperVision & Equity, Inclusion Specialist
3 年I truly loved this piece on exercising and developing the creative muscle. I fresuently encourage my clients to set thier intention to co-create rather collaborate when moving through challenges with others. And Natalie Nixon’s three “Is...inquiry, improvisation, and intuition" are the most direct route to what I call, “the three Ds... discernment, diversity, and discovery!”
Technical ,Operations en Liaison DIRECTOR at AVO Car Clinic- AUDI,BMW,MERCEDES, VW; garage) ;[email protected]
3 年Thanks for posting
Salesperson
4 年Creativity is certainly worth talking about! Good to see a discussion on it!
Founder at SCINOMAT solutions Private Limited
4 年I believe everyone is creative inherently but some harness it and others do not. Creativity can be harnessed by facing challenging situations regularly. The more challenging situations we face to find solutions, we bring our creative instincts to find the best solutions. Furthermore, we need to keep sharpen our brain to manage our process of finding creative solutions at the highest level. There are multiple ways to sharpen our brain. Harmonious flow of brain sharpening, facing difficult situation and finding creative solutions will be at peak levels in due course of time.