Blog
2025 > 2024
Jan 12, 2020
Recently I was working with a leader who knew their approach was tiring. The team hadn’t been producing good work for some time, and morale was flagging.
They knew they needed more than just fresh ideas, they needed a fresh approach to ideas.
As we began to look through their form and function, we were presented with a surprising amount of opportunities to move things ahead. A nice surprise. We began to suggest different areas where their processes were failing them. Nothing earth shattering, but some simple alignments that would at least point them towards the change they’re looking for. It wasn't too long, however, until the real issue emerged.
At every turn, there was a variation on what would become a familiar theme …
‘Oh we can’t change that…
‘Ah, we’ve always done it that way …
‘Well see, the reason we do this is ….’ ...
SEEING > WATCHING
Nov 03, 2019
Being seen is very different to being watched.
But you probably don't know just how much it matters or how such a simple thing can affect your outlook and perspective on life, others, and yourself.
They are two approaches to others that on a surface level sound the same, but are fundamentally different.
Remember the first leader who saw who you could be, rather than you you already were? They saw you.
Seeing is a decision and determination to look with open eyes at who a person has been, is now, and could be. It leaks possibility and presumes potential. This way of seeing takes a mindset of possibility and generates excitement. Seeing builds positive expectation and fosters a love of spontaneity and being pleasantly surprised.
Contrast that with a leader who watches. Maybe you’ve had one maybe you haven’t. This leader is the one who has already decided who you are and is waiting for your actions to confirm what they already...
Friction | Unity.
Aug 11, 2019
I’ve had several conversations the last month that keep me coming back to the idea of friction. Every few days, another story comes up of partners, either in life or in business, who aren’t on the same page. Whose differences have driven them apart rather than brought them together. Sure, they’re together in name or title, but there’s no unity in their approach. One wants one thing, and their partner wants another.
And this chasm of difference has the potential to end businesses, dampen marriages, and drive a wedge between otherwise successful teams.
Different ideas are great. We are better BECAUSE we bring different thoughts to the table when it comes to management, finance, team, future endeavours, staffing, location, and the next action - these things sharpen our perspective and cause us to examine otherwise unconsidered points of view.
It’s not only normal, but also desirable to have a partnership where different ideas are...
To Lead a Truly Creative Culture, ASK > TALK.
May 05, 2019
As creatives, and often leaders in our fields or teams, the temptation to provide answers to people’s questions is a strong one. After all, it’s what makes us leaders!
Most often times, we are expected to have all the answers. We’re required to be able to solve people’s problems using the expertise we’ve picked up along the way. This, however, forces us into a trap.
A trap of feeling like we should always know what to say (in fact, some leaders even pride themselves on it). But this doesn’t foster creativity - far from it.
Having all the answers is the fastest way to drain team empowerment to 0.
So much emphasis is placed on having the right answers in the exact moment that we often fail to realise that it's not always the best way to lead people. Giving problems or people (sometimes they’re the same thing ;) what we think they need may be a...
How Failure Can Lead to Growth
Apr 07, 2019
Recently, I’ve been asked to lead conversations on failure quite a bit. A few of you have emailed asking me to touch on a series I started in late 2018; one I even turned it into a keynote called ‘ ‘the beauty of failure’ : unpacking how failure is something to be embraced rather than feared in our lives.
Failure, approached correctly, can be a creative force for good.
Fear of failure causes us to withdraw, protect ourselves, and seek the safety of comfort. It limits us and cuts us off from what may be waiting on the other side.
If you’re a creative, or work closely with anyone who calls themselves such, failure is likely a familiar part of the life you’ve chosen. Creative arts? Failure is virtually guaranteed at some point in your development. Leading projects or people? Definitely (if you haven’t failed in some way already, you probably aren’t really pushing at the edges of where you should...
What To Do When You're Stuck
Apr 01, 2019
Every creative I know gets stuck occasionally.
None of us are immune to it.
The idea well runs dry.
The joy dissipates.
The colour dries up from what normally excites us.
What is usually easy becomes hard.
The instinct to create becomes an instinct to hide, withdraw, or procrastinate.
Creatives everywhere battle the same feelings, yet we have a remarkable ability to feel like we’re the only ones suffering from this.
There are lots of names for it, lots of diagnoses for it, and a tonne of books written about it. And if you‘re anything like me, you need help from time to time on how to get 'un - stuck’.
Creativity cannot be a deliberate or single act you engage in whenever you feel like it - it has to become a recurring rhythm you can’t escape.
It has to become breath.
Developing your creative identity has to become a decision that exists in your subconscious. Its got to be an involuntary reaction to your...
