A642.1.4.RB - Assignment: Your Creative Genius

A642.1.4.RB - Assignment: Your Creative Genius

Create a Reflection Blog (RB) that discusses the top five creative talents that you have and how you use them and then list the top five creative talents that you wish you had and what they would do for you.

I have never really thought about my “top five creative talents” so this is not an easy assignment. After giving it some thought though, this is what I came up with:

1.      I am good at editing and putting my thoughts in writing.

2.      I am good at looking at something from a different perspective.

3.      I am good at creative problem solving and deduction.

4.      I am goof at seeing the beauty in everyday things.

5.      I am good at networking and bringing people together. (Not matchmaking – but knowing who can help who. I’m terrible at matchmaking.)  

The top five creative talents I wish I had are even more difficult figure out but this is what I came up with:

1.      I wish I was able to be more strategic in my career

2.      I wish I could stop editing myself – stop holding back my ideas

3.      I wish I was more disciplined.

4.      I wish I could pick up abstract ideas faster

5.      I wish I was a better public speaker

1) Show the creative skills you currently are aware of. Be certain to discuss: the object of each skill in terms of how you use it; the challenges it creates for you; the context you use it in and how you define success. Do this for all the creative skills you are currently aware of.

I am good at editing and putting my thoughts in writing.

            The object of this skill is effective communication. I try to make sure that when I write something, my intention, tone, and words get my message across effectively and in a meaningful way. The challenges this creates for me is understanding my audience. In order to be an effective communicator, I need to know who I’m communicating with and what they need from me. The context I use this creative skill is mostly at work but I try to do my best at communicating effectively any time I set out to write something. I define success when the person or entity I’m trying to communicate effectively with is satisfied with the information I have given them.

I am good at looking at something from a different perspective.

            The object of this skill is effective problem solving. Before I start trying to solve a problem, I try to imagine all sides of the issue. I try to think about all of the people impacted by the problem and how they would see success in problem solving. The challenges this creates for me is how to solve problems in a way where the most good is done while not alienating everyone who didn’t get what they wanted. Obviously, you can’t please everyone and I don’t see myself as a people pleaser. Instead, I just try to understand everyone’s perspective and come up with the solution that makes the most sense to the biggest stakeholder. For example, when a supplier is going to be late on a shipment, if this is something that doesn’t occur often, I work with them to make sure that they don’t get a negative rating on their key performance indicators. A negative rating could result in them not being able to bid on future business. Now, if the supplier is consistently late on shipment or shipping bad parts, then I will be less likely to help them because we clearly need to see their poor performance so we can either help them recover or – and after all else has failed – find a new supplier.  The context I use this creative skill is mostly at work but it does help when dealing with family matters and even when talking with friends. I define success when the problem can be seen from all perspectives and everyone becomes engaged in the problem solving process.  

I am good at creative deduction.

            The object of this skill is also effective problem solving – but also in effective problem defining. The challenges this creates for me is making sure that I understand fully what the problem is versus what everyone else thinks the problem is. This is something that I’ve practiced with Lean techniques like Ishikawa diagrams or just drilling down with the Five Why practice. The context I use this creative skill is mostly at work. When a forklift driver continuously pokes the forks of his vehicle through wooden crates full of expensive airplane parts, we need to find out why this keeps happening instead of just assuming the forklift driver is inept. It gives the problem the benefit of the doubt when you drill into it to find out why something happens. Poor training? Faulty forks? Poorly marked crate? It’s important to not only solve problems effectively but to solve the right problem. I define success when the right problem is solved – and people stop poking holes in wooden crates.  

I am good at seeing the beauty in everyday things.

            The object of this skill is about balance. Working in a high stress environment, it is important to find balance wherever you can. Seeing the beauty in a small gesture of kindness or in the color of the sky when I’m in the middle of a tense teleconference helps change the tone of the moment. The challenges this creates for me is just remembering to look for the small things that make me smile. The context I use this creative skill is mostly at work – but it’s beneficial in my life in general as well. I define success when I am able to take a deep breath and reset in the middle of a tense or stressful situation. When I am able to find and appreciate that balance – that is success.   

I am good at networking and bringing people together. (Not matchmaking – but knowing who can help who. I’m terrible at matchmaking.)  

            The object of this skill is about helping people. The challenges this creates for me is really just that my help is accepted. I try to build bridges between people so they can connect and work together. The context I use this creative skill is mostly at work – but it’s beneficial in my life in general as well. I define success when I have put people together in a mutually beneficial way and they are able to work through their problems together.

2) Do the same for all of the creative skills you would like to have but feel you are lacking.

I wish I was able to be more strategic in my career.

            The object of this skill would be about seeing opportunities for development and promotion. The challenges this would create for me are that I don’t think I’m ready for the next level of my job but I wish I was. I’m not confident that I know enough to be successful. The context I would use this creative skill is at work. I would define success when I am promoted and jump into the next level of this role with confidence.  

I wish I could stop editing myself – stop holding back my ideas

            The object of this skill would be about being more confident in my ideas and what I have to offer. I tend to edit myself when I’m in a room of peers – not as much as I used to, with age comes (sometimes poorly timed) wisdom! The challenges this would create for me are my lack of self-confidence. I don’t know that my experience or knowledge of my role are sufficient enough to allow my ideas to be relevant.  The context I would use this creative skill is at work. I would define success when I am confident that I would be making a meaningful contribution.

I wish I was more disciplined.

            The object of this skill would be about just what it sounds like – being more disciplined. I procrastinate and worry about things so long that when I actually get to doing the thing I’ve been procrastinating and worrying about, I’m in a super time crunch. I like to think that I work best under pressure but I don’t think I’ve really given myself any other option. The challenges this would create for me are that I have no respect for my own authority! I have the best intentions and plans but when I don’t follow through on those plans – there are no repercussions. (Except the whole last minute thing.) The context I would use this creative skill is in every aspect of my life. I would define success when I am able to set a schedule for myself and respect myself enough to follow through. I think big things could happen for me if I just applied myself more. (Oh my gosh, I just sounded exactly like my parents all through high school. Wow. I get it now! Ha!)   

I wish I could pick up abstract ideas faster

            The object of this skill would be about learning my job faster. I always feel like it takes me so much longer to understand some of the processes and tasks that I’m asked to do. The challenges this would create for me are that I need to understand why I’m doing something in order for me to understand how to do it. I worked with a guy once who said, “Tell me how to score points and I’ll tell you how I’m going to play the game.” I don’t understand how to score the points all the time. I ask for the help but I wish I could just pick these things up faster. The context I would use this creative skill is at work. I would define success when I am able to learn new processes faster and more completely.

I wish I was a better public speaker

            The object of this skill would be about effective communication again. I’m not terrible at public speaking but I wish I was better. The challenges this would create for me are not huge but they would be having the practice and opportunity to try. The context I would use this creative skill is at work. I would define success when I am more natural at public speaking.   

References:

Canfield. J. & Smith, G. (2011). Imagine: Ideation skills for improvement and innovation today. Holland, MI: Black Lake Press.

McKeown, M. (2014). The innovation book: How to manage ideas and execution for outstanding results. Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, United Kingdom. Pearson Education Limited.