Did you know that everyone has personal preferences in relation to creativity, just like we do with everything else?
🦉 So you might be an early bird or a night owl (or good for an hour between 11-12 like me 😆), like detail, prefer the big picture, have a social creative process, or a more internal one. None of this is right or wrong, it just is.
When I first started studying creativity, I took several different assessments that focus on attitudes, personality traits and preferences in relation to problem solving.
The one that most resonated with me is called the VIEW and unlike some psychometrics it’s short and sweet, and looks at just your personal preferences in three different dimensions of problem solving and creativity. What I like about it is that the findings are in areas where we can build, adapt, flex or change if it’s helpful.
We’re often so busy in our day-to-day and task focussed, that it can help to get out of the weeds and consider how your habits, preferences and ways of working impact your own creative work, and perhaps more importantly if you’re leading teams, how it impacts others and how they might like to work. Spoiler: it might be different to you!
If we want diversity of thought then we need to embrace all kinds of ways of thinking and approaches. The VIEW helps with this as it is focusses rather on ‘In what ways am I creative..?’ rather than the reductive and unhelpful: ‘am I creative?’
What I know for sure is that if I had done this self reflection and development work, I would have been a much better agency Creative Director. It’s too late for me and those poor souls (lols) but not for you! On a serious note, this is where I always start when working with anyone looking to up the ante on their creative leadership.
Here are some the well-researched benefits of coaching for creative leaders:
- Tailored Development: Coaching provides personalized guidance based on your specific needs and goals, ensuring maximum effectiveness.
- Increased Self-Awareness: Through reflective exercises and feedback, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and creative process. For more, see the Journal of Creative Behavior, “The Impact of Creative Coaching on Self-Efficacy and Creativity
- Enhanced Leadership Skills: Coaching can help you develop essential leadership qualities such as communication, delegation, and team-building. This is a great article from the Harvard Business Review on “The Power of Coaching”
- Improved Decision-Making: By exploring different perspectives and problem-solving strategies, you’ll make more informed and creative decisions.
- Boost your confidence: As you progress and achieve your goals, your confidence and self-belief will grow. [
- Greater innovation: Coaching can foster a more innovative mindset by encouraging you to think outside the box and take calculated risks.
If you’re interested in developing your self-awareness, creative leadership skills and building creative teams, give me a shout. I’m offering the VIEW assessment, a report debrief and 2 further one-to-ones (remote) with me for 5 people between now and the end of the year. If you have a creative team that you want to strengthen and power up then this works for that too. Email me, claire@nowgocreate.co.uk to find out more.