Week 15 12/14/17
Well, here I am 15 weeks later. I’ve not felt so transformed by a class before, not worked so hard to earn that. I reference things I’ve learned in this class nearly every day. I applaud my consistent effort in this heavy time commitment class. I am proud to have made it through and managed myself and my expectations to get here.
I am also pleased that I have been honest. I have people pleasing tendencies which come out to not tell people things in order to not upset them. But here, I felt was a safe space for me to grow and really examine my thoughts on me as a leader and others, instead of feeling like I was just looking for the “right’ or “most palatable” thing to write about it. I let my thoughts out.
I felt validated that we addressed Applied Improv, my area of expertise, specifically in the MASD program I sometimes feel out of place because I am most interested in systems thinking and the sustainability practices of working with people in corporate environments, and this class showed me the value of what I am most interested in this program of sustainable design.
I know the journey of being a creative leader is an ever evolving one, and I feel equipped to face this uncertainties and differing personalities. I feel I can do that by listening and making sure I see everyone on my team as an asset. I already feel myself practicing small amounts of delegation, or letting go and building ownership with others in my current teams.
Week 14 12/9/17
End of Course O&R Session
I set down in my backyard, the same location I did my first O&R session. The first thing noticed was the temperature. I was filled with anxiety to at the start of the exercise thinking about how cold it would be to be outside for 30 minutes. But as I let myself sit, bundled in coat I relaxed into the cold. And then connected “relaxing into the cold” to the idea of letting myself step into a role of a creative leader.
At first, winter seems daunting, the ominous “Winter is coming from Game of Thrones,” the reaction I get whenever I tell out of state people I live in Minnesota is “Oh it’s too cold there.” Yet, the cold isn’t an issue, it’s a natural part of the world. Animals live in the cold all the time. There are squirrel tracks in my backyard. This squirrel doesn’t resist the cold, but embraces it. That’s how I feel about being a leader, instead of resisting or trying to sidestep the experience, welcoming it.
Through this how course this idea of “making room for uncertainty” has become a mantra of mine. Through winter and snow and ice are nearly certainties this time of year in Minnesota, I can reframe my mindset to be open to what those can bring rather than labeling them as bad. This reminds me of the labeling exercise we did with labeling people and ourselves. I feel more open to uncertainty this point in the class.
I also noticed at first the uniformity of a backyard coated in snow, then with further observation saw that it wasn’t uniform. Just because more of the yard was covered in show, didn’t mean it was the all the same. The individual parts of nature still existed just in different circumstances. The snaking shapes of the vines of my grapevine on my fence still were there, still in a sense as a swarm as many little vines make up the giant plant that lives on my chainlink fence. As I complete this course, this is an important observation, I will still be me regardless of the circumstance and it’s my job to use my unique skills to be a creative leader.
Week 13 12/3/17
The Scenario:
It is 3 years from today. You’re in bed and it’s almost dawn. You are just beginning to hear the birds starting to sing, and it makes you smile. You’re incredibly comfortable lying there, but you are also very excited about the day ahead and decide pop up before the alarm goes off. You are thinking about how much has happened since you finished your SDO program and (or) took that Creative Leadership course – so much more than you ever imagined would have happened. You are particularly pleased because you know, deep inside, that all this has happened because of your unique and devoted creative leadership efforts. You’re excited today because you’ve been waiting eagerly for an announcement that you know is going to come in your email today. So, even before you make coffee, you scamper over to your laptop, open your email, and there it is – the announcement you’ve been waiting for. What does it say?
Reflection:
I am living a very mobile life with lots of travel to participate in creative projects, teach and consult. It’s two years After completing my Sustainable Design Degree. Which is a program that I struggled with for many years, until I found my place and purpose in the program it in 2017. After graduating I published a book called Narrative Stories and Structures in the Workplace to create a way for companies to connect with their employees in ways that are more human, individual, personalized and productive than traditional models of workplaces.
As an active creator on stage and screen, I also run a website that serves people in navigating the work/life relationships. I use my background in improv and writing to help guide people to find the best work for them and companies to reframe how they view their employees. I am excited to share with people to see how they can find the resources in their own coworkers to develop stronger, more human and sustainable relationships to their lives at work.
The Announcement:
Dear Heather,
We would be honored to have you come present at our TED conference on your ideas around Narrative Stories in the Workplace. WE would love to have your humor, vibrancy and positivity on our stage to reenergize the oft-maligned world of “corporate life.”
Thank you and looking forward to your replay,
TED TALKS
Week 12 Travel Log 12.1 11/18/17
Socratic Inquiry Session:
Heather: MASD Student, writer and improv teacher
Jim: Retired Psychology professor and psychologist,
Brad: Science presenter and animal enthusiast
Carmen: Lawyer with the state government, mother
Brandon: young entrepreneur and grant writer
Location: The Bryant Lake Bowl, we were allowed to use the theatre space during the day. It was fairly private.
Highlights or Reflection you want to share such as:
i. surprises, frustrations, aha moments
ii. lessons learned, as an emergent Creative Leader
Is violence ever good?
At first, our conversation around this seemed very biased. The group did all have the same political affiliations, but then someone brought up that violence is a tool and sometimes it’s the only tool that people have to be heard or seen.
As a Creative Leader, it was interesting to see people try to shy away from the questions and give it qualifications, like “do you mean physical violence, or emotional? The conversation also moved into a discussion on conflict and the purpose of conflict. Carmen made a point that violence is sometimes the only tool of disenfranchised groups to be seen or taken seriously. That perhaps the point of violence isn’t always death and destruction, though that cannot be divorced from it, but to communicate. Groups of privilege have the option to not use violence to be heard because they already have ways to be seen, where other groups when faced with great distress, violence sometimes is there only option.
I’m a very conflict-adverse person and I’m trying to be OK with more discomfort in my life as a Creative Leader. This session was helpful to see different viewpoints and people disagree but ultimately create a place where exploration and opposing views were welcomed.
Week 11 Travel Log 11.4 11/11/17
I enjoyed learning about the Triads. This is something I naturally do in my regular life. In fact, I sometimes don’t realize that I am doing it because I am always looking to connect people to others and resources. It was fun to get some vocabulary and strategies around this.
In Printing Two Labels, I had hard time taking my labels off to put on my “new” labels. I realized I cling very tightly to my label of “the responsible one,” so it was challenging for me to let that go and let myself be something else. It was interesting to see people’s reaction, but I was in state of nervousness though because I was worried that removing my old labels would cause an adverse reaction to how people saw me even up to that point.
It was interesting to see how much stock I place in my own labels and in other people’s labels. In my regular life, I often comment on how people “shine up their badge of _____” which could be of any label that they cling to tightly. For me, I shine my badge of responsibility and promptness, which is a great thing for my work life, but can also cause me to get full of anxiety if something challenges that, like being late or forgetting things, instead of being OK with the fact that sometimes things happen and I can’t always live up to that label. And perhaps, I don’t need to label myself. I think this relates to how others see labels in themselves, even when we don’t like the label. This idea is why I created the metric of Label Taker, to remind myself to start building a practice of removing the labels I put on people at least once a day for even just a few minutes a day.
Week 10 Travel Log 10.2 11/3/17
Dear Heather,
You are quite the go-getter. Looking at you from a distance, which I must say is difficult to do since you are me and I am you, OK, there’s one of your strengths, not the sort of poetic rhyme scheme, but your sense of humor, play and fun. That is a big theme for you: humor. Your humor relates to being able to see unexpected sides of issues and also allows you access to surprising metaphors to synthesize your thoughts. You also have a thoughtful theme that has emerged and a willingness to share personal anecdotes to communicate. This pairs well with humor in your ability to make people feel at ease, but also connect with them through personal details, rather than keeping people at bay which is a behavior that is often found in a more conventional expectation of a leader.
Change-wise you’ve really made a shift in your awareness of your ego. You really took to heart the chapter in Tribal Leadership on Stage 3 behaviors. You started this course for sure at a Stage 3, and I do think it has shifted to at least a later Stage 3. You’ve become more aware of when you are looking to serve yourself even when it might not be in the best interest of the team.
Also, you’ve improved in how you view asking for help. I know before this course you were very independent and proud of that. You also were pleased with that fact because you didn’t like to feel like a burden on others by asking them for help. Yet now, through the work in this course, you’ve come to really see that communities are full of assets and that asking for help is to a sign of a creative leader. In fact, asking for help and reaching out to others is a sign of strength, both in security of ego but also in that the project will be so much richer when others share their knowledge. And when other share their knowledge, they also feel ownership of the project which will help them be a part of the project. This really hit home for you because you have struggled in the past with letting others do work. Partly because you tend to try to be a people pleaser which doesn’t help you forward your idea, and partly because you don’t want to let go of your own idea. Yet, with this new knowledge and with more practice you will be able to leverage your community to fulfill your goals of working with people in a positive way and executing projects.
It is surprising how much you still are affected by the unpleasant experience in your last corporate environment. It’s been just over two years since you left that organization, and I can tell that you still care about the people and projects there even though you were not managed or lead in a way that was sustainable. However, in a positive reframe, to make this weakness a positive, you are using this as an example of a situation that you don’t want to find yourself in, or be a leader in again. I trust that if you do find yourself in this type of situation again, you have new leadership mindsets to help to navigate yourself and your group into a better and more productive and more open communication place.
Wise advice to myself: Stop waiting for permission to move forward. You do a lot of self-reflecting and sometimes that can get in the way of you just taking action by asking someone for help.
Week 8 Travel Log 8.3 10/21/17
Well, I am not very good at sitting quietly thinking about nothing. I chose to do my O&R session in my backyard, but all I kept doing was get uncomfortable in the chair. So, the first things I noticed was my own physical body tension.
Once, I figured my body out as much as I could I was able to do the ten minutes eyes closed, then the ten minutes of observing. In the final 10 minutes of reflecting and assessing, I discovered a lot of examples of leadership. There is an elm tree that has three main trunks coming from the ground, they are all equal inside, but at first glance I would assume the tree had one trunk. Actually, the tree is supported by three solid trunks. This made me reminded me of leadership as not just one person, but made up of many parts. This made me think of heterachy, rotating leadership.
I also noticed that the ends of the elm end in very small leaves, yet they are small they are the main input for the tree. This is natural leadership in that every part of the tree is of value, not just the big mighty trunks, the little flimsy leaves are on the frontlines gathering sunlight.
There were also examples of seeds and sprouts, literally. There is brink patio that a small plant was growing out of. It was making do with where it was planted. Seeds and Sprouts also makes me think of people who must do something. This is a common feeling for artists, even though they know the road ahead of them is poorly paid, not consistent and not celebrated, they are still compelled to do it. That is what I think of seeds, they must blossom, even it is it just to for shortest amount of time.
I feel more awareness than ever around myself as an emerging Creative Leader. I’ve really taken the idea of asking for help and activating community to heart, these are the areas that are most hard for me, especially as someone who’s in Stage 3. I think awareness is a great first step, I have a big project about to start up that I do every year and I’ve been thinking of ways to activate my team’s ownership and how to let go of having to do everything myself.
Week 7 Travel Log 7.3 10/14/17
As an Ideal Creative Leader, I think I would be a leader who isn’t afraid to be human and to not know the answer. I would make a practice of asking my team to find solutions, new ideas and new plans. I also think I would be a good leader in allowing my team to excel in their own ways, in contrast to my negative experience having been in a manipulative micromanaging work relationship. I would be a leader that values the team, not expecting the team to value me. I would be a leader that respects each teammates' unique self and doesn’t expect them to be a ‘yes man’ to all my ideas and assuage my insecurities.
I would be an Ideal Creative Leader who isn’t obsessed with the end result, instead I think I would be motivating towards the objective of the group and supportive during the process rather than just celebrating results. Already in my work my constant working model is that “it’s fun at every step of the way,” which I hope is a core value in all the projects I work on. I know as an Ideal Creative Leader, I would see the team as an asset, not signaling out specific people for praise or punishment.
I am a leader who reaches out to my group to gather ideas, solutions, and feedback. I value the group as the key to our success. Each person brings their own background and individual experience that strengthens the team and I support everyone’s individuality. I am a leader that makes sure we not focus on competitors, but that we are pursuing a greater purpose that helps to unify the group.
Forgiving mistakes is a large part of my leadership as well, both my group’s mistakes and my own and instead mistakes are redefined as discoveries. We move away from blame because we are not focused on individual success as much as we are the group’s success towards our greater purpose.
I am a leader who is brave by being vulnerable. That vulnerability manifests through asking for help, delegating, creating ownership within the group and letting go. The greatest shift for me is in viewing leadership not as one person at the top of a pyramid, but as one person on a level field with the others. My job is to listen and support and let my team have the rein to flourish, instead of me squashing them down or telling them what the right “how” is for accomplishment.
As a leader, I don’t motivate people for individual success, I motivate using language of “we” to help cement the idea that we are all working together, no one is more valuable than others.
I repeat to myself and to my team that we want to try to do the impossible, and I focus on the word ‘try’ so that we as a group know that it isn’t about succeeding at a difficult goal, but about working towards an outcome as a group.
Week 4 Travel Log: 4.1 9/20/17
I pride myself on my ceaseless flow of ideas. It many ways it helps me to not be “too precious” about any one thing and prevents the feeling of finding out “my idea has already been done.” However, the challenges this presents are very similar to Chad in Making Ideas Happen, where there is too much going on. Also because of the amount of ideas, I have a hard time knowing which one to jump into. This tendency is similar to Risa’s story in the book, I would rather tackle something new than refine a current project. As you can assume, with my Chad and Risa-ness, I have a high volume of projects and high motivation but very little sustainable organization. I aspire to be Jonathon Harris, I am excited by the diverse ways he gets his ideas across. He combines both the ideas with the execution. I need work on the execution.
I think I am best at Leadership in Creative Pursuits of the three tools. I can rally folks around my idea, and also lead inspiration and “get it doneness” around someone else’s idea. I often draw people to me who are needing inspiration, coaching, pep talks or support to pursue something. Honestly, this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately how often people lean on me or rely on me as their unofficial life and career coach. I’ve been struggling with how draining this is, even though I do truly like helping people I can’t help but feeling taken advantage of when more and more people keep asking for this from me. So maybe I need to start a more solid business around this.
I was torn which area I needed the most work on. I definitely see myself flopping around in organizations, where I get all into one system of organization and then abandon it. I shy from leveraging communal forces because of my Midwest, female thing about “not wanting to be a bother” and a fear of being a victim of “tall poppy syndrome.” Tall Poppy Syndrome is that behavior in a community or an individual to cut down anyone who is taller (or more visible, famous, successful) than the group.
Though, if the people that work with and know me read this, they would disagree that I suffer in organization. I am definitely a “doer” of creative ideas. But even if that is how it is apparent on the outside, I still know the messy process and wasted energy that is spend on making the projects happen. I get caught up in what John Clease called in the video “it’s easier to do trivial and urgent than the important and not urgent, easier to do small things we know we can do than the big things we don’t know we can do.” I spin my wheels chasing all the trivial and urgent things, which are usually favors for other people too. I always feel like I am trying to serve everyone else’s wants from me than prioritizing what really is serving me and my goals.
Week 3 Travel Log: 3.3 9/17/17
This week I was present at the National Walking Summit. It was remarkable how it tied into Creative Leadership. I found myself thinking about how there is a movement towards making cities and rural communities walkable again. I add the again because humans originally were walking all the time, but then cars took over and now the movement is trying to return us to walking, or at least a multi-modal compromise.
At the conference, I thought about Nature Leadership Models, and specifically geese. Not any one goose knows the whole migration route, each goose knows a little of the way. Some geese don’t know any of the way, but support by honking in the back to let the lead goose know everything is OK.
When I think about being a creative leader, I need to remember I don’t know the whole answer and I’m not expected to know the whole answer. For me, since I struggle with trying to do it all when I am the leader, I need to recognize that my team has assets that I don’t have. Their each individual brain is just as unique as mine and they can take us places each alone cannot.
I often think of nature when I am getting frustrated with all the expectations human life asks of us. I think, animals look out for their basic needs, that helps me to think of what is the simplest answer to the problems. I tend to want to do it all and ask for help, but even nature has help from each other, seeds cannot sprout without dirt and flowers don’t pollinate without bees
Week 2 Travel Log: 2.3 9/10/17
I didn’t expect to have this impact me. I’ve heard and seen similar stories about an unlikely hero, a small creature or person making an impact, a world of naysayers so I assumed I knew this story immediately. Which I did, the story was as predictable as the others. Which is not to negate the impact of those stories, the reason the story was predictable because we relate to those stories of the underdog, I think we all feel like that or have at some point in our lives. That is why these stories are so ubiquitous. For me, this time with this video I related to the fact that all the other animals were transfixed watching the forest burn. Of course, the forest burning can be a metaphor for so many things in today’s world. It made me think of the social media influence in my world. I see so many people “watching the forest burn” but posting links and likes on Facebook, when real action, real leadership comes from doing something. And the doing of things rarely happens on the internet, things happen in the real world. This reignited my drive and to quote the hummingbird “to do the best I can.”
I’ve talked with a number of people about the course this week. In fact, it’s interesting how much this course comes up in conversation. It makes sense, we are all surrounded and acting as leaders all the time. I connected with a new work acquaintance about past not great leaders and what makes a leader you want to be around and be like. In fact, it led us to start a group for a creative project to get us out of the place of just saying we wanted to do things, to making them and inviting others to make with us.
Week 1 Travel Log: 1.3b 9/3/17
I’m very aware of my growth as a leader. I had a solid foundation and a supportive environment to develop as a leader during my undergraduate theatre program, that journey started when I was a freshman put in charge of a set being built in 1999. I had trust put in me and a four years to make many, many mistakes as a leader.
Now, I am two years out of being the manager of 80 independent contractors. I took that leadership role very seriously, because in that role I was being mismanaged and I wanted to make sure I was leading my team in the way I wish I was being led. Now, I am my own freelance artist working to build cohesive teams and connections.
I am working on being more honest in my communication. I used to think being a leader was to be blunt and rude then I shifted to being a mothering coddling leader, but now I am finding the truth in being a leader. Right now, I am being mindful of setting boundaries, or else I run the risk of being taken advantage of because I very agreeable. I also tend to take on too much because other people don’t want to do the work, or I volunteer to do it for them. The key in that sentence is “for them.” I have a tendency to solve people’s problems for them, when they are fully capable of solving it themselves. For me, I’ve been thinking about it more in the metaphor of puzzles. We all have our own puzzles, and sometimes when someone is working on a puzzle, I see them as struggling and want to swoop in and save them from any sort of stress and pain and do their puzzle for them. I forget that being a leader is also letting people the freedom and joy to solve their own puzzle. Even though the puzzle looks chaotic and stressful, it’s accomplishing the puzzle that is the real success.
I would like to get to a place where I am setting an example of a curious, enthusiastic, approachable leader, who actively seeks to create, share my work and work with others.