5 Awesome Actions of Highly Creative Leaders!

How many times have you wondered why you are unable to"think-out-of-the-box" more often?

We are all products of our environment and our backgroundsusually prevent us from viewing situations with the uniqueeyes of our personal experience.

However, the leaders who think "out-of-the-proverbial-box"do so by incorporating what I like to see as a,Strategically Wise Synergistic Process of Creation.

These creative thinkers apply their own kinds ofaction-oriented logic to problems to help them find newwisdom, discover opportunities or see the facts indifferent ways.

In a word, truly creative types act differently, in waysthat we'll call "Logical Action-Steps".

Logical Action-Step One: Achieve Understanding not MereReasoning

You want to find the basic or underlying meanings of theproblems facing your group.

You could reason-out what is happening, by using your linearthinking skills to negotiate, analyze or plan your response.

For instance, you could notice that it is more chilly, by 15degrees, this evening than it was yesterday at this sametime which is certainly a reasonable observation.

Your could use your reasoning prowess to remember thecooling trend of last month's temperatures and conclude thatit was windier and the skies much clearer [of clouds] formost of last night and today - therefore you would assumethat it was those factors which contributed to a coldernight tonight than it was last night.

Creative thinkers would aggressively investigate the weatherby:

- intensely searching for answers,

- through disillusioning or transforming theirpre-conceptions,

- looking within, around and beneath the conditions,

- recognizing and deeply understanding their coreassumptions about the weather

Logical Action-Step Two: Seek The Strategist's Viewpoint

If you're like most knowledge-workers, you probably have afairly extensive network of friends, colleagues, andassociates. Your social network has been built over timethrough your individual experiences, efforts and encounters.

Strategists release the latent energies of their socialnetworks through collaborative inquiries into finding newsolutions, handling challenges and exploiting opportunitiesfor transformation.

Thus by being the strategist you actively look for ways tocreate, leverage and extend synergy throughout your group.

You would want to set-up an environment or atmosphere ofsynergism where your team interacts and has processes orpolicies which encourage interactions in such a way so thatthe total impact of the group's efforts adds up to be morethan the mere sum of their individual contributions.

Logical Action-Step Three: Engage in First-Person Research

Creative leaders make it a point to evaluate the progress oftheir own personal development - such as, the stages ofgrowth and the legitimacy of each stage, they also assesstheir behavior and preferences.

Do you regularly or completely write down or record yourthoughts, feelings and ideas? How much effort do you devoteto keeping a journal, a diary or notes on your inner self?

Are you the type of person who looks for and analyzes thecontradictory desires inside yourself or do you tend tonotice a distinction between your desires and intentions?

What do you use to practice consciousness development orstrengthening activities? In what ways do you structure yourtime to engage in meditation, martial arts, crafts orimprovisational theater kinds of activities?

Logical Action-Step Four: Empower Their Shifts To Change

You can add power to your group through practicingtechniques which enable people to discover the ideas,approaches and solutions hidden within them.

Effective leaders transform interpersonal activities intocreative exercises. They orient their followers to focus onreflecting, learning, thinking, questioning, resolving,creating, discussing, debriefing, playing and interacting.

You would involve and join your stakeholders - partners,associates, peers, suppliers, constituents and others whomight a part or vested interest in your venture - to build ashared vision with as broad a group of your stakeholders aspossible.

Logical Action-Step Five: Capitalize on Wise Synergism

Perhaps you have heard of the principle of master-mind - it'swhere two or more people harmonize their thinking arounda specific project or problem for the express purpose offorming a mind that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Great inventors and leaders like Thomas Edison, GeorgeWashington, Alfred Nobel and many others used theirmaster-mind groups to generate fantastic innovations,policies and achievements for all humankind.

You can leverage the collaborative activities of your teamthrough the strategist's approach to leadership. You canexpand the time horizon of your strategies to encompass arange from 3 to 21 years.

The benefits that strategic leaders provide is that theirgroups enjoy opportunities to:

- Share their reflections on your mission and vision

- Openly disclosure, support and confront any differencesbetween the organization's and their personal values

- Conduct corporate and personal performance appraisals

- Creatively resolve paradoxes or contradictions inproductivity versus inquiry, autonomy versus control, andquality versus quantity

- Interactively develop self-amending and self-correctingstructures

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You can multiply your creativity and creative leadershipskills just by applying these strategies to all of yourproblems, situations and decisions.

Experts in psychology, management and organizationalsciences call these strategies, "action-logic" - theirstudies reveal that professionals generally fall into one ofthree different behavioral categories:

1) Reactive - 5%

2) Preventive - 85%

3) Creative - 10%

This article has described the "creative" forms ofaction-logic - by using these strategies people will bemoved to call you an "individualist", a "strategist" or a"magician"!

"I am personally convinced that one person can be a changecatalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, anyorganization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven anentire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience,respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be atransforming leader." Stephen R. Covey

Are you ready to leverage, empower and energize yourcreative leadership? Are you willing to be that catalyst,agent of change or provocateur who inspires others tocontribute to the growth of your organization?

Ensure the success of your "Strategically Wise SynergisticProcess of Creation" with these 5 "Logical Action Steps" -your teammates and organization will be so glad you did.

Mustard Seed Investments Inc.Copyright © 2004, All rights reserved

To Your Continued Prosperity,
Bill Thomas - Editor
+1-719-544-9949

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http://www.leadership-toolkit.comAll-the-Tools-You-Need-to-Lead-and-Succeed!Mustard Seed Investments, Inc.140 West 29th Street, #161Pueblo, Colorado, 81008 USA

Bill Thomas produces "The Leadership Toolkit" - a webbased training program that improves your leadership skills,energizes creativity and transforms you into a persuasive,empowering leader. Inspire Confidence, Be Creative, EnhanceYour Leadership Influence - Get "All the Tools You Need ToLead!" http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/info.html