Reimagining Leadership In a Creative World
As a leader contributing to the workforce, through speaking and consulting, it's rather obvious to me as I liaison with companies and organizations of all industries that there is an increasing need for creative innovation to solve problems we face in society. Now more than ever the pipeline to Leadership opportunities - especially for black and brown Leaders needs reimagining. Let’s talk about it.
The power of creativity isn’t just for the advancement of the Arts.
It’s for building a legacy you’re proud to leave behind.
There’s something incredible that happens when you let go of what’s expected of you and allow yourself to explore your potential, and let it guide you where you know you belong.
To be inquisitive, and curious and to dare to explore beyond the "standard" path to success requires some quite audacious moves. It requires you to define for yourself what you value most and what barriers exist that keep you from achieving it. It requires identifying the problems you face and coming up with a solution to resolve them. It requires creativity to lead your life to success.
I learned early in my life and career the power of being an out-of-the-box creative leader. I've never fit the mold of what a conventional leader looked like.
Coming up in the nineties, I'd been inundated with images of stereotypical professional leaders, celebrated for decorated academic achievements as they climbed the corporate ladder taking their idealisms along with them to the top of the c-suite spaces they would eventually influence for the worse or better.
Sadly, many of these examples of leaders looked nothing like me. The majority of the archetypes for leaders were caucasian men with which I shared little to no shared life experiences.
When I developed the mission for Creative Flow School I vowed to do my part in changing this for my up-and-coming peers, our future leaders.
For me to effectively serve people, especially black and brown folks looking to shine bright in their careers without restraints, I had to develop a framework that would charge my people and me to exercise not just our technical proficiencies -- but create a foundation rooted in honoring our unique creative DNA.
The changemakers of today that I admire most like Michelle Obama, Pinky Cole, John Henry, Tabitha Brown, Diego Perez, Arlan Hamilton, Solange Knowles and Alexandra Elle all share at least one common quality; they live and breathe creativity.
Here’s the thing: Creativity is the #1 most desired soft skill in the workforce. It is a valuable tool that levels the playing field for people of all backgrounds by expanding our cognitive thinking process and equipping us with the perspective needed to solve problems to make the world a better place.
Creativity is a must-have leadership skill because employers value innovation to address challenges and create solutions.
Yet if that creativity is stifled in the workforce, or before we even reach it (like in underserved grade schools), it has potential to phase out of our Leadership skill sets.
I’m big on using creativity to flow and thrive — especially to cultivate the career and life of our dreams.
Let’s imagine a world where creativity is free to blossom and expand the minds of not just our teams, but us as black and brown Leaders who desire to make a real, lasting impact on our Future Leaders.
Creativity in corporate culture
Historically, Corporate Leadership consisted of a few big bosses being in charge and making all critical decisions. The boss would give the instructions and the employees would follow them. Don’t question them because they know best…or else they wouldn’t be a Leader, right?
If only one voice holds value, there’s no room for collaboration or communication, an intersection where creativity flourishes.
Creativity is at the helm of successful corporations and businesses of all kinds that encourage Leaders to collaborate to:
Actively engage with their teams
Work together to strategize and execute solutions
Build safe spaces that value diverse perspectives and allow their team to share their powerful ideas
One thing I strive for with my team is to ensure we’re always on the same page about how we flow as a business.
As leaders, we must leverage creative thinking to teach marginalized students, educators, employees, managers, and leaders of every kind how to innovate - so that they can come together to solve problems that matter.
Through my mission, I committed to collaboration - valuing my team’s ideas as much as my own, making the space for each person I work with to speak up and contribute to serving our clients and community better.
I believe that while it's important to have a proper chain of command in place, hierarchy isn't always the answer. Collaborative creative innovation has always been the secret to my success in my business and serving others.
While everyone has their specific zones of Creative Genius, collaborative creativity empowers the bottom line for all and yields leadership opportunities and professional growth more readily available for our people.
Equity through creativity
The education-to-opportunity gap is a critical issue in America. The more marginalized a school is, the more education suffers. In these communities, the funds just aren’t often prioritized in curriculum championing creativity.
Our Future Leaders are often in attendance, their curiosity and creative cognitive processes under-nurtured. And as they enter the workforce, it’s common for them to be further stunted creatively and financially by discrimination.
I've certainly experienced the not-so-subtle implications of being a Black woman speaking in front of a room full of non-Black and brown people. Being asked to prove my worth, and fight for my rightful place to contribute to the advancement of my peers.
That’s why I’m on a mission to inspire my fellow Leaders to practice heart-centered guidance and normalize taking a creative, collaborative approach to problem-solving. One that:
Encourages open dialogue to hear the Untapped Potential within your team
Challenges their ideas and preconceived notions for unconventional solutions
Grounds their mission to diverse, peer-to-peer community exchange
Exercises leadership without limits
What’s the next step for future Black and brown Leaders?
Creativity is about learning from each other.
After a decade of working with businesses and teaching Creativity as an essential tool, I learned that it doesn’t matter if you’re a college graduate with your master’s or fresh out of high school with no job experience — everyone’s perspective brings something valuable to the table.
So let’s embody Creative Innovation in the workplace and make room for our teams to do the same.
Have you been thinking about making a bigger impact in your community? Creative innovation is a great place to start.
