First, the start of great leadership is leading yourself. And that means being self-aware and increasingly knowing your Self. People in positions of power who have no self-awareness end up manipulating and coercing not leading.

Leaders operate best when they are present and responsive - neither of those states have fear in them.

This is where creativity comes in. When we are attending to our own self and our “stuff” we open the channels to creative thinking. We are creative by nature so it’s not that you have to become creative, it’s that you need to remove what’s in the way of you simply being yourself.

Responding(vs reacting from fear) to what is in front of you, personal, family, or relationship challenges, staffing issues, funding issues, product issues, etc, is a creative process. We have an opportunity in front of us to do something and we allow our creativity to flow and see many possibilities for improvement and resolution. Then the mind is used for creation rather than blocking change from occurring.

When you are in fear of change or failure, you are reactive, and creativity stops flowing. And people around you feel it. Fear spreads from this place and not only are you stopping possibilities but you are sending the message that others should close down too. This is not leadership it’s management or worse simply manipulation and control. Yuck.

Leaders who can access their creative expression - which comes in many, many forms seen and unseen- have to work much less. They aren’t spending all their energy trying to control because they are seeing with clarity what everyone around them does well. They are inviting in and collaborating with others who also have their own unique forms of creativity.

At one point I was working in a company and taking off three weeks every three months to travel. THAT is a result of allowing creative energy to flow. I luckily had some great models for this and was able to pick up and learn more about working this way.

Creative energy in leadership creates a momentum. It uses way less energy and is always creating opportunity.

You already are this creative force - what can you do to unleash it and generate more ease and joy for you and everyone around you?