Time Away from the Office Boosts Your Creativity & Productivity!

Well, I’ll confess! I played hooky from my work schedule yesterday afternoon and went for a walk on a beautiful spring day. I felt guilty, of course. There’s way too much going on at NorthSky to take time away in the middle of the day. But I shrugged it off and enjoyed the blooming flowers, trees, and did some bird watching. You can probably predict what I discovered. I came back from my walk energized and with a strategy in mind for two complex consulting engagements that I had been grappling with all week. We know this, don’t we? That taking a break and building in recreational time is essential to our work. That some of our most amazing and creative ideas come like a bolt during a bike ride or an afternoon on the boat.

Think about it. When was the last time you truly had a creative or innovative idea? What triggered it? Sometimes working in a group, throwing off constraints like worrying about the budget or the board’s reaction, loosens up our thinking and unleashes our best ideas. Have you been at a family picnic or holiday party and suddenly the great inspiration arrives, seemingly from nowhere. (Well, maybe it was the Chardonnay…)

According to Virginia Smith Harvey at the University of Massachusetts (http://www.indiana.edu/~futures/creation.ppt#256,1,Finding Creative Solutions), we are creative because it’s fun, energizing, and provides opportunities to solve problems. We aren’t creative because our lives are built around routines, it can get us into trouble, and because it requires us to abandon logic, practically and what we already know. Frankly, we’re taught not to be creative. To be creative we need to abandon what we know and look at things differently. Do things differently.

I think this is good advice and that we need to look for opportunities for recreation, exercise and to work in fresh settings. We need to build creativity exercises into our planning and problem solving sessions.

Much has been published about encouraging creativity in your work. One book I particularly enjoy and use often is “A Whack on the Side of the Head: How to Unlock Your Mind for Innovation.” Another is the training series, “Games Trainers Play,” Scannell and Newstrom.

Enjoy the spring and don’t forget to share your creative ideas with the rest of us!

Pam Evans

Post your thoughts and ideas about creativity.

Get Inspired! Investing in Your Leadership Development Pays Out Multiple Dividends to Your Nonprofit Organization

It’s not often that we take time away from the office to consider our career and what it means to be a nonprofit leader. Yet, nonprofit leadership is much more than a resume' of skills and accomplishments and worthy of our careful consideration. It’s a way of thinking, an approach, personality, style and of course, a passion for the work that energizes us and inspires others. But how do tap into that energy and inspire others without feeling particularly inspired ourselves? Inspiration, passion, and energy are needed in the nonprofit world more than ever. But with a jammed packed schedule and competing priorities, how do we remain enthusiastic and excited about the work?

This week I had the opportunity to attend MNA’s Super Conference to scope out workshop ideas and trainers for NorthSky’s professional development series. I attended several sessions that have recharged me and remind me how important it is to take time to learn something new and listen to the success stories around us. We feel a little guilty, don’t we, about leaving the office and spending the money on our leadership development? But, isn’t it possible that just one good idea, solution, or new resource, makes it worth it? Or maybe just provides a reminder of why we are in the nonprofit field?

Our nonprofit organizations need us to be energetic, enthusiastic and creative problem solvers. Investing in your own growth is an investment in your organization and in the growth of your team.

Take Time on May 18 or 19 to Join NorthSky and Lawrence Technological University at the Mission Driven Path: Pursuing a Career in the Nonprofit Sector. Or find other opportunities this spring to learn something new and recharge your leadership battery.