The Fertile Unknown

Creativity in Business: My Interview with Cathy Rose Salit

Interview #30 in our Creativity in Business Thought Leader Series is with Cathy Rose Salit, CEO of Performance of a Lifetime, a training and consulting company that brings the tools and framework of theater and improvisation to corporate and organizational life. Cathy began her career as an upstart and risk-taker at the age of 13, when she dropped out of eighth grade and, along with some friends and their more open-minded parents, started an alternative school in an abandoned storefront in New York City. This innovative endeavor led to Random House's publication of their book, Starting Your Own High School. Since then, Cathy has spent her life as an onstage performer, educational pioneer and social entrepreneur, launching innovative businesses and organizations designed as centers for change, learning and growth. Her clients include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Microsoft, Mars, Credit Suisse, the US Olympic Committee, Barclays and John Hopkins Hospital, where her recent work includes a ground-breaking resiliency program for oncology nurses. An accomplished singer, actress, director, and improvisational comic, Cathy can be seen performing in improvised musical comedy with The Proverbial Loons at the Castillo Theatre in New York City.

Q: How does your work relate to creativity?

Cathy:

Person A:    I'm so confused.

Person B:    Me, too.

Person A:     And scared. Things are changing so quickly.

Person B:     I know. I feel like there’s no solid ground to stand on.

Person A:     Can you make heads or tails out of the economy?

Person B:     Nobody can. How can you know what to do with all this uncertainty?
                     I feel like everything I ever knew was true... ISN’T.

Person A:    (Sees Person C walking by) What about you, C?

Person C:    (Starts to sing, to the tune of “Hey Jude”)
                    Hey you, don’t be afraid

                    Just because you can’t know for sure
                    
The sooner you let that really sink in

                    Then we can begin

                    To create some more

Person A:     Wow.

Person C:    (Keeps singing)
                    Hey you, let’s break the rules
                    
And make up new ones for uncertainty

                    The limits of “knowing” get in our way
                    
But this is a new day
                    
Let’s improvise and you’ll see...

Person B:    See what?

Person C:    (Keeps singing)
                    That any time you feel confused

                    Don’t get the blues
                    Just walk up to someone and say “yes, and”
                    ‘Cause don’t you know it’s not just you 

                    Hey, you, it’s true

                    The people you need are all around you

Person A & B: (Can’t help themselves, and join in):
                    Na na na nana na na, nana na na
                    Hey you, (the) illusion’s gone
.
                    Things will never be the same
.
                    So hold on – we’re gonna go for a ride
.
                    We need you by our side
                    To create a new game

(A, B, and C link arms and slowly walk toward the cafeteria. As they do, others join them and the sound of their singing takes another six minutes or so to fade away)

                    Na na na nanananaaa, nanananaaa, Hey you!
                    Na na na nanananaaa, nanananaaa, Hey you!
                    Na na na nanananaaa, nanananaaa, Hey you!
                    Na na na nanananaaa, nanananaaa, Hey you!...

In my work, I help people in organizations to be creative in response to all kinds of challenges and situations in life and work. This little script and song is my (impromptu) response to your question, an invitation to share/practice/create in real time. I’m very committed to helping people engage in a creative process all the time, which means that it doesn't matter whether the "end product" is brilliant.

What do you see as the New Paradigm of Work?

Cathy: We all need to get much better at handling uncertainty, dealing with the unknown (and perhaps unknowable), and embracing change and the unexpected. Organizations (and their leaders) who are interested in developing their people to be more open-minded and to take risks — and are willing to invest in it — are part of a new paradigm of work. They focus on creating a work environment and culture that supports shaking things up and nurtures new ideas and practices. And part of what makes that possible is helping people to grow and develop emotionally, socially and intellectually.

What do you see as the role of creativity in that paradigm?

Cathy: It’s essential. It takes creativity to break out of our habitual ways of working, conversing and interacting — with colleagues, customers, stakeholders, etc. We get stuck in our “scripts,” comfortable with our “stock characters.” I think that exercising the creativity needed to expand your professional and personal repertoire — to try out different “performances” — is crucial. In my work, theater and improvisation provide the creative venue.

For example: a colleague and friend of mine, the developmental psychologist Lenora Fulani, has created an amazing program in New York City called “Operation Conversation: Cops and Kids.” She recruits police officers and inner city young people (whose typical relationship is, to put it mildly, estranged), brings them into a room, and directs them in creating improvisational theater together. It’s awe-inspiring. It completely changes how they see each other, and what they can then say and hear. That’s the power of creativity!

Or Andy Lansing, the CEO from Chicago recently profiled in the New York Times “Corner Office” column, whose first question to potential hires is “Are you nice?” I love that! What a creative question! It conveys a message about what it takes to succeed at this company (which obviously places a premium on how people relate to each other), it challenges the interviewee to think and talk in a way that they don’t expect (personally), and it breaks the mold of what a CEO (or anyone for that matter) would ask a potential new hire.

What mindsets and behaviors do you see as essential for effectively navigating the new work paradigm?

Cathy: Improvise. Perform. Relate to every conversation, meeting, and interaction as an improvisational scene in which you are a performer, writer and director. Break rules and make up new ones — not just in coming up with ideas, but in how we organize what we do together and how we do it in the workplace. Become a creative artist whose medium is everyday life.

What is one approach that people could start applying today to bring more creativity into their work or their business organization?

Cathy: Learn and use the golden rule of improvisers: “Yes, And.”  Our natural tendency is to say “Yes, but,” which blocks the flow of conversation — and any chance of creativity. Saying “yes” means that you accept the person and what she or he has said. “And” lets you build on what your colleague has given you, adding your contribution.

Try this exercise: when you’re in a conversation with a colleague at work, listen extra carefully. Don’t plan what you’re going to say — just listen. When your colleague finishes, say “yes, and” and let that guide what you say next. Even if you don’t agree!

Start paying attention to all of the “Yes, buts’” that you say and hear. See if you can start to bring this “creative positivity” into the meetings and conversations that you’re part of.

Finally, what is Creative Leadership to you?

Cathy: Creative leadership is being willing to fail. That school I started at 13? I can’t honestly say that it was an unqualified success. (To this day I still can’t identify a subjunctive clause or multiply past 6). But for me, “success” or no, it changed everything. It taught me the fundamental importance of creatively questioning and creatively building new ways of living and working in our world.

Creative leadership is doing things before we know how (and encouraging others to as well). Our culture, with its insistence on knowing how things are going to turn out (an illusion in any event), inhibits our appetite for and skill at bringing new things into existence.

Creative leadership means working and playing well with others. Creativity is not a solo act. Everyday creativity is an ensemble performance, in which people build on one another’s contributions to create new possibilities and new understandings of what they are doing together. Creative leaders model all this in what they do and how they do it, and don’t swerve from their commitment to helping other people take risks — which as often as not means taking the risk with them. You can’t control it! Let things emerge and then take on the creative challenge of figuring out what to do next.
 
Cathy will be presenting an improv-based breakout session at our upcoming Creativity in Business Conference in Washington, DC on October 23, 2011. Register at http://creativity-conf-2011.eventbrite.com

Creativity in Business: My Interview with Leilani Henry

Interview #29 in The Creativity in Business Thought Leader Series is with
Leilani Raashida Henry, M.A., a leader in the field of workplace creativity and work-life balance. A pioneer on bringing innovative whole brain strategies to personal, professional and organization transformation, Leilani is President of Being and Living® Enterprises, and is the creator of Brain Jewels®, a multi-sensory coaching process. She worked for 13 years as an internal productivity/creativity consultant with Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and Jones Intercable. Leilani’s lifetime experience in the performing and visual arts is integrated into her unique approach to leadership, creativity and performance. She is cited in books, national publications and organizations such as Centered on the Edge, Corporate Meetings & Incentives, Fast Company, Fetzer Institute, New Visions in Business and Thrivability. Her clients have included AT&T, Intuit, Time Warner, HBO, University of Colorado Boulder, HP, the EPA, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation and HSBC Bank among others.

How does your work relate to creativity?

Leilani: Individual and collective transformation requires engagement of the whole person at work. It brings the group as the "new art form" into being. We can do more as an inspired collective, than we can do alone. Rather than leaving our true thoughts and feelings unexpressed in service of getting the job done, my work makes the invisible more visible. I enable what's not seen, heard, or allowed to surface safely, as a catalyst for better relationships and organizational change. My work also encourages groups to think better collectively by challenging assumptions and uncovering possibilities. Creativity is the opposite of certainty - it allows us to co-create with others what is emerging, for the benefit of ourselves and the larger whole. I also focus on stress management to increase the flow of creativity.
 
What do you see as the New Paradigm of Work?

Leilani: When you unleash the whole person (body, mind and spirit), you unleash creativity in the work place. Employees become partners and investors in the organization, and are valued for the multiple intelligences they can provide. This new way of working also includes patience with chaos, which is critical because the new paradigm in more non-linear than linear. A respect for the differences in pace and style of working is needed, as well as honoring differences, in general.

The new way of working requires the ability and willingness to hear and connect with all stakeholders, in order to increase the bottom line and contribution to society. Work-life balance keeps everything in check, so people can bring their best selves to their projects and take time for regeneration and what they value. It now takes our whole brains to deal with the complexity of the marketplace and the chaos in our lives. The organization is freer to produce extraordinary results when everyone is pulling together, understands their part in the whole and believes that their contribution is essential for the organization to thrive. Increased connection between all parts of the organization encourages the organization to become greater than the sum of it's parts.
 
What do you see the role of creativity in that paradigm?

Leilani: Creativity allows us to do things more elegantly, more coherently and have fun in the process because we engage our whole selves. Behind creativity is 'espirit de corp' - the morale -the exuberance needed to fully be present at work. It is the underpinnings of being able to do more with less. If we wish to keep up with accelerated growth of our companies, or with market turbulence, creativity can help us have a more 'possibilities' outlook on that which we have no control. Business can grow more organically. Tapping into the creativity of employees increases positive customer service (both internal and external customers). Each person can see more easily who they are, how they fit and what difference they make. It becomes easier to play a greater role in serving a greater good, partner with the community, and be more profitable.

What practices and mindsets do you see as essential for effectively navigating the new work paradigm?

Leilani: When organizations require unlimited hours and energy to be an employee, work-life balance is not maintained, effective communication is eroded and participation in the larger whole, can decrease. We put our heads down, do our work and don't come up for air until we complete OUR piece of the pie.  It becomes more essential to get one's part completed than it is to connect with others around intention of what we are doing, what works best when trying to get things done under pressure and sharing what you/we are learning.

Self care is essential. Rather than ignore or put off until later, pay attention to the signals your body gives you regarding stress and rest. Keep in touch with what is emerging, so you are not blind-sighted by external change. Imagine "What if…" and look at alternatives, upside-down scenarios to keep things fresh and alive. A business can also pay attention to and openly acknowledge signs of stress and lack of productivity. This could prevent mistakes, accidents, waste and a climate of discouragement or unnecessary conflict.

What is one approach people could start applying today to bring more creativity into their work or their business organization?

Leilani: "Pay Attention to Signals"


Divide into 4 teams or if alone, divide your paper into 4 squares.

1. Ask: What signals (unexpected events) have we seen in the outside world in the last month? Examples: hurricanes, stock market crash, consensus in the European Union.

2. What signals have we seen in our customers, clients, patrons? Examples: more people unsubscribing to our lists, customers downgrading, customers sharing information about how well they like our company.

3. What signals have we seen from internal relationships between depts./business units?  Examples: less information sharing, stealing each others employees, collectively problem solving has gone up.

4. What signals have you seen within yourselves? Examples: more feelings of frustrations, 80 hours a week feels normal, I keep stubbing my same toe on the desk, I meditated every day this week.

Let your mind wander as you see what messages come up, as you reflect on these signals. What's might be behind the signals? Brainstorm potential meanings for the signals. Find at least one positive outcome from the signals, as well as, one action to start, stop or continue doing. Ask: What might be the meaning of these events, signs or signals for me/us?

Finally, what is Creative Leadership to you?

Leilani: Authenticity, boldness, transparency, engagement, appreciation of the uniqueness each person and each part of the system brings. When a leader tunes his/her instrument first and ensures that each instrument in the orchestra is tuned, harmony is created and people are drawn to see and hear what the organization has to offer. The least amount of effort for the most reward and gain is present.

Leilani will be presenting a whole-brain breakout session at our upcoming Creativity in Business Conference in Washington, DC on October 23, 2011. Register at http://creativity-conf-2011.eventbrite.com

Our 2011 Creativity in Business Conference - October 23 in DC!

http://www.creativity-conference.com 

Come learn, think, create and engage with applied-creativity thought leaders, pioneering entrepreneurs and business innovators from around the country - in the fields of creativity and innovation, organizational change, social media, and transformational leadership - for a full-day event focused on:

* Harnessing and focusing individual, group and organizational creativity
* Organizational structures/business models conducive for creativity & innovation
* The integration of creativity, purpose, business and serving the greater good
* Bringing your whole brain - and whole self - to work

This new breed of business conference conference is about going beyond talk-only into exeperiential immersion - immersing you into the experience of creative process and your own creativity. The content is is designed to be informative, intelligent and practical. It will expand your knowledge and understanding. The experiences are designed to be rich and revelatory. They will expand your self.

New ideas, new innovations, new systems and new structures depend on accessing new levels of creativity. At this event, we will explore different facets of creativity as the key driver in navigating and thriving in the new work paradigm.

Come engage your whole brain with practices such as applied storytelling, improvisation, visual thinking, creative inquiry and dialogue, movement and embodiment along with innovative business models and approaches you can apply right away to your work or business.

Conference: 9:00-5:30 Festival: 5:30-7:30

CONFERENCE:  - Lively, Content-rich, Experiential Break-out Sessions each with a different focus related to the theme of Applied Creativity in Business  - Engaging Thought Leader Panels explore the creativity-centered work paradigm through the lens' of leadership, social media and creative thinking. There are no keynoters - just thinkers, leaders and facilitators in service of YOUR creativity and your business.

IMAGINATION FESTIVAL:  Improvisation, Live Music, Connectworking, Book Signings, Give-Aways and tasty hors d'oeuvres.

REGISTRATION:  Earlybird discount through Friday, September 16, 2011. Seating is limited - early registration is recommended. http://www.creativity-conference.com

Hope you can join us! :-)