“I’ve got an idea.” — Ideators like me.
“Let’s not make any assumptions. — Clarifiers, like my counterpart.
The surveys we’d completed a few weeks prior revealed “thinking profile” preferences.
A superficial look at this, it makes perfect sense.
I spew ideas like they’re coming out of a fire hose (or several at once, depending on my coffee intake).
And she streamlines my thinking, collecting, synthesizing, and organizing my haphazard thoughts, barely strewn together.
I’d say this one of many reasons we make a great team. (And I apologized today for likely driving her absolutely batty with every decision we process and make together.) She’s a great leadership partner, and oh so patient with me.
When it came time to look at the team data, the composite revealed what we likely all knew to be true. We did and continue to do good work together, making sound decisions quickly, and executing them seamlessly. But we also leave little room to tinker with our thoughts. Guess a global pandemic will do that, even to the best of teams.
Being an ideator, I can’t help but begin to consider how we can create space to pursue innovation, that’s not crisis induced. A few ideas I’m toying with, that will certainly overlook details, while also taking an intuitive approach to innovation.
(Yes, you guessed it, I’m using the ideator language here.)
I think about what I’ve been drawn to read and think about in the last two years.
Recently, I’d come across an article that resonated with me, personally and professionally, Creating “White Space:” The Key to Increased Creativity and Productivity. I was particularly intrigued by the questions posed by the author, and in this post, feel compelled to respond, from my point of view.
- When are you most creative?
It seems to me that early mornings are particularly productive for me. Maybe it has something to do with my prioritizing getting a restful night’s sleep. Or maybe it’s my hydration and fitness routine. Or, as I’ve mentioned reading in Daniel Pink’s When, perhaps it’s because I’m what’s known as a lark. Regardless, my best ideas seem to flow easily at this time, and I often capitalize on them, keeping notes nearby to jot them as I engage in a workout.
- When do you have the most energy?
I find I’m most energized (no surprise) once I’m in the car on the morning commute. I certainly get another predictable surge 12 hours after waking, but I can’t be sure that my caffeine habit doesn’t have something to do with that as well.
- How and when do you take breaks throughout your day?
Scheduling and committing to breaks is something I need to work on to become better at doing with consistency. Pink, in When, writes about the research done by Desktime supporting 52 minutes of work, followed by 17 minutes of breaks. This seems to coincide nicely with a school day, which is generally divided up into 41 minute periods of relative quiet (on a day without surprises).
- When do you zoom out and give yourself time to just think, and be, and breathe?
My simple answer is, I don’t, unless of course shower time can count. This is something I have to prioritize this summer, and it’s actually one of the final components to a set of habits I am building. This is also something that I’d like to become better at doing, in support of others who I spend my days alongside. I’m wondering, is this where we regain that team creativity and innovation time?
So yes, there’s work to do for our team. What’s exciting, though, is that “the work” consists of allocating time to think, and this “work” will ultimately help individuals and make for more efficient and effective team outcomes.