Inspired by the way Dr. Sam Walton leads The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. School of Education at St. John Fisher College, in Rochester NY... I am pleased to kick off our Creative Mind Series with Sam’s sort of creativity. 
His amazing innovation and acumen for collaboration draws talented thinkers from diverse backgrounds. I asked Sam...
If you were to describe your most creative trait in one word…what would that word be…? Reflection…. The ability to assess oneself …before you assess someone else…. Personal reflection helps me to open my mind to receive information from another person … and to know who they are … as well as to understand what they are about. I have to look beyond myself to see the other person…. It’s a bit like stepping outside of myself … to meet others at another level…. Otherwise, I tend to come with a set of assumptions that prevent me from seeing other people as they are. In order to see and understand you, I have discovered that I have to get beyond myself and my inherent limitations.
What question would a 10-year-older-you ask yourself to get more creativity up and rolling today? There are two questions I’d ask…. One is… What new experiences would I like to pursue … that would support my own further development? The second question ... a 
10-year older me would ask is… What are some things I might do to initiate an experience that is stimulating and new ... and provides an opportunity to learn from different perspectives?
In what ways can I apply new information ... that allows me to experiment …? How can I create an improved way of seeing life experiences? I like to apply new experiences with an eye toward heightened awareness
What creative ideas have you materialized lately and what did you learn from these? I would say that most recently I created a non-traditional approach to doctoral studies… Let me give you an example…. In a traditional doctoral program people work in isolation in developing a doctoral proposal … a dissertation proposal and then the dissertation itself… The isolation built into that process does not necessarily make the most challenging or rewarding experience for the doctoral student. It seemed that it might be more effective ... to involve others in the development ... and even in discussions about how one completes the dissertation proposal and how one develops the dissertation.
What do you see as an obstacle to creativity in your workplace? One thing I’ve come to believe as a leader… is that an obstacle should be seen as a challenge which is nothing more than the flip side of an opportunity…. I really do see challenges as opportunities. That’s my philosophy…. An example, though, of what gets in the way of embracing more creativity… is the organizational culture in which we operate … and where creativity is not often rewarded…. Policies and procedures that leaders have to follow … often do not promote creativity or innovation. In order to stimulate creative problem solving… you first have to break down the organization's requirements … and to the extent they limit creativity you need to come up with new options and solutions…. What are some of the cultural limitations which at times take away people’s incentives… and what gets rewarded? Most organizations award conformity. In my judgement, conformity is the antithesis of creativity.
What solution brought you the best results for your efforts? There are a lot that I can speak to…. Let me focus on one solution in particular… I would have to point to collaborative planning … implementation … and evaluation…. And the integration of these elements, as the key to unlocking individual and group creativity. To be more specific ... in developing the strategic plan for the School of Education, we involved students ... faculty ... staff ... and others from inside and outside the School of Education, and the college, including our community partners…. It took us longer and we had more engagement than if we had worked alone…. The results of this collaboration … though … transcended the results than an individual or any smaller group results could have achieved. We now have a collective mindset and we have both collective responsibility and accountability for the results … all because we drew in others and we worked together.
Thanks for the wisdom here … for your extravagant generosity … and for your nuances of creativity … that creates excellence for so many others, Sam…. I am so glad you kicked off our series on the creative mind at work… and wish you well on the innovative projects you are launching. I hope we can do this again…it was fun….
» Reflection Takes the "Every" out of 'Day" from BrainBasedBusiness
Yesterday was especially reflective for me … partly because of John Updyke’s concern about people drawn to fundamentalism which can lead to terrorism… and partly because Dr. Sam Walton’s story of lived creativity. These ... [Read More]
Tracked on: June 6, 2006 7:15 AM | Permalink to Trackback