Importance to the development of my thinking: This concept is one of the core elements of my thinking, and it has been that way my entire life. I have always found comfort in play, wether it was drawing, doodling, building, or creating robots with office supply items. Play allows me to step outside my comfort zone, tap into new lines of thought that were not prominent before, and allow me to think beyond the constant limits everyday society puts on us. Often restraints like time and money create feelings of anxiety and stress - these limits our ability to effectively lead and create. Remembering that a sense of playfulness can help alleviate these feelings will be a foundational pillar in the development of the way I think.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My existing construct around playfulness, in light of leadership and creativity, is one based on my childhood experiences. I would use play to release stress and help focus on problem solving. I have carried that notion through life with me. As a creative leader, playfulness will allow myself and those I lead to expand their own creativeness and build ideas they might not otherwise have the confidence and ability to do so.

Resource: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_tales_of_creativity_and_play?language=en

Importance to the development of my thinking: This idea has great importance as I continue to develop my thinking over time. I must remember to not only deploy intrinsic motivations as often as possible for my team, but for myself as well. I feel it is so easy to get caught up in the promise of more money or promotions in the corporate world. When in reality, I know I am happier at the core when I am working on something that has meaning, I am passionate about, that could have an impact on others, etc.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that we are all unique and while I may prefer intrinsic motivators, and science proves they work better, some may still prefer extrinsic motivators like money. I must be able to adapt and really understand my team as individuals. That also comes to which intrinsic motivations work for the respective team mate as they may differ on their own. 

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Importance to the development of my thinking: As my thought process develops over time, it is important to be mindful of what is the main focus, what the main goal is. And if necessary, to refine that goal down to something smaller, more achievable. So much energy is lost worrying about or trying to fix large grand problems. I think the first thought should be is this problem in it simplest form or can I simplify it before trying to solve it.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My existing construct around small gestures and goals is that is can be difficult to follow through with. As I examine my mental models, I realize that I tend to be a big picture thinker. But, I do find it to be extremely beneficial to set and achieve small goals that lead up to one big goal rather than stressing over finding a solution to a major problem. Sometimes we find creative solutions in solving smaller problems as we are able to look at it in pieces.

Resource: https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_bennett_design_is_in_the_details

Importance to the development of my thinking: As my thinking develops over time, I will continue challenging myself to remain true to personal and professional missions and the necessary human connections. When I take on new challenges, lead new teams, I will makes sure to include this ideation from the very beginning and revisit it as time goes on to make sure don't lose sight.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that we as a society tend to be so fast paced, focused on instant gratification, and looking to what's next that we easily forget to take a step back and under the 'whys' in the first place. It is here that we find that human connection and it needs to be revisiting every so often as to not lose sight of the bigger picture.

Resource: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_designers_think_big#t-420250

Importance to the development of my thinking: This notion has great importance on the development of my thinking. It reminds me to remain open to opportunity and to embrace the possibility of failure as part of the process. When we learn to design to think, we leave our pre-exposed thoughts of how things should be aside and remain open to newness. It allows us to see for the first time, very much like an anthropologist.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that it takes time and practice to be able to design before we think rather than thinking to design. My nature tendency has always been to plan out as best as possible. I remember as a young child, I always wanted to paint or draw but before I could do so I needed an idea of what I wanted to draw. Without that idea my pen could not touch the paper. I feel like that example is very common today. We tend to follow rules and guides and then make or create. We must learn to create in order to think. I believe our sense of creativeness will grow exponentially this way.

Resource: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_designers_think_big#t-420250

Importance to the development of my thinking: As my thinking processes develop over the course of my life, it will be greatly impacted by this idea. This idea has be constantly reevaluating my own level of understandings and how I think. To be able to understand (to some degree) my own blindspots and systems construct is to be able to understand my weaknesses and what I do not know. With this awareness, I can learn, grow, and discover new endless possibilities.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My existing construct around the idea of ignorance when it comes t creativity is that is leads to bigger and better things. What we don't know is a blessing we choose to discover what it is exactly and make sense of it. The more we enlighten ourselves with our ignorances, the more opportunity we have to create new and better things.

Resource: https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_firestein_the_pursuit_of_ignorance

Importance to the development of my thinking: As my thinking develops over time, I must find ways to train my brain to not hold onto yesterday's news, feelings, and visions as they will cloud today's work. During challenges I will attempt to stop, reflect, and consider if the way I am thinking is because of past notions and behaviors or if it is truly a new perspective.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that we as a society can easily take feelings of yesterday and apply them to the problems of today. We must do our best to start each day anew. When we master this ability, we can attack problems with a set of fresh eyes each and every time. This will enhance creativity output.

Resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1pBhHjGKvI

Importance to the development of my thinking: The brain is not designed to 'brainstorm' at a set time and in a set place, but rather to observe and find patterns over time. This is extremely important to remember as my thinking develops over time. I must try to step outside of my blindspots and mental models in order to effectively observe and distill.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My existing construct around the idea of observation is that it is vital to the success of leaders especially when it comes to creativity. Observation allows the creative leader time to see, distill, reflect, and put forth reinvented ideas or thoughts. This construct is built of what is being observed, for how long, why, and how it is being synthesized. I must remain open to what should be observed, requires attention, and understand deeper purposes.

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Importance to the development of my thinking: This concept, I feel, is one of the most important ones when it comes to the development of my thinking. Without a psychologically safe environment, the rest won't matter. We must feel confident, supported, able, motivated, etc in order to achieve success. Without this, we are limited by our thoughts, perceptions, the possibility of failure, and so on. As I develop over time, I must always take the time to step back and make sure I am created and supporting an environment that is safe.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that in a time when almost everything (results, designs, answers, etc) is based on instant gratification, it is possible to forget to spend the time on creating a strong foundational base that is a safe environment. I have had many personal work experiences that idd not provide this type of environment and it always limited my creativity and results. I felt restricted, scared to raise my hand, and feared being wrong. As a leader, I must break these patterns and create new ones.

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Importance to the development of my thinking: As my thought process develops over time, this idea reminds me to remain open to the possibilities of the uniqueness of those around me, to value differences, and to allow such differences to challenge the system. With challenge and failure we can only learn, grow, and become better. As a thinker, it is important to also reflect after some time and consider making amendments to groups if needed. Listening to feedback from teams will be helpful.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that we tend to group individuals together that have a common background in hopes of creating something new, ground breaking, etc. But in reality, it is our uniqueness and foundational differences that create opportunities to push boundaries and think outside of the box.

Resource: Amabile, T. M. (1998). How to kill creativity (Vol. 87). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. 

Importance to the development of my thinking: This idea it extremely important to the development of my thinking. If i think along the lines of 'we are who we are and there is no change or growth' then I limit myself and my team tremendously. But if I keep an open mind and focus on the thought that we can all grow and develop new skills, the possibilities are endless.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that because society likes to place labels and definitions, we tend to get placed and labeled and follow that path endlessly. It takes time, effort, dedication and motivation to realize we can learn new things and enhance current skills beyond our current state.

Resource: Puccio, G. J., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. C. (2010). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. Sage Publications.

Importance to the development of my thinking: This idea has a lot of influence on my thought development. It reminds me to not only plan for the here and now but to consider possible future outcomes and be willing to address them. I might not have all the answers instantly, but creativity and flexibility will be my best friend when the time comes.

How it synthesis’s into constructs that influence my creative leadership and thinking creativity: My current construct of this idea is that due to our individual blind spots and mental models, we liek to stay in our lanes and not diverge form the path. When we do diverge we are often met with resistance to the change as it is more difficult to change than it is to keep doing what we know how to do. As a creative leader I must break these molds, push boundaries, and create an environment where we don't shy away from change.... we embrace it.

Resource:
Puccio, G. J., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. C. (2010). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. Sage Publications.