How we approach our work sometimes can be more important the actual work that we create. When approaching our work, there are a few traits that seem common to successful creative leaders.

• Grace filled
• Willing To Challenge the Status Quo
• Curious
• Willing to ask questions relentlessly
• Self-Motivated
• Understand Vision
• Seek Great not Good
• Embrace Change
• Take Risks
• Mobile
• Understand Frames
• Reflective
• Connect Dots
• Never Stop Learning
• Trust Intuition
• Respect Data
• Understand the importance of collaboration
• Resilient
• Willing to be wrong
• Persevering
• Forgiving
• Desire to make others and other things better
• Never Satisfied
• Humble
• Hustle

Anything you would add to the list?

“Organizations don’t innovate. People do.” – M.Ditkoff

Author Mitch Ditkoff is a leading voice on innovation. In fact, Ditkoff recently was ranked as one of the top 5 speakers in the world on this subject. In a recent article, Ditkoff wrote about the “Four Currents of a Culture of Innovation.”

Through years of research and discovery, Ditkoff and his team identified the fact that if we want to innovate in our organizations, teams, or lives, we have to understand that there are four “currents” always at work and interacting with each other. These four currents are:

• Top Down – Where leaders focus on developing cultures where innovation is made a priority. Vision casting from this position is vital. Teams have to feel that leaders understand the necessity to do whatever it takes to establish climates that enhance innovation. This current allows and requires leaders to put resources towards innovation while intentionally building cultures that seek innovation at every level and every minute. The norm – or good enough – can’t be accepted. The ultimate sign that this culture war is being won is when teams love where they work, can’t wait to come in and do what they do, and don’t operate from a “business as usual” posture.
• Bottom Up – Everyone needs to desire innovation for this premise to work. Best ideas always win if they come from the “creative team” or the “finance team.” Ideas are the jump-starter of innovation. When everyone knows their ideas matter, it removes silos and empowers innovation to not just succeed, but thrive. When teams feel empowered to innovate and be creative, they don’t feel the need to wait around for leaders to permission creativity; they actually become champions for innovation, positivity, and change.
• Outside In – Innovation doesn’t matter if it does not make an impact on our end users. Customers, attendees, contributors, and tribes have to feel the difference. If we don’t know who these people are, what they want, and have taken the time to learn how to respond to their needs, we won’t know how to innovate in a way that empowers momentum. Innovation without results that move us forward is not really innovation. We have to make sure we’re finding ways to include the end user in the process.
• Inside Out – This is where we activate our teams based on their passions and desires. When we figure out what makes our teams click – what fuels and drives our teams – then we’re creating spaces where innovation can excel. When we do this, we move into a role of leadership and avoid management. Teams move and create out of passion not based on tasks.

When we find the right blend of currents, we empower people to innovate for their organizations.

As leaders we can help create clear paths for these currents when we identify and then equip each current to succeed. It takes intentionality and everyone buying into the plan. When this happens, we get to do stuff that is fun, exciting, and leaves an impact. It’s when we’re working but not going to work…and there’s really nothing like that feeling.

Are you working in a current?

Free like no cost…not free like he is locked up.

Well, he is locked up…locked up in the studio making new worship songs.

The same guy who brought you Like A Lion and Pursuit has new songs…and they are dope.

Daniel is giving away a new song from his upcoming album on NoiseTrade. Check out the video that you can use in services if you are so inclined.

We start with an idea.

Usually it’s not a good idea – it’s just an idea.

Ideas start conversations that birth other ideas – better ideas – until we get the right idea.

But, we NEVER get there if we’re not brave enough to:

• Step out and share.
• Vocalize our idea.
• Become vulnerable.
• Be willing to fail.
• Take a chance.
• Be brave.
• Be audacious.
• Be willing to risk.
• Start.
• Start again.
• Keep working.
• Not settle.
• Finish.

Being creative is not about being cool, it’s about being brave enough to ignore safety.

Being creative isn’t about knowing the answer, it’s about being willing enough to ask harder questions.

It doesn’t take the most creative person to ignite great ideas, just the person brave enough to try something different.

Can you be brave today?

Let’s be honest, it doesn’t take a lot to sidetrack a creative person or a good idea. We actually have to work hard just to keep ideas alive, let alone make them successful. The resistance around us is looking for any and every opportunity or excuse to get us to stop doing creative work – excuses like:

• That will take too much effort.
• That will take too much time.
• That will take too much energy.
• This does not make sense.
• There’s no space for creativity.
• We can just do something simple, it doesn’t have to be creative.
• You should always follow the rules.
• Stop asking questions.
• Don’t fight the status quo.
• Don’t try anything crazy.
• That’s not practical.
• What if you fail?
• What will people think?
• It’s never been done before.
• That’s impossible.
• I’m not creative.
• When we last tried this, it didn’t work.
• We can’t afford to fail.
• What is the ROI.
• Failure is final.
• That’s not how we do things here.
• That is not ‘us.’

Words have power. Words can speak life that inspires and uplifts and – just as fast – words can discourage and destroy the spirit of an idea or a creative person. Manage your words, watch what you say, and speak life!

We all want to have better ideas. We want to work and live in places where we’re poised to be our absolute best. We all have the ability to be better creatively; it’s part of our nature. While there are some personality traits that are common among creative people (being open to experiences, impulsive, in touch with our emotions, and non-conformists), there is now research that supports how environments can enhance our creativity. From 42 studies on the relationship between creativity and environment, these fourteen keys to enhancing creativity emerged:

1. Positive exchanges between teams, team members, and departments
2. Being stimulated intellectually
3. Working where there is a challenge
4. Flexibility and support in taking risks
5. Being supported by superiors
6. Healthy and supportive relationships with superiors
7. Peer groups that are positive and supportive
8. Clear vision and clear mission
9. The ability to believe in the organization
10. Being involved, not just being a pawn
11. Being clear on what needs to be done
12. Rewarded for good work – emotionally and financially
13. Being fully resourced
14. Having the space to do work without being micro-managed

When we’re not working in these types of environments we have two choices: 1. Quit and go someplace else or 2. Work to create these environments. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to build environments where our artists can create their best art.
Do you get to work in an environment where you thrive? Are you given the ability to be your absolute creative best? How can you help create these type environments?

Last Easter we had an idea.

We wanted to try something different. Something artistic that could connect to the content of the day and the message Pete prepared. A piece that would help drive home the power of the day…a day that represents God’s love for us and grace he designed for our lives.

Normally, big days like Easter are not days we would take big chances. These type of days are days when we have high visitor attendance. We can use the rest of the year to experiment and on these kind of days we should put the best of our best on display for an audience who may not come back to church for another year. There is no reason to create distractions with stuff that might not work. Make the day right top to bottom with stuff we know will be amazing and hopefully draw people to the hope of Salvation.

But on this day, we felt passionate about the song we found, the content Pete developed, and the idea we believed could make a special moment. So we went to work. We created this piece:

The piece was a song written by The City Harmonic. They are a super talented group of worship leaders. A few weeks ago we found out the band are using the piece in their lives shows. Then today, they released a new music video that incorporated our piece with their art. It is AWESOME! Check it out here.

We love when God allows us the opportunity to create art. We are thankful for that gift. And we are working our absolute hardest to create art that impacts our local community while connecting to what God is doing at Cross Point…and when possible the Church at large. It is cool to see this piece working inside worship that takes place around the world.

Remember when we first started? Every day we did something for the first time. Innovation was not a goal, it was a necessity…and it worked. It worked really well. In fact, it worked so well we found some things we got REALLY good at doing and we shifted from innovating to executing.

During that shift, we started to get scared of innovation because innovation and new ideas might change the methods we found that worked. We traded new ideas and innovation for successful execution. It’s an honest situation, but it gets scary. When we stop innovating and ONLY execute, we stop growing creatively.

It’s a fight every single day to avoid this very tempting trap. Never sacrifice great for good. So, how do we make sure we continue to innovate? How do we get unstuck if we have slipped into “execution only” mode?

1. Identify the innovators on our teams. Who are the people who have not gotten sucked into the norm? Lean on them. Usually, they are going to be new to our organization. They tend to be young and not know what is or isn’t acceptable. Some of them may be attendees or volunteers. They have a different lens and filter. It’s key to LISTEN more than we TALK to these people. Empower them to use their voice…it does not mean you’re a bad leader, it actually means you’re a smart leader.

2. Ask Questions About Everything. Questions inspire creativity. Statements cement fear. Why can’t we change this? Why would we not want to try something different. How can we make this better. How will people respond if we adjust this thing?

3. Embrace Teams. If we have ideas we know will work but we don’t have the bandwidth to pull them off, create a team to work on the idea. Pull people from other areas and task them to work together. It will help your creative culture and help get things done. An hour of intentional work will move the ball. Further, people working on projects that are outside of their area will be more creative through the process. This is a great space for testing before an idea gets too costly or too far down the line if it’s not viable.

4. Focus on passion, not job description. If someone is passionate about something, create space for them to work on that idea or project. Just because it doesn’t fit in their job description doesn’t mean they can’t excel at these endeavors. Some of our best projects or ideas will come from passion, not paper.

5. Study Others. As connected as we all are, we can learn from one another better now than at any time in our history. Use twitter, Facebook, internet campuses, podcasts, blogs, and email to find out the HOW and the WHY of people we admire. Technology allows us to be closer than ever. Take advantage of the tools, but don’t stop studying. Always be ready to share what we are learning with our teams. This will also help you identify some unique new ideas that may not be happening in your community or in the world, for that matter.

6. Be Intentional With Creativity. Don’t assume ideas are coming. Change the canvas often. Be intentional with creating space for ideas to be developed. Invest in creativity and culture. It does not have to cost a lot to break the norms of the day. Getting out of the routine will help you get back to everyday innovation.

7. Put Execution Into Vision. I know it sounds like an odd idea to break out of execution mode by executing, but our new ideas will never change our norm if don’t put them into action. As we develop the new things God has for us, we have to be sure they fit into our vision. If they don’t, we are just trying to be cool or different for the sake of being cool or different. That is never successful. Never waiver for the vision, but never let grass grow under our feet by not putting ideas into action.

How do you fight the temptation to execute more than you innovate?

It takes intentionality to live in our sweet spots. Organizations, teams, job or whatever is not created to set us up to be our best, they are set up to achieve an objective. That’s the nature of a position. So we have to be intentional to be our creative best by making sure we are managing the process of finding our sweet spot and then staying in it over time. Here are 5 keys to knowing if we are headed in the right direction:

• Explore the world & opportunities. To figure out where we are our best we have to do a little exploration. What makes us tick? What makes us feel we matter? Stop focusing on the title on your door and more on the passion in your heart.
• What excites you? When you use your core strengths it becomes obvious to everyone around you. What projects make you feel most engaged? Where do you feel the energy?
• What makes you unique? What sets you apart from everyone else in your organization? What do you bring to the table that no one else can bring inside your organization? Does your history create space for you to bring a different toolbox to the job than anyone else? Your unique YOU will help you approach the job and projects different, and thus gives you a lens no one else can have. When you feel this happening you know you are on to something that
• Put a tag on it. Name your strengths and identify your weaknesses. When you do this you know what should be delegated and where you can excel. Further, as you develop you will start naming strengths in other, strengths that can help them be their best and curate the best possible team. Avoid using cliché words. Be creative and unique in how you frame yourself, your team, and your work.
• Be scared & brave. When you are scared…you are probably doing the right thing. When you are forced to be brave you figure out that this fear and courage is forcing you to engage in something bigger than you…big enough to challenge you and make you better. When we do work that does not scare us or force us to be brave we are not being challenged enough to get into our sweet spot.

So, are you living in your sweet spot? What are you going to do about it? What other questions do you ask yourself to make sure you are finding your sweet spot?

Recently, I discovered a post written around the concept of Idea Magnets. Idea Magnets are people who attract ideas and other creative people around their projects and thus, create amazing content repeatedly. Idea Magnets are necessary on any creative team that’s going to grow and enhance organizations. They’re necessary because they bring out the best in others. They also balance inspiration and implementation. Here are eleven characteristics of Idea Magnets:

• They’re always absorbing diverse and interesting points of reference. They collect all the time and this allows them to always have content ready to share and ideas in the bucket.
• They ask rich questions. They understand how questions uncover the real problem and solution.
• They prefer to listen before they talk.
• They generalize opportunities and challenges in an effort to find places from which to develop and create new possibilities.
• They are connectors. They connect people, problems, solutions, and resources. Sometimes these are obvious connections and other times they are far from obvious.
• They drift from foreground to background in group settings. This allows them different perspectives. It also can depend on how they’re feeling, how inspired or engaged they are, or how uncomfortable the setting has become.
• They embrace the opportunity to add by employing an intentional “and then” philosophy that enhances creative thinking.
• They are encouragers of other creative people and ideas.
• They’re active at cheering for others to win.
• They continually stretch what is possible and have a vision for accomplishing the “impossible.”
• They understand when it’s time to change course, stop, or end an idea. This takes bold confidence and leadership. Idea Magnets tend to see this end before the masses.

Have you identified any Idea Magnets in your life? Are there other characteristics that you think would benefit Idea Magnets?