This week’s calligraphy prompt was ‘dragon’. I was a bit challenged as I am not a medieval fan, so the thought of doing something with the word ‘dragon’ left me perplexed. The point of the weekly prompt is not to produce the perfect letters, it is to be creative and let the ideas in your head flow. Soooooo instead of going with what was expected, I did a word play on ‘drag’. I turned it into a cross word puzzle and went simple. Mine was very different than anyone else’s, which suited me just fine.
I must admit I had a little anxiety knowing that mine would be so very different than everyone else’s. It can be a little intimidating knowing what people expect and then knowing you will not be delivering the expected. It could mean disappointment, or judgement, or worst of all silence. When people do not get what they expect they often do not know how to react, so they don’t react at all. I posted the piece and I waited.
How many times in life have we been given a deliverable and then told exactly every element that needs to be included. I’ve had a couple of those over my career and it usually ended up being a very boring task. No one likes being told what to do, and no one likes the originality being drilled out of them. But what about the times when we were told what needed to be achieved and the details were left up to us? Those are the fun and exciting activities. Your imagination can run wild and you have the option to do anything possible as long as you achieve the end goal.
And then there are the times when we are told what needs to be achieved, to be creative and push the limits, and the response to the outcome is negative and criticism. “You didn’t deliver anything like what we have seen before or wanted, this is very disappointing. What didn’t you go the expected route and deliver….” And then they wonder why next time you are given an assignment you play it safe and only deliver what everyone expects.
As leaders if we want people to think outside of the box, we have to be willing to get out of the box as well. If we want new and fresh and innovative, we can’t then turn around and poo poo, negate, or discount the unique solution. As a leader we may not understand at first, so we must seek to understand at last. Give the new idea time to percolate and grow in our own minds before we make a judgement. If we want people to deliver the traditional dragon, then tell them that. If we want any variation they can imagine on the word dragon, then get ready to be astounded. As a leader I found that when I let people go, they will ALWAYS produce something I could not have believed and in a better way than my little brain could have conceived. I received any amazing outcome, and they were invigorated to have produced original work beyond anyone’s imagination. They were chomping at the bit for their next assignment.
FYI – the responses to my post have been very positive, The group has enjoyed the innovative direction and liked that mine did not look like any else’s work. It is exciting and inspiring when your different ideas are appreciated and encouraged; I can’t wait for the new prompt to come out, my creative juices are flowing!
Ann Art Gallery Blog 