The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast

Creativity is Energy

Thu, 21 May 2026 13:00:00 -0400

In this episode, the tables are turned as Dr. Robert Cleve interviews GCI podcast host Dr. Tanya Knudsen on her perspectives about creativity and the lessons she has gathered from conversations with creativity scholars and practitioners in the podcast.

Episode Highlights

Creativity is a fluency for what might be, what's possible. At its essence, it is a form of energy that can be used for good, though not always. Creativity in service of harmful outcomes may become more common if humans surrender too much creativity and agency to artificial intelligence.
If we all became even a little more creative, the world would be a better place. Creativity increases our ability to navigate life, adapt, innovate, and find fulfillment.
When creativity is diminished, we ultimately limit both our potential and our quality of life.

How Do We Become More Creative?

Seek out diversity:

Different foods
Different forms of art
Different people
Different places and experiences

Exposure to diversity helps us recognize that there are always alternatives and new possibilities, an essential first step in developing creativity more intentionally.

Ask more questions

Learn to lean into uncertainty

Accept what is in front of you and begin from there

Creativity grows through curiosity, openness, and a willingness to engage with new perspectives.

The Global Creativity Initiative Podcast is a scholarly commitment to sharing creativity and specifically creative process for problem solving (aka life) with all of humanity. Visit our website to learn more about The Global Creativity Initiative. Write to us at gci.creativitypodcast@gmail.com

Creativity is a Tool

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0400

🎙️ Podcast Show Notes

Creativity in Surgery: A Conversation PhD Candidate Alex Thabane, 2026 Ruth Noller Research Grant Recipient

This episode explores how creativity shows up in structured fields like medicine and surgery, inspired by the work of Ruth Noller. We reflect on the meaning behind the Ruth Noller Award and why creativity matters, even in disciplines that don’t traditionally embrace it.

🧠 The Noller Formula

Creativity = f (Attitude toward Knowledge, Imagination, Evaluation)

Attitude toward Knowledge: curiosity and openness
Imagination: generating new possibilities
Evaluation: choosing what works

🏥 Creativity in Medicine

Surgery is highly structured, with protocols and little room for deviation.
There’s often a cultural aversion to creativity, driven by risk and malpractice concerns.
Yet creativity is essential for problem-solving, innovation, and adapting to complex patient needs.

Even within rigid training and specialization, creative thinking can and should exist.

🔬 Why It Matters

Medicine is constantly evolving alongside technology.
Challenging “how things have always been done” is key to progress.
Cross-disciplinary thinking and combinatory ideas drive innovation.

💡 Tips for Creativity

Stay curious
Read broadly
Get outside your comfort zone
Explore ideas across disciplines

🔑 Key Takeaway

Creativity and structure are not opposites. In fields like surgery, creativity is a critical tool for solving problems and improving patient care.

Investigation of divergent thinking among surgeons and surgeon trainees in Canada (IDEAS): a mixed-methods study

A Consensus Definition of Creativity in Surgery: A Focus Group and Modified Delphi Study

Newsletter (The Time Capsule)

alexthabane.com

Creative Education Foundation

Creativity is Curiosity

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:00:00 -0400

🎙️ Podcast Show Notes: Unlocking Creativity in Everyone

🌱 Creativity Starts Early

As children, we naturally see ourselves as creative. We ask questions, explore freely, and follow curiosity without fear. But over time, many people lose that sense of creativity—not because it disappears, but because it gets buried under fear, risk aversion, and rigid expectations.

🔑 Why People Stop Feeling Creative

Fear of taking risks
Belief that creativity is a “talent” only some people have
Overthinking or needing all the details before starting
Environments that don’t encourage curiosity

The truth: every person has creativity. It just shows up in different ways.

👀 Recognizing Creativity in Others

Beyond artistic ability, creativity can look like:

Asking thoughtful questions
Being flexible and open-minded
Generating ideas
Seeing alternative perspectives

🧠 Creativity is a Skill (Not a Trait)

Creative thinking and problem solving can be learned. They provide a framework, a scaffold you can apply to any situation.

🧩 The Power of Questions

The way we frame challenges shapes our ability to solve them.

Use open-ended, invitational language:

“How might we…?”
“In what ways could we…?”

These questions unlock thinking, encourage exploration, and move people forward.

🛠️ A Simple Creative Practice

Take something you’ve already done and ask:

How can I make this better?
What else can I do with this?
How can I take this to the next level?

Overlay creative thinking onto your existing work to enrich outcomes without starting from scratch.

🌍 Creativity Creates Purpose

Creativity helps us:

Act with intention
Influence others positively
Find joy in teaching and learning
Build stronger connections

A simple daily habit:

“What’s one positive thing I can do today?”

🧒 Lessons from First Graders

Even young children can engage in creative problem solving. In fact, they often do it better because they:

Stay open
Ask questions freely
Don’t fear being wrong

If you want a model for curiosity—watch a first grader.

❤️ Staying Open Is the Core of Creativity

Creativity requires:

Suspending judgment
Considering new perspectives
Being open to ideas you haven’t tried

Ask yourself:

“Am I truly open?”

🌐 Creativity and Human Connection

When we value interaction, curiosity, and understanding:

We reduce conflict
We build empathy
We create better outcomes together

A more creative world is a more connected—and peaceful—one.

⚡ Practical Tips to Build Creativity

Lean into your strengths and develop them further
Share your ideas and get feedback
Surround yourself with positive, supportive people
Focus on what you have, not what you lack
Practice creativity in everyday situations—not just “creative” fields

🚀 Final Thought

A less creative world is less interesting, less innovative, and less motivating.

Creativity isn’t optional—it’s essential.

And it starts with a simple choice:

Stay curious. Stay open. Keep creating.

Dr. Sue Keller-Mathers
Center for Applied Imagination

Burnett, C. & Worwood, M. (Hosts) Infusing creativity in the classroom with Dr. Susan Keller-Mathers [Audio Podcast]. Creativity and Education. https://creativityandeducation.com/infusing-creativity-into-the-classroom-with-dr-susan-

Creativity is Imagination Made Real

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0400

Podcast Show Notes: Creativity in a Conformist World 🎙️

In this episode, we explore how creativity works, why modern systems often train us for conformity, and why creativity is essential for participating fully in a rapidly changing world shaped by technology and AI.

Creativity is imagination made real. The process of turning ideas into something tangible through experimentation, iteration, and action is what we humans do. It also brings something deeply human into our lives: joy, connection, and meaning.

Key Themes

Creativity is trainable
You become creative by creating. Practice, experimentation, and iteration strengthen creative thinking.

Creativity helps us participate in the world
In a fast-changing world, creativity gives us agency. It allows us to adapt, solve problems, and engage with new tools and technologies rather than simply reacting to them.

Creativity brings joy
Humans are wired to imagine, build, and explore ideas. The process of creating—trying things, discovering possibilities, and bringing ideas to life is energizing and fulfilling.

Creativity is social
Humans are social beings, and creativity grows through conversation and collaboration. Sharing ideas, experimenting together, and building collectively are essential parts of the creative process.

Conformity vs. creativity
Schools, corporations, and industries like Hollywood rely on formulas and repetition. While this creates predictability, it can also limit or worse, ossify thoughts. Breakthrough ideas often come from people willing to step outside familiar patterns.

A human transformation is needed
As AI becomes more powerful, society faces an important choice. If we default to letting AI do the thinking for us, we risk losing our agency, curiosity, and creative capacity. That doesn’t just limit individual potential. It can put society itself at risk.

Without developing our own creative abilities:

People may become passive users of technology
Critical thinking and imagination may decline
Society may struggle to adapt to rapid change

When we strengthen human creativity, AI becomes a powerful tool for exploration rather than a replacement for thinking.

Raising creative kids
The foundation for creativity begins early. Play, curiosity, imagination, and social exploration—especially before age 10—help build adaptable thinkers who can engage thoughtfully with powerful technologies in the future.

Practical Tips

Adopt a creative mindset: Everyone can become more creative.
Practice regularly: Creativity grows through use.
Think in options: Explore multiple possibilities before choosing one.
Move ideas into action: Creativity happens when imagination meets execution.
Iterate quickly: Try, learn, adjust, repeat.
Create with others: Collaborate to strengthen ideas.

Bottom line:
Creativity is how humans participate in the world. It gives us agency, connects us with others, and brings joy to the act of building new possibilities. As technology accelerates, developing our creative capacity isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential for individuals and society alike. 🚀

Bradley Scheel
Raising Dreamers

Creativity is Play

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:00:00 -0500

This conversation reframes creativity as something practical, powerful, and accessible to all of us.

✨ Creativity Is a Process

Creativity isn’t random inspiration. It can be practiced. Taught. Scaffolded.

When we approach creativity as a process, we make it accessible, especially for people who may not yet have the vocabulary or confidence to see themselves as “creative.”

👥 Creative Leadership Creates Space

To lead creatively is to bring people along.

It means:

Inviting contribution
Listening with intention
Creating psychological space for ideas
Keeping the focus on the problem and not the people

Creativity in leadership is about fostering the kind of interaction where better answers can emerge.

🎧 Listening Is a Creative Act

Creativity is conversational.

The way we listen and the language we use can either shut ideas down or open them up. Reframing a challenge changes what becomes possible. The moment we move from “That won’t work” to “What might work?” we’re being creative.

🏖️ The Sandbox Before the Solution

Before implementation comes play.

In many workplaces, we talk about “sandboxing,” experimenting with ideas before locking into execution. Not everything needs to be creative. But when something feels stuck, messy, or tense, that’s often the signal to step back into the sandbox.

Creativity keeps things lighter. More flexible. More joyful.

🚫 What Gets in the Way?

We become less creative when we:

Rush to get the answer
Assume our thoughts aren’t welcome
Depend too heavily on external solutions
Define the problem too narrowly

Creativity requires space and permission.

🌱 The Core Belief

We are all creative. Everything sparks ideas and that's why listening matters.

Becoming more creative starts with:

Believing you are just as creative as anyone else.
Wondering more. Noticing more. Staying curious.

Creativity is a mindset. A leadership skill. A way to approach life with more openness and possibility.

And sometimes, it starts with choosing to play.

Palgrave Handbook of Applied Creativity in Global Higher Education

www.linkedin.com/in/cmckaylephd

Consultancy thecreativityagent.com

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Camille-Mckayle

Creativity is Searching

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:00:00 -0500

What does putting on a play have to do with running a business?

More than we think.

When you put on a play, you gather people around an idea. You work with limited resources. You solve problems constantly. You trust each other. You fail, adjust, and try again. In many ways, it’s exactly how you build anything meaningful — including a business.

But something deeper happens when we create together.

We build community.
We build trust.
We begin to see the world — and each other — differently.

There’s love in that process. Care. A willingness to be vulnerable. When we step into a creative space, we allow ourselves to explore questions we don’t yet have answers to. We become more compassionate. More connected.

Creativity is not about ticking a box. It’s not something you complete. It’s a lifelong search — for meaning, for understanding, for your place in the world. The search doesn’t end. That’s the point. The journey itself transforms us.

And yet, so many of us hide our creativity.

We tell ourselves the world is serious. And so we need to be proper serious. Responsible. Grown up. Creativity can feel indulgent — like a luxury rather than a necessity. Sometimes there’s even shame attached to wanting to make something.

But what if creativity isn’t optional?

If creativity ends, innovation ends. If innovation ends, we stop adapting. We stop evolving. We stop solving the very problems that challenge us. Creativity is how we navigate difficulty — individually and together.

In the theatre, the magic isn’t just in the final performance. It’s in the process. It’s in asking hard questions. It’s in seeing yourself reflected back. It’s in experimenting, failing, and discovering new ways forward.

That’s not childish. That’s transformational.

What if we allowed ourselves to be more creative?
What if we sought out community?
What if we tried things — lots of things — until we found what felt like ours?
What if we accepted failure as part of the journey?

We’d be happier.
We’d feel more alive.
We’d build stronger, more compassionate communities.

Creativity isn’t a luxury. It’s how we search. It’s how we connect. It’s how we survive. It's how we thrive.

And the only way to begin… is to do the thing.

Everyman Playhouse

Nathan Powell
nathanpowell.co.uk
@NathanPowell141

Creativity is Bold

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:00:00 -0500

Creativity requires boldness. To create is to take a risk—and that boldness exists on a continuum from benevolent to malevolent. History shows us that creativity is often misunderstood at first: artistic breakthroughs like Cubism were rejected and ridiculed before becoming celebrated anchors in art history. What society labels as “good” or “bad” creativity is largely shaped by cultural and historical context, and original ideas may serve the creator long before they serve the collective.

This raises an important question: to what end is creativity used? Creativity is not limited to the arts, nor is it inherently ethical. Original ideas can help or harm, serve society or serve the self. While we tend to assume creativity is benevolent, its impact depends on intention, fairness, and consequence. As new technologies expand our creative power, the ethical stakes grow higher—especially as innovation can be used to mislead, exploit, or cause harm as easily as it can solve problems.

Creativity is best understood as ideas that are both original and appropriate, grounded in human judgment and moral awareness. Being creative means being bold enough to take risks, but reflective enough to consider impact.

Tips for becoming more creative -

Get Bored: Allow for emergence.

Go for a walk. Let your mind wander.

Try it out. Give it a go. Learn, ponder and try again.

Hansika Kapoor

Dr Hansika Kapoor

www.monkprayogshala.in

www.hansikakapoor.in

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dark-creativity

Creativity is Fulfillment

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:00:00 -0500

Creativity is abstract until we give it a lens. In this conversation with Dr. Robert Cleve, we explore how creativity becomes tangible through what is uniquely meaningful to each of us: art, language, movement, systems, relationships. These lenses don’t limit creativity. They reveal it.

At the heart of creativity is a productive tension: freedom and structure, the unlimited and the bound. Language often becomes the container, shaping the moment when something new emerges—the “I hadn’t thought of this before” spark. Drawing on neuroscience, lived experience, and collective practice, we examine creativity not as a luxury, but as a survival to thrival skill, one that sustains many of us through isolation, uncertainty, and change.

This episode moves beyond individual expression to consider collective creativity: how creativity lives between us, how it’s shaped by social and cultural contexts, and how engaging with others expands our perspective and sense of possibility. When we honor our own creative essence and learn to recognize it in others creativity becomes relational, empowering, and life-giving.

Creativity adds depth, joy, and optimism to our lives. It helps us survive, connect, and imagine what might be.

So how do we become more creative, starting now?

Get curious like a student.
Pay attention to what draws you in. What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn, explore, or understand? Start journaling to notice patterns, questions, and sparks of interest.
Embrace imperfection and failure.
Creativity requires risk. Let go of needing to get it right. In Japanese philosophy, wabi-sabi reminds us that imperfection isn’t something to fix. It’s something to value.
Change your environment and notice.
Step outside. Become aware of your surroundings. New insights often emerge when we give ourselves space to see differently.

Creativity is something we practice. By honoring what’s unique in ourselves and in others, we allow creativity to unfold naturally, individually and collectively in a fabric that weaves relational connection for a self styled verb that conveys an energy and medium for our being

References

Your Brain on Art

Neuroartsblueprint.org

The Interpersonal World of the Infant

The Crealectic Method

Dr. Robert Cleve

Creativity is Difference

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:00:00 -0500

This podcast explores creativity as a fundamental human capacity and a way of engaging with possibility in everyday life. More than an individual trait, creativity is a social and cultural process shaped by traditions, language, values, and shared practices. The conversation highlights how creativity depends on not-knowing, curiosity, and the ability to connect imagination with action.

Vlad also addresses common misconceptions such as the Romantic-era notion of the “mad genius” and reframes creativity as an ordinary, accessible, and transformative force. It looks at how creative work emerges from difference and gaps between perspectives, and how embracing these gaps can foster communication, play, humility, and care.

Cultivating creativity through playfulness, psychological safety, experimentation, and openness to multiple viewpoints is key. Creativity is both a mindset and a way of being that helps individuals and communities navigate complexity and expand what becomes possible.

If we were all a bit more creative..? We'd care more for each other. And if we're not creative, we'd be harming ourselves in not helping others.

Tips on becoming more creative include

Be more playful and fun. Add flavor and color to life.
Provide the safety for something to go wrong.
Black belt for creatives- listen and role play with those who are marginalized

Dr. Vlad Glaveanu

Full Professor of Psychology, Business School, Dublin City University

Director, DCU Centre for Possibility Studies

Adjunct Professor, Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology, University of Bergen

Possibility Studies Network, President

Possibility Studies and Society, Journal Editor
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible, Editor
Possibility Studies: A Manifesto, Author

Creativity is a Catalyst

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 16:00:00 -0500

Creativity is a Catalyst: Reimagining Capitalism with Purpose

Guest: Chris Grivas Ed.D.

Bottom-line-first is a sure way to lose out.

What if creativity could help reshape capitalism? In this episode, creativity expert Chris Grivas explores how imagination and purpose can drive a paradigm shift from a shareholder model—focused only on profit—to a stakeholder model that values people, planet, and performance.

Chris shares why creativity is permission to play—and how play, curiosity, and compassion can spark real business transformation with deeper values. We discuss why purpose-driven companies often outperform profit-only ones, and how creative thinking helps leaders overcome resistance to novelty.

Key Takeaways:

Creativity as the foundation for meaningful, purpose-driven work
How purpose fuels innovation and long-term success
Why “bottom-line-first” thinking limits progress
Practical ways to embed social responsibility into business strategy

Tips for Becoming more Creative:

1. Play. Seriously, give yourself permission to play - with ideas and something new - safely of course.

2. Break routine. Walk on the different side of the street. Try something new.

Chris Grivas

The Innovative Team

Do More Good Movement

The ROI of Why

Webinar Promo Creative Climate

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:00:00 -0500

Follow this link to register 12 pm Central Standard Time November 6

Creativity is a Mindset

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:00:00 -0400

Creative Mindset: Unlocking Possibility Through Curiosity and Courage

What if the thing holding you back from being creative… is simply the belief that you aren’t?

In this episode, we sit down with Laura Barbaro Switalski, who, for the first time in her 30s, began to consciously explore what it means to live with a creative mindset. Like many, Laura once believed creativity belonged only to the “artistic”—painters, writers, musicians. But something shifted when she realized creativity isn’t about talent; it’s about thinking differently, seeing differently, being different.

Laura shares how she started by deferring judgment, both of herself and others. Not eliminating it, but gently suspending it. That space of non-judgment opened up a door to new ways of thinking. “I’m not creative” turned into a question: What if I am, and I’ve just been telling myself otherwise?

We talk about the mindset needed to access creativity: the willingness to reframe problems, to challenge your own assumptions, to stay curious rather than cling to certainty. Creative thinking isn’t just about ideas, it’s about letting go of the self-censorship and fear that shut ideas down before they can even form.

Laura also speaks to how leadership plays a role in shaping creative environments how the way we lead can either create safety or reinforce fear. When people feel psychologically safe, they collaborate more, take more initiative, and feel more connected. Creativity, it turns out, isn’t just an individual act. It’s a cultural one.

And here’s the deeper truth: creativity is emotional intelligence. It’s courage. It’s curiosity. It’s leadership.

So how can you become more creative?

It starts with small, intentional shifts:

Seek diversity. Talk to people who think differently than you. Sit in rooms where you're not the expert.
Be curious. Not just about what you know, but especially about what you don’t.
Take small risks. Say the unpolished idea. Try the new approach.
Ask better questions. Creativity thrives in inquiry more than in answers.

By the end of this conversation, you’ll see that creativity isn’t something you have or don’t have. It’s something you practice. And when you do, it changes how you lead, how you connect, and how you see the world.

If you’ve ever felt like creativity was for someone else, this episode is for you. It’s time to take your power back one curious question at a time.

Laura Barbaro-Switalski

CREA Conference April 15-19 2026

Creativity as a Through-line

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Whether you're in a boardroom or a dance studio, creativity isn’t an add-on.

It’s the through-line.

In this episode, Janet Stormes dives deep into the powerful intersection of dance and business, revealing how the creative process serves as the bridge between two seemingly different worlds. Drawing from her unique experience in both the performing arts and finance, Janet uncovers the universal principles that make creativity not just an artistic pursuit, but a way of learning and leading for life.

Janet emphasizes that creativity is not reserved for geniuses or artists. It's a mindset, a method, and a muscle that anyone can develop. Whether choreographing a dance piece or training federal employees, the process remains surprisingly consistent: it requires trust, openness, collaboration, and persistence.

At the heart of both dance and business lies the same creative framework:

Psychological safety – creating a space where ideas can emerge without fear.
Understanding the creative process – using structured tools to clarify challenges, identify gaps, and think imaginatively.
Movement – not just in the studio, but in life. Even walking can activate creative thinking and enhance business functionality.

Janet challenges the narrow definition of creativity and calls for an expanded understanding—one that values communication, exploration, and strategic problem-solving. Through workshops that incorporate movement and creative principles, she helps individuals and organizations tap into their full creative potential.

The key takeaway? The creative process is natural. It’s happening whether we acknowledge it or not. By engaging with it intentionally, we can learn, teach, and lead more effectively in every space we occupy.

Janet Stormes

Learning on the Verge

Buffalo State College Center for Applied Imagination

On Not Defining Creativity

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:00:00 -0400

In this thought-provoking episode, we’re joined by Dr. Terry Marks-Tarlow, clinician, author, independent scholar, and expert in nonlinear dynamics and creativity. Based in Santa Monica, Dr. Marks-Tarlow bridges cutting-edge science and deep clinical insight, offering a fascinating lens on the power of intuition, fractal geometry, and the art of being fully human.

We explore how creativity is essential to transformation, why it's rooted in both culture and biology, and how reconnecting with intuition is key to navigating change in a chaotic world.

Some key points-

Every human, not just the "geniuses" is inherently creative.
Intuition in creativity is key for psychological healing.
Culture shapes, and sometimes limits, creative expression.
There's a natural science to creativity in nonlinear systems, fractals, and chaos theory.
Systems and people are slow to change. Creativity catalyzes transformation.
The importance of inner space and spontaneous emergence.
How we orient in social space shapes self-expression.

Practical Takeaways:

For Parents: Don’t over-structure your child’s time. Free, symbolic play is vital for development and creativity.
For Adults: Everyone is creative. Find your flow and discover how creativity shows up uniquely in your life.
For All: Plan for unstructured time. Let spontaneity guide you — the brain’s play circuits are crucial for well-being and innovation.

Mirrors of the Mind
Dr Terry Marks-Marlow

Creativity is Confidence

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Pauliina Valpas, co-founder of Yellow Method AI in Finland, explores how creativity fuels innovation especially as a problem-solving process. From identifying the right challenge to implementing solutions, creativity is present at every step. And if that sounds a bit abstract, Pauliina invites you to rethink what creativity looks like. Sometimes it happens on the fly, or even on a bus.

She shares a formative childhood story of solo travel that helped her develop a comfort with complexity and the unknown, skills that would later feed into her passion for creative work. Combining this with a deep love for the arts, Pauliina has built a career that marries intuition, adaptability, and structured creative thinking.

Pauliina’s Pro Tips for Boosting Your Creativity:

Recognize Your Own Creativity
Everyone is creative. It just shows up differently depending on the context. Whether you're solving a work problem or navigating daily life, creativity is there.
Start a Positive Circle
Use journaling for reflection and creating a positive feedback loop. This practice not only strengthens your creative thinking, but also builds confidence and momentum to keep going.

Pauliina Valpas

YellowMethodAI

Creativity is Complex Problem Solving

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 18:00:00 -0400

Season Three kicks off with an inspiring conversation featuring Dr. Teresa Lawrence, Program Director for the Creative Leadership and Innovation for Change PhD program in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Lawrence brings a wealth of insight into how Creative Problem Solving, CPS, adds value across education, research, and business.

Dr. Lawrence invites us to rethink creativity as the ability to generate options and possibilities. "Creativity," she says, "leans into decision-making and implementation." To be clear, idea generation and idea evaluation are the two key aspects of being creative when problem solving. This dynamic balance is what sets creative thinking apart from regular thinking.

Creativity, as a problem-solving process, can and should be learned. Just as we study subjects like accounting or cooking, we must also intentionally learn how to solve problems. According to Dr. Lawrence, the key is knowing where you are in the problem-solving process and applying the right skills to move forward and a truly inclusive "get behind."

Dr. Lawrence’s Top Tips for Practicing Creative Problem Solving:

Learn the tools of Creative Problem Solving – Explore any (or all) aspects of the process. At the very least master the balance between divergent and convergent thinking.
Work with a buddy – Collaboration matters.
Practice makes permanent – Like feng shui, a little bit goes a long way.

Dr Teresa Lawrence is the Director of the Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change, CLIC, at the University of the Virgin Islands. Dr Lawrence is also a master facilitator for Creative Problem Solving, a domain-general complex problem problem solving model that equally acknowledges all aspects of problems, to include clarification, transformation implementation.

CLIC PhD Program, University of the Virgin Islands

Dr Teresa Lawrence

Think Better, Feel Better Through Creativity

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Unlock Your Creative Potential

Life can be tough, filled with challenges and blind spots. How to problem find and resolve amid s stormy sea of valid reasons and feelings is messy. As Dr. Hector Ramos from Texas A&M University wisely puts it, "The heart of the problem is the problem in your heart."

In this episode, we explore how creativity isn’t just for entrepreneurs or artists—it’s a vital life skill for all of us. Creativity plays a crucial role in problem-solving, helping us navigate the complexities of life with a fresh perspective.

What to Expect:

Understanding Your Creativity: Everyone possesses creativity inherently. The key is to recognize and embrace it.
Intentional Creativity: Learn how to be more deliberate in your approach to life. By activating imaginative thinking instead of solely relying on memory, you can shape new solutions.
Small Changes, Big Impact: Discover practical tips for implementing small, manageable changes that can lead to significant improvements in your quality of life.

Join us as we delve into why creativity is essential and how you can cultivate it to enhance your problem-solving abilities and overall well-being.

Tune in and start your journey to becoming a more creative you
Hector Ramos, Ph.D.
American Creativity Association
Identifying and Overcoming Cognitive Fixation in Pastoral Decision Making

Spark Your Creativity

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0500

Want to become more creative? Do what the creative geniuses do.

To be creative it to be schooled in imagination.

Dr Robert Root-Bernstein defines creativity as problem solving. No big surprise there perhaps. And what's the 'how"? How about emulate creative attributes from the greats? Bob shares stories and insights as to what makes us more creative by drawing out creative traits.

Creativity is a skillset that can (and should) be learned. It also emerges more readily among people who have broad knowledge and life experience. And of particular value is skill or at least exposure and some experience in the arts.

An ability to integrate information and synthesize it into something strengthens problem solving, develops creativity, improves quality of life experience, confidence building and general well being, not to mention the potential for becoming a significant contributor in nudging the world toward a more joyful and constructive place.

Where to start? Become aware of how you problem solve and do this while trying something new, especially art-related.

Dr Robert Root-Bernstein

Sparks of Genius
Honey Mud Maggots and other Marvels of Medical Marvels: The Science Behind Folk Remedies and Old Wives Tales
The Importance of Failure

Creativity is a HOW

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 23:00:00 -0400

Newsflash: You're already creative and your brain may be blocking your creativity.

Clearly, this is an important question -

How to unblock what's in the way of your creativity?

Pete Ophoven addresses this question by championing the value of understanding and leaning into the 'how' for developing one's creativity. This is doable, especially when we develop an awareness, and pausing to learn and think about creativity as we experience it, however foreign and uncomfortable it may be.

Pete talks about the RDCA, the Riesman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment.

Pete Ophoven is an assistant professor at Bellevue College in Seattle, Washington and Drexel University in Pennsylvania.

Unlocking the Inner Genius Within

Savant-like skills exposed in normal people by suppressing the left fronto-temporal lobe

Autistic Artists Give Clues to Cognition

Radical Creativity

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:00:00 -0400

Creativity is often thinking differently inside the box. A box is a constraint, rather like time and money.

And then again, sometimes a new box is needed. What worked before what won't work now. The world truly is messy place. It's time for a radically new approach.

Take a shoebox for example, as a paradigm shift in imagining a new satellite design. A radically new concept, brought on by bachelor students at Aalto University in Finland turned an audacious thought into a multimillion dollar industry upending NASA's satellite designs.

If you're still stuck on defining creativity, try Radical Creativity. Curious? Good. That's the intention. The strategically vague approach to spark interest, push boundaries and challenge paradigms is exactly the goal in Dr Auvinen shares in this talk.

It's time to get radical and break boundaries for problem solving. Creativity is like a muscle. Train your creative self. This will soon be possible for free at Aalto University in Finland.

Imagine the unimaginable. Everything is possible, especially if you're radical with creativity.

Aalto University, Finland
MOOC Free Radical Creativity Education
Documentary Radical Creatives
Radical Creativity
Teaching for paradigm shifts: supporting the drivers of radical creativity in management education

Creativity a la Maltese

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:00:00 -0400

How might you become more creative?

1. Go to School at the DeBono Institute of the for Creative Thinking & Innovation
at the University of Malta, yes, in the Mediterranean. Study creativity, innovation management, entrepreneurship, critical thinking and future studies and you are equipped with 21st century skills. Who doesn't want to live in the Med? And if you don't, study programs are also online.

2. Tune in to the conversation with Margaret Mangion who lays out the universally applicable creative process among other key attributes available to everyone. While some may be more innately creative than others, creativity can and must be learned by all. The world today is not only VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). The emerging term, BANI, (brittle, anxious, nonlinear and incomprehensible), further exacerbates 21st century life.

Good news ! Creative capacity brings on hope.

Meg shares research reflecting how a capacity for creativity leads to a confident sense of self through an ability to engage complexity and ambiguity, also known as reality. Creativity and wellness go hand in hand, perhaps because navigating both the VUCA and BANI world requires skills, 21st century skills to be exact. And this is where creativity and critical thinking breathe life. And when learned, the resulting awareness of creative ability can change the quality of life experience, not to mention affect professional development. Educators especially would benefit from becoming skilled in creativity.

No wonder creativity is a core skill. Consider this - the more stressed we are the less creative we think we are...but not if we're trained in creativity.

Lesson: Become aware of your creativity. Develop your creative skillset.

Just like plants need water to grow, creativity requires nurturing. If we are to flourish with blooms of self-actualization and confidently tackle an acronym-infested reality, creativity empowers seizing and shaping every moment for unlimited possibility.

Dr Margaret Mangion

The Edward De Bono Institute for Creative Thinking & Innovation

Self-perceptions in difficult times. A study highlighting how creative self-efficacy of teachers is influenced by perceived stress, hope and critical thinking disposition.

Creative Experience: A Non-Standard Definition of Creativity

Transformational Toolbox for Creativity

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 23:00:00 -0400

What weighs more, a pickle or pain? Pause. Become curious and wonder. Do this and you are on your way to accessing your very own unlimited natural resource: your creativity. Dr Kay elegantly ripples through riddles as just one sample skill within a richly packed tool box primed for transformation. In true creative form, Sandra connects many of the essential characteristics of creativity by cracking the perceived hard shells (I am not creative) wide open. This explorative talk on creativity as a playful associative process is deeply insightful.

For educators, parents and all people, bring your whole self to this one and get ready to stretch, make connections and expand not only your thinking, but your sense of being. And if your looking for an answer to the question, check in with a kindergartner - they'd know, because they're creative thinkers! And you can be too. This is a great place to start, continue, expand.

Tap into, develop and sustain curiosity and wonder as a doorway to creative-self development.

Dr Sandra Kay - Elegant Problem
Engaging the Imagination: Wally's Way
Synecticsworld
Howard Gruber

Be Creative to Be Well for LIFE, and Especially as an Educator

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0400

Creativity is central to our well-being. "Be original, be creative, think outside the box" are among the mantras to 'be creative.' And yet, how and when do we learn what that means? Seemingly late in one's academic career, too often at the master's or doctoral is when creativity becomes a hot topic among educators. This is too late! Assuming we value wellness, Chris offers a stark perspective on the reality of teacher attrition, standard cultural practices and process not to mention, AI challenging education and educators. Creativity is a learnable skillset, applicable to all domains and especially teaching, which requires constant problem solving in a live environment.

Chris Wilson, Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Aston University, Birmingham, England
Tales of Creativity and Play (30 circles) Ted Talk Tim Brown
Kolb - Reflective Learning
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximinal Development and Scaffolding Theory
OECD - PISA - Creative Thinking

Become Aware to Become Creative: A deep dive into the RDCA

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 17:00:00 -0400

A deep dive coffee klatsch among scholars who story tell and parse the research specifically on the topic of awareness for becoming aware of how you might develop your creativity. This episode calls on all educators, corporate and classroom to consider taking the RDCA to understand and develop individual and student group creativity in all classrooms. We also call on you to reach back to us with your questions and opportunities to develop creativity further in your working environment.

Take the Reisman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment
Development, Use and Implications of Diagnostic Creativity Assessment App, RDCA

Who's who in the conversation
Dr Freddie Reisman, PhD, Emerita Professor, Director, Freddie Reisman Center for Translational Research in Creativity and Motivation, Founder, Drexel University School of Education, Director of Drexel/Torrance Center for Creativity and Innovation
Dr Ruth Richards, MD, PhD, Emerita, Humanistic Psychology, Creativity Studies, Saybrook University
Dr Melissa Schmitz, Ed.D. Researcher & Senior Consultant at WISE HD
Gayle Byock, PhD candidate, Psychology and Creativity, fmr vice chancellor research UCLA
Tanya Knudsen, PhD Candidate Creative Leadership, Innovation Team Facilitator, GCI Podcast Host

Call to Action: Assess Your Creativity with the RDCA

Tue, 07 May 2024 12:00:00 -0400

The Reisman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment is a free 10 minute self diagnostic tool for assessing your creativity in 11 identified and long researched categories of creativity. You want this! In becoming aware of strengths and areas to develop you are sure to become more creative every day. Dr Freddie Reisman is a leading scholar of creativity in education. The Freddie Reisman Center for Translational Research in Creativity and Motivation deliberately puts scholarly works into every day language and access for us all to develop creativity.

The Reisman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment, RDCA is here for your self assessment. On completion you will the interpretive guide.

Articles/Resources
Development, Use and Implications of Diagnostic Creativity, Assessment App, RDCA - Reisman
RDCA Assessment

This Everyday Creativity podcast series will share details about the study and how you might develop everyday creativity every day.

Trends in Creativity Research

Tue, 07 May 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Think creativity is all about ideas and brainstorming? Think again. Dr Mike Mumford emphasizes creativity is equally about evaluation. "Systematic refinement," continual appraisal and honing as a practice defines creative process. And there are many other attributes to creativity that are often overlooked or not yet understood. Motivation, anomaly, disruption, negative creativity, anger all contribute to creativity, but how exactly?

Why this matters: companies that are deliberately creative are more profitable and sustainable. Translation: creativity can lead to greater functionality, productivity and well being, especially when deliberate. Deliberate for what? Good, bad? Creativity and certainly more research is critical. AI is upon us. Plus human capital is a nation's greatest resource. We owe it to ourselves through education and work to continue researching and developing our creative selves. More researchers for creativity please. Join us.

Dr Mike Mumford
Creativity Research Journal
Books

Tolerate Ambiguity Acronym: PAC

Mon, 06 May 2024 20:00:00 -0400

Dr Roger Firestien is focused on finding the problem. Why? Because, "for every complex problem there's an answer that's clear, simple and wrong." Most of us solve for the wrong problem. And here's the gold: in about 5-6 minutes with the right (creativity) skills you can uncover what the real problem might be. If you have five minutes and dislike do-overs then lean in. In this episode, Roger talks about making the air right, another way of saying the environment makes space for 'what might be' to emerge. Creativity is about so many things really, and it begins with each of us, becoming aware, becoming curious and becoming more able in life through the language and skills of creative process that empowers us to tolerate ambiguity because with creativity skills we can navigate through the complex problem to the other side with a novel and valuable solution, if only momentarily (the world is ever changing, you know). And to get you started in tolerating ambiguity we've got a nice little acronym for you:

PAC: Pause, Ask, Choose.

Dr Roger Firestien
Linkedin page
Five Keys to Solving the Right Problems, Forbes, 2016

Degrees of Creativity Matter

Mon, 06 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

"Any time you're faced with a problem you haven't solved before, some degree of creativity is required." Everyday creativity has roots in Torrance's work and comes though in Bonnie's story telling insights from her direct experience with the late great Dr. Torrance, a founding scholar for what has evolved into the discipline of creativity. An authentic commitment to creativity comes through because its true; creativity shows up in many ways, among all of us, regardless of demographics and status. We are all creative and can become more creative every day. Learn more about everyday creativity with us.

Bonnie Cramond

P.S. "Tolerance for Ambiguity," is a key ground rule for becoming creative. I like to add that it "works every time," because it does.

Engineer: Empathize, Ask to Innovate

Mon, 06 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

"Innovation is at the intersection of knowledge and insights." Professor Chinnam in India shares how STEM students for engineering require both knowledge and skills. Knowledge is learned. And how does one become skilled? Insights come from a wanting to know though pragmatic trial and error. Learn, Unlearn and Relearn is a formula for creativity. Another tip Chinnam puts forth is this: ask questions. And when our questions are creative questions, well, then we are truly getting to the heart of what it means to be creative. Creativity is a language. Learn it with us in this series.

Dr Yuvaraju Chinnam
Blue Eye Soft

Creativity Deficiency Syndrome

Sun, 05 May 2024 23:00:00 -0400

Tune in for a broad stroke and lively overview with Dr Ruth Richards on why creativity is central to the quality of our being. Creativity is not some magical-out-there-skill reserved for genius types, though we did think that in earlier decades. Today we continue to infer artists are the creatives. To be clear, we love you artists. And we notice that you have process. Indeed, creativity is a skillset. And creativity is something that has been around since at least the beginning of recorded time and well before that. Creativity is change way out in the cosmos and within our every day life experience. Not feeling that creative? Fear not! Creativity Deficiency Syndrome can be fixed. We're here for you - become more creative everyday. Spoiler alert: Ruth shares tips on how to become more creative every day at the end of the talk.

Dr Ruth Richards
Everyday Creativity and New Views of Human Nature

Futurist: Sustainable Creativity is REAL.

Sun, 05 May 2024 23:00:00 -0400

"We are the future of the past," says author Rob Swigart. If this is true, and knowing what we know, what are we doing now for tomorrow? Valid question and compelling points in this conversation around how nature us perhaps our best teacher. There are no straight lines in nature. Creativity is not a linear set of processes. Before she disappears from her capital "N" status, if that is a status, what might we learn from nature in becoming more creative? Quite a lot actually. Ancient societies are telling in human impact across the landscape. Nature is the big system in our world, what if we learned from her before it is no longer an option? More on Rob Swigart here.

Assess Your Creativity, it's FREE!

Sun, 05 May 2024 23:00:00 -0400

"Everyone of us has a seed of creativity," says Dr. Freddie Riesman, begging the question, is your creativity dormant or is it growing, and if so, how are you growing it? If you think you're not creative or wondering what creativity is then lean in. Reisman's RDCA, The Riesman Diagnostic Creativity Assessment is a free self assessment tool developed specifically for bringing self awareness about as as starting point for developing individual creativity. Its time, it's here. We're here for you! Identify your creative strengths and join us. Everyday Creativity happens everyday (yep, it does).
Check out the Freddie Reisman Center for more information translational research in creativity.