Relationships @ Work
By Elizabeth Jeffries, RN, CSP, CPAE
It was a business function and our host was about to
introduce me to a person who was sitting down behind me. As I moved in closer to say hello, she
turned, realized we had met before, reached eagerly for my hand and said, “I
remember you! We were at a meeting
together and you were so creative! You
had so many great ideas!”
Creative! Many years ago, I thought that was the last word
people would have used to describe me…till I went on a mission to understand
and increase my creative problem solving abilities. I believed that somewhere
in the depths of my mind and spirit was lurking a creative genius just waiting
to be released! I could learn other
things. Why not creativity? So I simply set out to learn how to be more
creative and solve problems differently.
And so can you!
It’s true that some people are more naturally creative than
others, but recent psychological and neurological research has found that
almost everyone has the capacity to be creative. But we’ve become creatures of habit, locked
in boxes of routines and engrossed in ‘getting things done.’ Not much room for creative genius here.
Today’s workplace needs continuous creativity from everyone
to serve patients and staff and meet the demands of a competitive
marketplace. There are some surprisingly
simple tricks that can help all of us boost our creativity. Here are 3 ideas from Jonah Lehrer, author of
Imagine: How Creativity Works,
followed by 5 tips from my own learning.
- Think blue. The color we’re surrounded with when we
want creative thinking has a dramatic affect on our outcomes. A study published in Science found that test subjects
doubled their creative output when placed in a room painted blue rather
than one painted red. Apparently the human mind associates blue with
relaxing images, such as clear skies and calm seas. A relaxed state of mind is crucial for
creative thinking.
- Travel ‘across the pond.’ Spending time in foreign lands and other
cultures seems to significantly boost creativity. A 2009 study by the graduate business
school, Kellogg School of Management, found a strong correlation between
time previously spent abroad and success with a challenging problem. For example, Ruth Handler, wife of an
executive at Mattel, was on vacation in Switzerland when she spotted
the doll that would inspire Mattel to create Barbie in 1959. From that
observation, she convinced her husband that the company should create a
doll that looked like an adult, not just baby dolls. And Barbie was born. If Handler had
known that the doll that inspired her was a popular sex symbol in Switzerland,
she would have rejected it as tasteless and Barbie might never have been
born!
- Replace brainstorming sessions with
debate. A cardinal rule of
brainstorming is that criticism is not allowed. But it turns out we don’t fully engage
with ideas when we’re not allowed to criticize them. A study by a psychologist at UC Berkeley
found that when traditional brainstorming is replaced by idea-generation
sessions that allow criticism and debate, the number of ideas produced by
the group surges by about 25%.
And a few ideas from our own experiences
and resources:
- Read unrelated books and articles
on subjects that will stimulate your thinking. They will generated ideas you can transfer
over to other areas of your life. As
I coach executives today, I’m amazed how often the nursing process I
learned many years ago is perfect for solving all kinds of business
problems.
- Feed your brain with foods to
stimulate creativity and thinking.
High-protein foods, including nuts and beans, contain tyrosine and
help you feel more alert. Lots of
ideas and need to focus better? Eat
carbohydrates like bread, pasta and cookies. (My favorite idea.) Brain Toniq is a new drink I just
read about. It’s said to clear
brain fog and stimulate creativity.
It supposedly packs an undeniable punch of herbs, natural compounds
and organic agave syrup.
- Observe and play with children. They are masters at discovery and
imagination. They have unlimited
boundaries and can help you expand yours.
- Deviate from your normal patterns and
see life differently. Retrain
your brain to think differently by driving a new route to work, sit in a
different chair at that staff meeting, move to a different pew at church.
- Take risks and explore new things you
haven’t tried before. Two of
the most fun things I’ve done as an adult that expanded my world were to
take a series of tap dance lessons and voice lessons. I didn’t perform on Broadway, but it
stretched me and was great fun!
Play with these ideas. They’ll help you unlock your brain
power and get the neurotransmitters in your brain talking to each other. The
more you are ‘in action,’ the more your ideas come. The more you act like a creative person, the
more you will unlock your brain power.
So why not take action on a few of these ideas?
It’s what leaders do!
Rich Chesney and his team at Healthcare Market Resources have conducted a study of 2009 Medicare data to examine the specific home health agencies that each patient went to from each hospital. He was able to identify "high market share hospitals" in each state. Rich defines "high market share hospitals" as those hospitals "which refer to a dominant
home health agency. A dominant home health agency is defined as an
agency which receives 70 % or more of business from that hospital during
the given year."
