Designer and Coach: why both

I have always had a strong leaning toward creativity. We all do when we are kids; we play, which is natural creativity. Some of us cling to that and take it into our future.

I clung to it. If I was quietly drawing or playing Lego, I was being left alone. Being creative was a way of coping, protecting myself, and being unseen. 

I didn't realise this until relatively recently; it's funny we carry things all our lives and accept them without question. 

I grew up in a house where it was the sole aim to crush your spirit, to keep you in line - to believe what they believed, but because my parents had creative leanings, they liked that in me and left me to do those activities. My parents belonged to a religious group; they hoped I would join; the only way out was for me to be good at being creative and use it to get me out of there. Creativity saved my life. 

Everyone appreciates creativity; many long for it, and for those of us who work in a creative industry, we wildly protect it. Creativity is magic; it transcends and takes us to places either individually (in the process/flow) or collectively (in the results). 

So when we get to our dream jobs, we should be allowed to soar, but let's be realistic; we have briefs to fulfil - it is an 'industry'. We should be allowed to experiment, fail, and succeed, without judgement, as long as the brief is met and delivered. Unfortunately, not all people are people-people, and that is when criticism can become personal. 

If you work with creative people, think about how you deliver critiques. A well-delivered piece of feedback WILL spark an idea; poorly delivered feedback will chip a piece off someone's confidence, which could affect future performance.

Lack of confidence will gradually destroy a creative person, making it harder to reach creativity. Remove the creativity or access to it, well, it is like a slow death.

We are not delicate little flowers; we are humans who dive deep into our subconsciousness to deliver something creatively brilliant. The subconscious mind is very open and takes everything in, actual or otherwise, and believes it, and that is when doubt creeps in, and if doubt takes hold, it is harder to create. 

I am passionate about helping other creative people to maintain clarity of thought to clear the mud from their thinking, so they can dive deep and find the creative pearls. I had to fight for my opportunity to be creative, and along the way, I have worked with bosses who have not understood how creative people work and tried to crush me. I could not get out of those places quick enough.

To allow our creative people to flourish, we ensure that we keep them as staff and become a long-term family; families harmonise. We should be building creative families. 

If you need to talk to someone about how to overcome mental blocks that are causing issues at work, or if you have someone in your team that could do with some nurturing, then arrange a quick chat and let's see if we can work together.