Coaching Center of Vermont Blog

By Laura Lind-Blum

It was a Tuesday morning in May, and the ezine was on the agenda at the weekly Coaching Center Coaches meeting. The task: come up with an organizing theme for June.

Since we’ve been following a gardening and growth theme over the last few months, we started musing . . . perhaps something around being active and fully participating — you know really full on, no holds barred, can’t-contain-myself-dancing-exuberance.

Lea caught the enthusiasm:  “Yeah, June is busting out all over!” Then I chimed in “Everything’s coming up roses . . .”

What followed was a laugh-riot-free-for-all that resulted in a playful  challenge to coaches to pick a show tune (or other piece of popular music) to inspire a thought to share with our readers.

It was hard to narrow the field — there are so many gems to choose from! (Gasp! How can we leave out the “getting tasks done” wisdom of the venerable Mary Poppins)? But we persevered and the “Coaches Broadway & Beyond Revue” was born.

Creating like this is not an uncommon experience for us. We love to co-create. We love to play. Our neighbors at the Champlain Mill often comment that they wonder what we are up to every Tuesday morning as our laughter rings through the hallway. And sometimes, our singing, too.

In fact, at one notable meeting, the group decided that the person who arrived latest to the meeting had to sing her check-in (each week we share a bit about what we are up to). Well, of course, I was the last to arrive. And to everyone’s surprise (if not delight), I jumped right in and captured the essence of my check-in with a tune. Bravely, I might add. This was one of only a small handful of times I’ve actually sung solo in public — I confess I am a little disappointed this did not become a standard part of our meeting — I’m usually running a bit late, and just so I’m prepared, I’ve got my next song all ready. I’ve even been practicing!…But I digress…

It often makes me wonder just what is it exactly that gives rise to this shared creative abundance. What makes the creative sparks fly? Why is this environment (our weekly coach gathering) so particularly rich in both the fuel and the accelerant that launch the creative spark into a roaring flame? And can our experience be a guide for others?

Here’s what I notice:

We delight in playing with ideas. We are not afraid to be silly, or contrary, or turn things inside out just for fun. We come together with the intent to collaborate and co create. We are always looking for, expecting, anticipating the next creative jump.  We let ideas have their own life… belonging to themselves (rather than belonging to an individual or even the group). We have an environment with which we have a regular, ongoing relationship, to support our creating and let ideas incubate. Our environment consists of a regular time on our schedules, a comfortable physical space, with lots of prompts and tools (toys, flipchart, markers, etc) and most of all — our environment includes people. We ask if there is a next natural step to bring the idea forward.

Of course, there may be some components I am missing, because, after all I am writing this article alone…hmmm…this sparks a couple more elements: We give space for people to play to their unique strengths vs. wanting everyone to create the same way.  We each choose to contribute, and we will often adapt on the fly to respond to what is needed in the moment.

So, my “Top 10″ list for Successful Co-Creating:

1. Play
2. Intend to Create
3. Anticipate the Spark
4. Allow the Idea to Be
5. Let the Environment Support
6. Forward into Action when appropriate
7. Operate from Strengths/Uniqueness
8. Synergize in the Moment
9. Choose to Contribute
10. Adapt on the Fly

and, oops — forgot one, 11. Celebrate!

Um…make that two, 12. Embrace Mistakes

So there you have it. Now gather up your friends, colleagues, or heck, even strangers, and create something amazing! And let us know what works for you!

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Laura Lind-Blum, the idea midwife™ uses playful strategies to help you bring your creative self into the world … without so much pushing. Laura can help you to playfully build and sustain forward movement, turn stuck places into stepping stones, and gracefully dance with the ebbs and flows of the creating process. Email Laura today and discover the joy of creating and living an unusually authentic and fulfilling life!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 9:34 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.