“Creativity is an energy. It’s a precious energy… A lot of people take for granted that they’re a creative person, but I know from experience, feeling it in myself, it is a magic; it is an energy. And it can’t be taken for granted.” – Ava DuVernay
Creativity and Greater Learning
Last fall I attended several Bright Morning workshops—The Art of Coaching Teams, Coaching Emotional Resilience and Transformational Leadership Coaching; I’ve also dedicated myself to daily activities in the Onward Workbook. In each of these workshops and in the workbook, I was invited into creativity: whether by playing games, molding clay or drawing images, all of which ignited my brain and unlocked deeper learning.
In our Transformational Leadership Coaching workshop, Noelle Apostol Colin asked us to draw our roles as leadership coaches (my drawing is the image at the top of this post). I found myself drawing symbols that were closely aligned with many of my core values (creativity, equity, empathy, and community), and I felt more empowered as a coach. Since attending these workshops and engaging in the workbook, I’ve invited more creativity into my coaching practice.
Wisdom from Within
Now in many of my coaching sessions, I find myself drawing. As I hear my client talk, images (real and symbolic) come to my mind. I show these images to the client and see if there is resonance. Oftentimes there is. Images become a springboard for processing thoughts, emotions, goals, and solutions to pressing problems. Sometimes I’ll also ask my client to draw first before talking, and the client uncovers a new insight, has a story to share, or is able to process a complex set of feelings. Through this process, I have come to realize that creativity is an essential component of transformation.
Creativity as a Transformative Act: The MAKER Framework
Since using more creative tools in my practice, I designed a framework that integrates brain research, the uses of creativity in schools/organizations and essential coaching techniques into a process I call the MAKER framework:
Mindset
Activate
Kraft
Explore
Reflect
This framework is useful for topics that arise in a coaching context, and it can be followed as a process itself:
Opening Activities: Mindset and Activate
- Mindset (or Mind-set): The word creativity can have a polarizing impact on people, and often people become fixed in their views by saying they are either creative or they’re not. By inviting a growth mindset as an initial step in coaching work, clients can shift from saying, “I’m not creative” to “I’m not creative yet.” The words “and” and “yet” are powerful tools for inviting a growth mindset. The I Am activity in The Onward Workbook also is a great tool to invite clients to see their identities as expansive.
- Activate: Once a client is in a growth-oriented mindset, it’s time to activate the brain. Free-association activities, the use of molding clay, or even movement are important ways to ignite the brain and get synapses ready to fire. Play and divergent thinking activities can reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) and increase oxytocin (the “feel-good” hormone). In coaching, these types of creative tasks are great openers to engage in coaching work—and to build rapport between the coach and client—and they take just a few minutes.
Deepening the Session: Kraft and Explore
- Kraft and Explore: In German, Kraft means “force,” and I think of it as a risk-taking catalyst (a gentle force) to tap into our inner wisdom and make our thinking visible. This is the place where the client and coach are engaged in the act of exploring and creating something physical—sketchnoting, drawing, using props or any other tangible ways of making thinking visible and/or tactile. Symbolic and abstract thinking helps us uncover deeper insights, build resilience, make meaning and solve problems. The Onward Workbook is rife with activities that are Kraft-and-Explore-worthy. Hopes and Goals/Current Challenges, What’s in Your Toolbox, How Writing Helps You Learn, Making a Values Jar or Visually Depicting a Life Story are just some among many possibilities that can be adapted for coaching contexts.
Bringing it All Together: Reflect
- Reflect: Oftentimes the reflection portion of the session is the most powerful, especially as the coach and client talk about what they learned. In this portion, the client spends the final 10 minutes synthesizing “creations” into a summary of learning, which can sometimes invite new habits or even further exploration opportunities. In a recent coaching session, my client reflected on her learning by developing a mantra that would shape her work for the rest of the school year. We created a visual symbol of the mantra, and my client keeps it in her notebook as a reminder of her inner wisdom and power.
Since using creative tasks in my coaching, I find that clients and I not only deepen our work together, but that our sessions are more memorable and joyful. While creative tasks don’t necessarily work for all coaching sessions, creativity opens up greater possibilities for transformation. What would happen if you invited creativity into your coaching practice?
Lori Cohen is an experienced school leader, instructional coach, classroom teacher and education consultant who has worked in public and independent schools for two decades; she cares deeply about educating for equity and believes coaching serves as the best form of professional development for teachers and leaders.. She is also the author of Why Instructional Coaching Matters in Independent Schools, Breaking Down Barriers and Building Relationships, Strong Leadership Lies in Strong Coaching, and Mindfulness As a Tool to Dismantle Systems of Oppression–Within Ourselves. Beginning July 2019, Lori will be joining the Bright Morning Team to provide ongoing and customized services for Independent Schools. You can find her on Twitter @lcctchr