Creative Leaders
by Ruth Abigail Smith
Creative Leadership. What does that really mean? It’s a question we often receive from consultants, supporters, and other interested parties. And admittedly, it sounds pretty cool, but can be hard to define.
Maybe before giving it a hard definition we can start with what it does. The loss of focused attention required for creativity has left us all depleted, especially when we consider our collective trauma over the past two years. In fact, attention spans were waning before and now have accelerated exponentially, most notably with our young people.
Furthermore, in an effort to “catch up” on lost time, we have demanded more “attention” from our children by confining them in spaces and regulating their behavior for longer periods of time. We are missing play. We are missing problem solving. We are missing creativity. And how can we lead without a healthy rhythm of struggle and fulfillment that creativity provides?
AngelStreet is privileged to provide a healthy space to exercise this important rhythm to learning and to life. Our Angels are creating every day, not just artistically, but socially and emotionally as well. They problem solve together. They learn new things together. They help each other. They lead each other. Creatively. We are able to get out of the way and allow them to lead us in their own development. We create the environment for them to thrive; but they do the work.