There are three strategies that can help you be more purposeful about your relationships. Each is designed to help you achieve more interdependence, inspiration, and accountability in your work.
START A CIRCLE
Many of the greatest creatives throughout history have gathered in small groups to stay focused and engaged, and the practice continues to benefit those who go to the effort to instill it. If you are organizing a circle, you should invite members you think will inspire you with their vision, their strategic thinking, and their track record of executing great ideas.
Your circle get-together will revolve around each member answering three questions.
- What are you working on?
- What is inspiring you?
- What would you like prompting on?
HEAD-TO-HEADS
We rise to the level of our competition. Athletes frequently talk about the importance of competitors who challenge them to push beyond to new levels of accomplishment. The same sentiments are often shared by business leaders and media personalities. Television personality Diane Sawyer is said to have remarked, “Competition is easier to accept if you realize it is not an act of oppression or abrasion—I’ve worked with my best friends in direct competition.” We need others in our life to help us stretch and grow. We need to be challenged.
The idea behind these head-to-heads is to challenge and stimulate yourself with new thoughts and insights that could be useful in your life and work. Give your best to these relationships and you will get the most out of them. The best relationships are ones in which there is give and take, when both parties feel a sense of respect and admiration for the other. We want to root for the other person’s success even as we are competing against them to share the best or most thought-provoking insights.
ESTABLISH A CORE TEAM
Most of us have blind spots, especially as it relates to our creating. We will never be the most objective judges of our own work, and we will always have difficulty weighing big life decisions without bias. It helps to have people you respect and admire to shine light into dark places and help you see angles of a problem that you may otherwise have overlooked.
Whom can you trust to speak the truth to you, no matter how hard it may be? Whom do you trust to say the things that no one else will say? You must have these people in your life if you want to continue improving in your work.
It’s critical to choose your core team wisely. You want people who have significant experience in areas where you may be lacking, and with whom you have a degree of personal rapport. You also want people who are likely to be vested in your success and who are willing to spend time to help you achieve your goals.
* Source: The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry