TL;DR:
- When someone has a creative struggle, think outside of the box for ways to support them.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Leaders don’t have to have all the answers, but they should be able to find someone who does.
Leo is constantly drawing, doodling, sketching. He creates these pictures of characters with elaborate backstories. He spends hours drawing. Drawing different forms of his characters. Then he loves telling us the backstories of each character. But sometimes it doesn’t go so smoothly. Sometimes Leo hits a creative struggle and it doesn’t go that smoothly. Once in a while he can’t get his vision onto paper. This leads to crumbled pieces of paper and serious frustrations. My wife and I try to explain to him how to work through the struggles. We have tried to give him strategies to work through his blocks. Unfortunately it ends with him taking breaks from drawing until he is ready to give it another try.
We need to be able to identify the expert in the room and give them the room or authority to lead. It doesn't mean we are not leading. It means we are aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Click To TweetCreative Struggle: Finding New Ways to Support
I have watched this cycle and him struggle and am continually trying to find other ways to approach supporting him. I have encouraged his drawing. Tried getting him to write his own books. Given him the supplies he needs and tried teaching him techniques that will help him. But the reality is I am not an artist. I have never been one to draw, sketch, or create like he enjoys. Because it is so different from what I have done I don’t always know how to help him through his creative blocks.
Since I felt like I didn’t really know how to help him I kept trying to find new ways with some of the things I knew would help. But as you would expect I wasn’t very successful. So I decided to try something different. I decided not to help. Maybe I may not be the best person to try and help. I thought there has to be someone better than me to help.
I reached out to a friend of mine who I knew was an artist. He illustrates and colors comics and does some of his own art. I asked an expert to talk with Leo. He was more than willing. We scheduled a Zoom meeting for that weekend and he spent about 20 minutes talking to Leo about the artistic process. Leo shared some of his drawings with him and they conversed about comics, conventions, and how to grow as an artist.
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Creative Struggle: Asking for Help
As a parent and as a leader we want to be able to help our people be successful. Sometimes we need to allow or ask others to help our people. We don’t need to be the expert in the room. As a leader we need to be able to identify the expert in the room and give them the room or authority to lead. It doesn’t mean we are not leading. It means we are aware of our strengths and weaknesses and even more importantly we are are of our peoples’ strengths and weaknesses.
Earlier this year I had a student get hurt at recess and I went out to check on him with our school nurse. As we got to the child the nurse started directing me and others around what to do. She managed the situation perfectly. She made sure the student got the help they needed. After the situation was resolved I debriefed with the nurse. She started by saying she hoped she didn’t offend me by taking over. I explained to her there was no need to apologize—she was the expert in that situation and she should have taken the lead. I explained to her that I wasn’t too prideful to realize I wasn’t the expert in that situation.
As leaders we don’t need to have all the answers.
We need to know who has the answers. We need to get those people in the places needed to share their knowledge or expertise. Allowing Leo to get connected with someone who was more of an expert in art that me gave him tools I couldn’t. It also gave him a new voice to hear from. Sometimes our people need to hear new ideas from other people and sometimes they need to here a new voice. Either way the important part is that we give them what they need no matter who they get it from.
About Raymond Porten
Raymond Porten is a husband to an AMAZING wife, 2 wonderful boys, a principal of an elementary school in northern Illinois, and a Golden Apple Scholar. He spends his free time traveling with his family, cooking with his boys, and he finds the time to co-host 2 podcasts. He’s been in education for 20 years and has worked as a 5th grade teacher, middle school dean, 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher, middle school assistant principal and now as a principal. He believes in the importance of building relationships and of taking every opportunity to lead and make a difference in the world.
