THE NEW HOLLYWOOD LEADER

5 THINGS TO BRING TO A NEW COLLABORATION, JOB OR PARTNERSHIP

Whether you're starting something and feeling "in control" or joining something and "waiting for permission" here are some qualities to bring to the table that will help everyone be a better collaborator: regardless of their position in the food chain.

1) VULNERABILITY

 

Take some risks, early. Reveal something unexpected. Confess to something you don't know. Be willing to ask the "stupid question." Be a profound fool.

 

2) YOUR GIFTS

 

What skills, awareness' or certified strengths so you bring with you whereever you go? What are the things you do effortlessly and always that you love to give and people love to receive?

 

You don't have to do them all at once or right away. Just know what they are and be generous with them.

 

3) INTUITION

 

What are you noticing, sensing or wondering about that's bubbling lightly under the surface?

 

Yes, you can continue looking for more data and wait till you're "certain" but intuition, when applied professionally, is the art of making a decision based on insufficient information. (ie. what we must do multiples times every day.)

 

Have read "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell? A great book about intuiton.)

 

4) QUESTIONS

 

What do you want to know from the members of your team? What do you want to know about your project? Your self? Your community?

 

Bring some burning questions into your work. It helps build passion and synergy.

 

5) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/APPRECIATION/BLESSING

 

What do you appreciate about the people you're working with? What makes your excited to be working with them? What skills and experiences do they have that you'd like to hear about or learn from?

 

Tell people what you appreciate about them.

 

Symbolically and literally, we all thrive and prosper with a touch of appreciation or mentoring. Try it out and see how people respond. See how you respond when someone appreciates you.

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

I spent two weeks after Memorial Day on a personal retreat. I got out of town to slow down, relax, unplug and actually get some important work done that for some reason I wasn’t able to get done at home.

I was staying at a place with no internet and no cell phone. I was unplugged from the wireless world. I still had my iPhone (which I used for taking pictures and listening to music) and my laptop (which I used to write and think and brainstorm, but not check email, Huffington Post or Nikki Finke.)

And actually, it was great. I sat on a wicker chair outside my room many mornings, overlooking a beautiful mountain, listening to great music and writing.

AND HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED.

I got a lot of work and thinking done. Freed from the potential distractions of the world wide web I stayed focused.

When I reached a moment in my work where I was stuck or lost or tired or frustrated, I didn’t have email to distract me.

I was “forced” to stay with the process. Or to stare into space, take a walk, get some tea, close my eyes, go for a swim, or write something else.

And what happened was that usually, after a few minutes of thinking or staring at the screen, a new idea occurred and my fingers started typing again.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

What I realized/remembered was that sometimes in the creative process, a pause occurs when we reach a question.

And the productivity demon/gremlin in our mind might say “if you’re not typing you’re wasting time” but in reality, much of what we do as creators is think about stuff. But simply “thinking” seems like it almost has no end or meaning and looks a lot to our “self-critical mind” like wasting time.

BE THE DECIDER

What I noticed this trip was that what looks and feels like “thinking” is actually “deciding.” And before we can decide, we often need to deeply explore and extrapolate options.

What will happen if I decide to go this way? Lets think it through. What will happen if I really go that way instead? Lets think that through.

But in a world with more distractions it’s easier to fall into a trap/loop that works like this. . .