Utilize vacation time

A lot of people think that creative ability is a trait inherent in one’s heritage or genes. In fact, there is no such thing as a creative breed.

Creative minds are not born, they are made. People who have confidence in themselves and work the hardest on a problem are the ones most likely to come up with a creative solution.

There's a long-standing myth about intellectual property - the idea that a creative idea is proprietary to the person who thought of it.

But history and empirical research revealed that new ideas are actually combinations of older ideas and that sharing those helps generate more innovation.

• Ask about passion projects. Learners tend to pursue something else outside work (training for a marathon, playing with a band, etc.)
• Focus on curiosity as much as hard skills. Bring up problems currently facing the team and see how the candidate responds.
• One of the most important things to a learning mindset is the ability to admit you don't know something. So be aware of how they approach the things they don't understand.

This means explicitly defining ongoing learning as a core company value.

Empowering employees can mean providing the time or money to enable learning - in other words, offering learning opportunities as a job benefit like health insurance. 

Every time you take a risk in your business, you face the possibility of failure.

Improv, a theatrical exercise where you improvise a scene with a group of people, essentially mirrors that experience. You have to get used to change fast.

If you work behind a closed door, this will be a great exercise for stepping outside your safety zone.

You might have a less productive week, but seeing your workplace from a different perspective will foster an open mind and encourage collaboration.

Creating motivation and making your team feel appreciated is a critical part of long-term productivity.

Encourage your team to keep gratitude journals - writing down a couple of sentences about what you are currently grateful for a couple of times a week. This practice improves productivity by increasing happiness.

If people can't focus on their work, they are less effective in areas like collaboration and learning, and they are less likely to be satisfied with their jobs.

Workplaces with a balance between individual focus and collaboration are more innovative, creative and encouraging.

• Work together, complement each other, and function as a team.
• Able to operate on and enable environments that are more dynamic, team-centric, and connected.
• Lead and build teams and partner with the broader ecosystems, keep people connected and engaged, and drive a culture of innovation, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Lead a workforce that includes contractors, the contingent workforce, and crowd talent.
• Understand how different business functions, industries, and technologies come together to form solutions.
• Comfortable and competent with risk-taking.

Millennials expect to be developed via opportunities, mentoring, and stretch assignments. However that is hard to come by in top-heavy companies. 

Most millennials think their roles provide little development while most companies report they have excellent or adequate programs for Millennials.

Companies with increased growth are 72% more likely to have high diversity in their organization.

Use Learning & Development (L&D) training to raise awareness about the current state of diversity and inclusion in your work environment.

Up to 70% of trainees forget what they learn within 24 hours after training. However, it does not have to be the case for your employees.

An effective leader will implement and integrate an agile training infrastructure into their daily operations that can change quickly to keep up with the pace of innovation.

1. Empathy. Give trusted co-workers the benefit of the doubt by assuming the good in them. It goes a long way toward instilling loyalty and trust in you from your team.
2. Awareness. Care deeply about the welfare of the team members. Don't view them only as cogs in a machine.
3. Building community. Build community where both employees and customers can thrive.
4. Persuasion. Rely on persuasion rather than coercion to create internal motivation required to complete the task effectively.
5. Conceptualization. Servant-leading entrepreneurs focus on the big picture and don't get overly distracted by daily operations and short-term goals.
6. Growth. Care passionately about the personal and professional growth of each member of the team.

To uncover your gifts, you need to explore new roles. Think of your company as a laboratory. Encourage flexible roles and see how it goes. 

In a situation where you are truly using your strengths, you will stand out from a crowd. Your approach will be unique. 

To name your strengths, you want to identify those moments and articulate how you are different.

Spacing out the repetition, rather than cramming it into one session, is more effective. To use this learning technique:

• Start by establishing a manageable study schedule. 
• Choose a method for storing and organizing information. 
• Don’t forget to test yourself periodically. Tracking your progress will boost your motivation to continue.

In addition to solidifying what we’ve already learned, reflection also helps spark new ideas. And it usually happens when you're not working.

Our most creative ideas don't come when we're consciously focused on the problem. but when we're interacting with people, gaining experiences and letting our minds make connections.

Let’s say that your passion is playing the guitar. What void can you fill in that marketplace? For example, if you can repair guitars and realize that there isn’t a repair shop anywhere else around, that could be a business opportunity.

You also need to ask yourself how you can make the industry better.

Think of all the various ways that you can actually make money off your passion. This may include:

• Selling an actual product.
• Sharing your knowledge about your passion by blogging, writing books or filming videos. 
• Offering advice as a consultant in anything from accounting to gardening.
• Becoming an investor in an idea that you’re willing to financially support.
• Inventing a gadget or software that makes life easier for people. 
• Building an event around your passion, such as a festival or community organization.