Houston, we have a problem...
It seemed fitting to “launch” my newsletter with a comment on my recent visit to NASA.
This past fall I had an extraordinary opportunity to talk to some folks at NASA about creative thinking and problem solving and over the coming issues I am going to share some of my experiences and learnings from NASA including:
- creative leadership
- creative space
- firefighters
- solving big problems (astronomical, really)
- vision
I am going to start this journey with a story of an extraordinary leader that I met there, Karen Freidt. Actually Karen and I met at CPSI, the Creative Problem Solving Institute in Atlanta, Georgia and it was there that we became intrigued by each other’s experiences and work. Under Karen’s dynamic leadership the NASA Navigation Center for Creativity, Collaboration & Innovation at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia is making real and significant positive changes in the ways people approach their work.
Most of us cannot think of a more innovative organization than NASA, it captured our imaginations growing up and has been the focus of many films and books, however like any organization, it takes effort, dedication and drive in order to remain innovative.
Four years ago, Karen’s organization within NASA, brought in a new leader, Rich Antcliff, who’s strategic but radical thinking was just what Karen required to really blossom. He saw what NASA needed and Karen quickly saw it too.
Karen soon became the lead for a unique team and a collaborative space at NASA. The original space was created in 1996 by MG Taylor. Highly skilled facilitators, like Charlie Dunton and Donna Speller Turner, have worked with teams over the years there. It is a place that continues to spark many new ideas, help solve problems, save the government money through process improvements and has now evolved into even more.
The Navigation Center is a physical space on the NASA campus and offers meeting space, group and team facilitation, team dynamics analysis, performance coaching, resources, as well as creativity and innovation training. The Nav Center, as it is commonly called, is available for any employee to make use of – to work together with their team with one of the skilled facilitators or to use the “Think Tank”, a private space for uninterrupted inspired time.
While Karen’s team began to rethink their vision and revamp the Navigation Center, Rich and several other Center leaders requested something that both excited and scared Karen. Along with leading the Navigation Center Team, they asked her to form and lead a team of NASA volunteers that would become Creativity and Innovation experts and teach their own curriculum of courses to fellow employees to help drive innovation.
Yes, she was asked to enlist volunteers – NASA employees with full time responsibilities to volunteer their time to learn and teach their peers about creativity to help drive innovation within NASA. They became the “Creativity & Innovation Design Team”
Karen had a mandate and a vision and she needed people to challenge their thinking, explore possibilities, and show appreciation for their contributions. They needed to do something to help people realize they could do even more and generate excitement. Karen’s first thoughts were “People need to start to question their boundaries and what they believe is possible. They need some visual or physical disturbance to their routine that would do no harm, be fun and only send positive messages, thanking them for their hard work. Something unexpected that also could not be deemed as negative after the smoke settled.” She made sure no government time or resources would be used.
Karen stealthily initiated a movement. A band of volunteers quickly enlisted from all different organizations within NASA and were given a secret weapon – chalk. They worked independently and as a team and with minimal direction created excitement. The graphitized sidewalks and external walls of the otherwise nondescript government building greeted employees the following day when they arrived for work. It did what it was intended to do, it created a buzz. There was no warning, no communication just a loose vision and a tool, the chalk.
The reactions were mixed. Some employees loved it and others were upset and found the artwork “messy” or “not professional”, others felt that it would have been better if it had been “scheduled” in advance. There was a risk; Karen took a big but calculated risk when she decided to use the non-traditional behavior to help the Culture experience a slight paradigm shift to move it in the right direction. There was a risk that the negative reactions could usurp the good that the Nav Center was designed to do and could have extinguished the new team’s flame before it was lit, but to Karen’s delight that is not what happened. Instead, there was a self-policing that occurred. Those that complained were quickly silenced by those that believed. The positive supporters quieted the naysayers and a small seed was planted in both groups that things were changing.
Those involved did not want credit, they wanted it to remain “secret”. They wanted the focus to be on what occurred, not on the individuals involved.
Many of us would not have been comfortable risking our job security and reputation. It takes great vision and courage to let go of control, to follow a gut instinct so outside the acceptable norm and excite others to follow the same path. You need to be able to communicate the vision in such a way that you not only have those that understand, those that want to follow but, those that become advocates and leaders passionately driving change too.
Could you be that brave? Where in your work could you relinquish control and empower others. For some it is a measure of trust – trusting those that you work with to do as you would do. For some it may be a matter of ego – no one could possibly do it as well as you. Or, realizing that it is not about you, that it is bigger than you. For many it is scary to allow others to influence in an area where you have responsibility and accountability. But there are times, as with the Nav Center, where the acceptance of others is vital to the success of the project.
Karen did take a risk, but for her it was necessary. Her vision is greater than her fears. She believes she has a unique opportunity on this planet, as we each do, to make this place better than we found it. She went to work for NASA because she believes that it is one of the places with the greatest potential to impact the human race in a positive way. She knows her coworkers are working for NASA for the same reason and that passion is a powerful resource. She believes, however, that it has not been fully tapped and there lies her challenge and her drive.
Many of the people who volunteered for the “chalking” were then anxious to join the newly forming volunteer “Creativity & Innovation Design Team” tasked with creating the courses and training employees. Their passion has been key to overcoming many obstacles along the way.
Karen is a long time employee of NASA having spent many years there as a graphic designer before being tapped for this unique post. Karen is not what you think of when you think of the typical “civil servant”. She navigates the government waters like a political pro, knowing when to apply pressure and when to ease off and does both with a warm smile. When Karen is not leading the diverse team she is creating art, an accomplished artist in many different mediums.
We were walking from the Nav Center to her car so that we could drive to another building on campus so that I could tour an Inflatable Lunar Habitat (oh yeah! More on that later) she stopped to bend down to pick up a discarded piece of wire in the parking lot, she held it up, gazed at it with appreciation and then made a statement with a single word, “art”.
Karen is truly an inspirational leader, you feel inspired when with her, empowered to create, to think and to innovate. It is my pleasure to know her and be able to work with her and her incredible team at the Nav Center at NASA.
This has been an introduction for you to the NASA Navigation Center and I will continue to share with you what I learned from working with NASA.
This is the first issue of the newsletter, my goal is for it to develop to meet the needs of those that are receiving it. It will be an irregular (and shorter) newsletter, I will send it out when I have something I think you might be interested in. Initially it will contain articles, quotes, and tips but I hope to hear from you – if there is a topic that you are interested in, if there are resources that you would find helpful, if you know an innovative leader or workplace please let me know and I will continue to strive to create something of value for you. If you do find the newsletter of value please forward and share with others. The beauty of creativity, imagination & curiosity is that the more we use them the more we have.
Cheers!
Jennifer
Jennifer Spear
Founder & Creative Strategist
Clean Slate Strategies