On this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, my guest is Laura Nespoli.

Laura has spent 20 years shaping brand, marketing, sales, and product stories for leading global brands and nonprofits. As Group Strategy Director at Article Group, she shapes strategic narratives for innovative product companies. Laura also founded Meshin Movement, a story consultancy that operates in the space between strategy, social impact and creative expression. Through Meshin, Laura speaks about the power of story to develop people, teams and leaders and also helps people and orgs develop their purpose stories.

5:30 Hear about how discovering the terms empath and highly sensitive person (HSP) unlocked a purposeful life path.

11:00 Learn how leveraging agency and creativity can help in finding your authentic story and self.

14:36 Hear how sharing your unique and authentic self and story helps to connect and create community as human beings.

27:25 Learn how to push the boundaries of creativity by embracing failure.

35:00 Learn how resilience and perseverance can be stoked by the flames of borrowing other people’s belief in you and your ideas, even when you’re struggling to believe in yourself.

Where can you find more?

• • Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or using your favorite podcast app.
• • You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.
• • Find Shawn on Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram and explore their coaching here.
  • Find Laura at meshinmovement.com and on Instagram.

On this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, my guest is Emily Schneider.

Emily is a visual storyteller specializing in presentation design. Her passion for simplifying complex content has become a bit of a magical knack — blending storytelling with a keen design eye. She’s not just a designer; Emily is a strategic collaborator, dedicated to helping businesses confidently transform their messages into beautiful, effective presentations that truly resonate with their intended audiences.

4:10 Learn about how Emily’s passion for storytelling and creative problem solving was shaped by a deep wonder about how things come together to create an emotional connection.

8:00 Hear how leveraging our zone of genius, curiosity, and community can help us become more resilient in order to show up at our best and most favorite self so we can lead by example in uncertain times.

9:15 Hear about the power of connection, community and vulnerability and how we can strengthen, grow and evolve through failure and learning.

13:06 Emily turns the tables and asks Shawn the question, “When I’m hitting my goals consistently, am I setting the right goals?”

17:40 Hear about leveraging external influences for creative input and how boundaries create space to be able to find an edge.

20:00 Hear about the three critical things that make a presentation resonate.

24:40 Hear about the role courage plays as our personal seasons shift, evolving our relationships with ourselves, others, and our connections to things and ideas.

Where can you find more?

• Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or using your favorite podcast app.

• You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.

• Find Shawn on Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram and explore Shawn’s coaching here.

• Find Emily at iamemilyschneider.com and on LinkedIn.

• The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Klemp
  

On this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, my guest is Kerry Ann King.

Kerry Ann is the founder and CEO of Eluminate Labs, a software development company dedicated to building solutions that decolonize tech, creating inclusive tools for human wellbeing. After more than a decade working inside the tech industry to promote human-centered approaches to engagement, wellbeing and inclusion, Kerry Ann felt strongly that it was necessary to break free from the exploitative foundations of big tech in order to build software and applications that put people and their wellbeing first. Eluminate Lab’s debut offering Fin - Positive Productivity is designed to help neurodivergent adults learn about their productivity style through data and coaching.

2:53 Hear about the benefits of self-awareness as a method of data collection to help you better understand yourself and what will bring you contentment in your career and life.

12:40 Learn what decolonizing tech means and how it differs from what you might expect.

17:37 Hear about leveraging data to provide customers with better information (without taking an extractive approach) and how data can be balanced alongside other humanistic (rather than deterministic) approaches when managing employees.

24:18 Hear about the philosophy behind Eluminate Labs’ product and how it guides product development and the mission of providing value for neurodivergent individuals.

27:00 Hear about how to build and foster creativity in problem-solving as a leader.

Where can you find more?

• Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or using your favorite podcast app.

• You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.

• Find Shawn onSubstack,LinkedIn,Instagram andhere.

• Find Kerry Ann onLinkedIn, find Eluminate Labshere as well asLinkedIn,Facebook, andInstagram.

On this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, my guest is Consuelo Ruybal.

Consuelo has been a Product Design leader since 2001 and is known for supporting and nurturing each designer in successfully growing their career while positively impacting the company's business and clients. Consuelo builds teams from the ground up for agencies and start-ups, recruiting, hiring, and creating the operational environment for those teams through a mix of business strategy, product innovation, product design, design operations, and a focus on customer needs with a solid research and discovery practice. Consuelo is deeply inspired to create user experiences that deliver value to customers and generate results for clients and particularly loves working on large, complicated projects with diverse team members.

1:51 Learn about the different ways that creativity shows up in our lives.

3:15 Hear how Consuelo builds diverse design teams and the importance of different ideas to spark innovation for business success.

5:03 Hear about removing your ego in order to approach decision-making in design (and more broadly) when faced with the tension between artistic vision and practicality.

7:01 Hear about the fear that shows up when we begin in a new medium or domain and how to embrace the discomfort of “beginner mind” to foster empathy.

10:52 Hear about belonging and how to honor and embrace your own style of leadership, even through challenges like layoffs or harassment at work, rather than internalizing those systemic factors.

16:40 Hear about how to navigate and lead a team through transitions in the constantly evolving technologies, trends, and consumer needs by consistently evaluating the trifecta of process, tooling, and situations.

19:29 Hear about helping your teams grow and work together through feedback and how to be courageous and curious in providing it.

23:23 Hear about how side projects and pro bono work can keep your creative energy flowing.

Where can you find more?

-Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or using your favorite podcast app.

-You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.

-Find Shawn on Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram and explore their coaching here.

-Find Consuelo at www.consuelo.com, Substack, and on LinkedIn.

-Daring Greatly By Brene Brown

On this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, my guest is Tanya Hallett. Please be aware that this episode includes descriptions of trauma and mentions of stillbirth.

After spending more than 20 years working in education, Tanya founded TIPT (Trauma Informed Practice Training) to create psychologically safe, diverse, and inclusive schools and workplaces where everyone can thrive, not just survive. She has spent much of her career working with children, adolescents and adults who are neurodiverse, from CALD backgrounds or those who suffer from complex trauma and mental health challenges. Tanya is a passionate advocate for play and creativity in improving mental health and human connection, and trauma informed practice in schools and workplaces. She is a LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator. She has lived experience of neurodiversity, PTSD, anxiety/depression and is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Tanya strongly believes the future of successful leadership and productivity will need to be trauma informed to meet the needs of our incoming Gen Z workforce.

3:10 You’ll hear about Tanya’s journey from teaching kids in schools to founding Trauma Informed Practice Training.

19:30 You’ll hear what trauma-informed leadership looks like in practice and why it's essential, especially when working with younger generations like Gen Z.

24:00 You’ll hear about using Lego Serious Play in team building.

27:30 You’ll hear about the responsibility individuals have in overcoming their own trauma and where that meets the responsibility that companies have for the psychological safety of their employees at work.

34:00 You’ll hear how leaders can shift their focus toward supporting the well-being and growth of their team members without compromising organizational goals.

36:30 You’ll hear ways that leaders can incorporate more play and creative thinking into their team’s daily work to produce better outcomes.

Where can you find more?

• For more information about Shawn Carney Coaching, check out the website www.shawncarneycoaching.com

• Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or using your favorite podcast app.

• You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.

• Find Shawn on Substack, LinkedIn or Instagram.

• Find Tanya on her website TIPT.com.au or on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, Jon Clemence joins us to discuss SEO, how to increase readership and conversion using both your existing and new content, and valuable lessons about entrepreneurship.

Jon is a professional proofreader, editor, and writer who’s in the top 2% of freelancers on Upwork. He’s the founder and owner of Cedar Press Proofreading, which helps businesses improve their written content to attract more people to their websites and convert them into new clients. Jon also helps people improve their blogs, newsletters, articles, books and more. He’s learned what it takes to craft compelling content and stand out in a sea of online content, and is here to share what he’s learned with us to help you create content that helps your business grow.

1:30 Learn some creative tips about how to transform stale blog content into a traffic magnet without writing a single new post.

6:13 Learn about how people are misusing AI and methods and tools that will get you better results in the long term.

10:43 Learn some ways to leverage your existing website/blog/email/newsletter content in order to see an increase in readership and conversion rates.

15:49 Hear some creative ways to promote your content even when you’re not an expert in Google SEO.

17:49 Hear how Jon left the corporate world during the pandemic to become an entrepreneur and some helpful lessons he learned along the way.

21:10 Learn about how Jon balances structure and experimentation with his team to foster innovation and creativity in a way that enables delegation so he can focus on the business instead of getting too caught up being in the business.

24:00 Hear how Jon intentionally creates space for creativity in his daily routine.

Where can you find more?

• For more information about Shawn Carney Coaching, the podcast, and ways to support, check out the website www.shawncarneycoaching.com and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or using your favorite RSS app.

• You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.

• Find Shawn on LinkedIn or Instagram.

• Find Jon on his website CedarPressProofreading.com or on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, Dr. Kate Raynes-Goldie joins us to discuss the use of play for serious purposes such as innovation, connection, and mental health among other benefits, leveraging LEGO® Serious Play® and SUPERCONNECT®.

Dr. Kate Raynes-Goldie is an internationally awarded human connection specialist, PhD trained business anthropologist, university lecturer, keynote speaker and strategic speaker coach. She is also the Co-Founder and Chief Connection Officer at The Up Next Company, and a passionate advocate for the power of curiosity and play for boosting connection, trust, mental health, communication, innovation and strategy.

• 2:10 You’ll hear about LEGO® Serious Play® and the value of using play for serious purposes.

• 6:09 You’ll hear about the benefits of play and curiosity at work and the growing body of research in this area.

• 8:15 You’ll hear about some common reasons that prevent us from being innovative and fearless at work, as well as how play can help foster psychological safety.

• 11:16 You’ll hear about how play can help with exploring metaphor and story in order to gain insights and create deeper connections.

• 14:30 You’ll hear about SUPERCONNECT®, an add on for LEGO Serious Play, created by Dr Kate, that optimizes for human connection, psychological safety, and better conversations about what really matters including the power of incorporating kindness and consent and how that fosters inclusion and belonging.

• 19:45 You’ll hear about the interdisciplinary approach of leveraging anthropology as a tool to help people lean into their professional curiosity to understand and meet their customer’s needs better.

• 23:34 You’ll hear about the ADHD superpower of being curious and creative, as well as tactics you can utilize in your own life to channel some of that power.

• 26:50 You’ll hear about the “I’m not creative” false narrative that many people believe about themselves and how to change that narrative for yourself and others.

• 31:24 You’ll learn about strategic speaking and how it can help to ensure you’re serving the purpose you’re aiming to serve with speaking.

Where can you find more?

• For more information about Shawn Carney Coaching, the podcast, and ways to support, check out the website www.shawncarneycoaching.com and subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or using your favorite RSS app.

• You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.

• Find Shawn on LinkedIn/in/shawncarney or Instagram @shawncarneycoaching

• Find Dr Kate on her website kateraynesgoldie.com or at The Up Next Company website https://bio.site/theupnextcompany

In this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, Dr. Natalie Marr joins us to discuss self-care, especially for women entering or in the midst of midlife, with evidence backed tactics for stress management. If you're not a woman in midlife, there's plenty of helpful tips in here for you, too!

Dr. Natalie is a clinical psychologist who specializes in evidence-based approaches that help midlife women find inner peace and joy by cultivating their curiosity, growth, and wisdom. She’s also a teacher, speaker, trainer, podcast host, blogger, and is writing a book on how to redefine happiness.

• 6:30 You’ll hear about how women are leaving the corporate world and entering entrepreneurship as a way to change the narrative that our worthiness is tied to our selflessness.
• 9:30 You’ll hear what self-care really is (the answer might surprise you!) and ways you, as the steward of your energy, can flip the script and put yourself first to improve both your ability to give to those around you and the quality of your relationships.
• 13:44 You’ll hear how we can sometimes find ourselves asleep in the habits of who we are in our lives and how mindfulness is a cornerstone to start to become more compassionately self-aware.
• 18:00 You’ll hear evidence based information about how leaders can help foster a focus on the present moment so our teams’ sympathetic nervous systems can get out of the fight or flight mode at work.
• 23:40 You’ll hear how to support neurodivergent individuals on your teams with their energy levels and focus, or if you are neurodivergent yourself, how to advocate for yourself with your manager.
• 27:20 You’ll hear how the conventional midlife research was focused on an outdated cultural stereotype and how to update our mental models of how we think about it to help us adapt to this new phase of our lives.
• 33:45 You’ll hear about what to do if you’re doing everything “right” to get relief during this period of your life and still struggling, including what to do if your medical providers aren’t serving you in useful ways.

Where can you find more?

• For more information about Shawn Carney Coaching, the podcast, and ways to support, check out the website www.shawncarneycoaching.com and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or using your favorite RSS app.
• You can also support the podcast with ratings, kind words, and by sharing with others.
• Find Shawn on LinkedIn/in/shawncarney or Instagram @shawncarneycoaching
• Find Dr Natalie on her podcast Midlife Crisis to a Centered Life Thriving with Dr Natalie or her website learntoloveyourstory.com
• Burnout by Amelia and Emily Nagowski