Women provide a lot of value to society in a variety of ways. Schools have counted on them for decades to support activities, raise money and, in recent years, to supplement staff. But as need explodes a lot of moms are rethinking their actions.

Speaking of moms, are you familiar with Heather Armstrong? Talk about a mom with (social) influence!

Have you heard of Madam C. J. Walker? She was an independent woman who built a beauty company along with the factory in which it operated at the start of the century—the Twentieth Century, that is.

110 years later two other women with vastly different approaches and MAP have both risen to the top spot in two vastly different companies.

Finally, what do Hedy Lamarr, Danica McKellar, Mayim Bialik and Natalie Portman have in common? Try serious science creds (think PhDs, research, patents, etc.)

Image credit:  MykReeve on flickr

I used to have six aquariums, the smallest was a 25 gallon, six inch deep room divider and the largest was 100 galleons.

One day I moved a small, about four inches, black ghost knifefish from the 25 gallon tank to the 100 gallon aquarium. Over the next year it grew to about 11 inches.

This happened because fish grow based on the concentration of a chemical they secrete into the water. Nature stops growth when the concentration indicates that the environment won’t support them further.

Human beings grow similarly—they will grow as long as the environment they are in supports their growth.

Curiosity, investigation, discussion, dissent and debate are the chemicals humans secrete, but the most important is curiosity.

Limit curiosity and you limit growth; shut it down and growth stops cold.

This applies just as much to parenting as it does to managing or “leading.”

Just think what would happen if each of us worked to encourage unlimited curiosity, investigation, discussion, dissent and debate in our own little corner of the world.

Think of the growth that would be unleashed; the happiness that would be generated; and the difference between that world and our present one.

Image credit: Derek Ramsey on Wikipedia

In my work with entrepreneurs the conversation frequently turns to creativity, the importance of “thinking outside the box” and how to encourage it.

With all the focus on entrepreneurs I thought it was a good time to revisit something I wrote a few years ago.

This is my own theory about boxes.

Everybody has a box.

That’s right and no matter how hard you try you’ll never really think outside it.

The idea that boxes are bad is a function of how you interpret them.

It’s not the box that matters, but its size and how you address that.

Steve Jobs’ and Steven Spielberg’s boxes are immense, far larger than most, yet they both continue to enlarge them.

And therein lays one of the secrets of a creative organization.

It’s not about encouraging your people to “think outside the box,” but about helping each to understand their own box and how to enlarge it.

Use up your box’s content, find its sides, move beyond them, a new box forms and the process begins again.

Because that’s how it works—each time you move outside your box, a new one forms.

If you work at it, this process continues throughout your life—although some never start it and some get comfortable in a certain box and retain it.

The most wonderful thing about boxes is that whether you remain, enlarge or retain, it’s always your choice and within your control to make it happen.

There will always be a box, but with effort you can enlarge it enough to encompass galaxies—and even entire universes.

It’s all yours for the choosing.

What do you do to enlarge your box?

Image credit: NASA

YouTube credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_AxIZO8ifU

An interesting article from Knowledge at Wharton cites several recent studies that help explain the difficulty corporations have tapping creative types for positional leadership roles.

Those individuals who expressed more creative ideas were viewed as having less, not more, leadership potential. The exception, they found, was when people were specifically told to focus on charismatic leaders. In that case, creative types fared better.

The article and associated studies should be required reading for every manager charged with hiring, whether for a so-called leadership position or team member.

Every manager wants to hire creative talent, that isn’t new, but understanding why you might pass on the very talent you need is knowledge worth having.

Creativity, also known as thinking outside the box, isn’t always a comfortable trait to have around; moreover, it requires much more effort to manage.

But make no mistake, while in today’s high stakes global markets those who color inside the lines can maintain the company for a time, it is the creatives who will take it to the next level.

It’s also worth noting that not all creative people are charismatic and those with charisma may not have a creative bone in their body.

Read the article and determine how much applies to you/your organization (team, department, company), and then decide if it’s worth changing.

As always, it’s your choice.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedbee/103147140/