Aligning Creativity in the Workplace with Madeline Schwarz

Madeline Schwarz’s distinct creative background taught her a valuable lesson we expand on in this episode; story can be told in many forms both common and subversive. She discovered this having gone from the world of publishing, to visual merchandising and then into the corporate world.

In this episode we learn that storytelling is possible in any medium whether that’s in publishing, visual merchandising or giving work presentations; tools and tips to help both individuals and cultures align to a more balanced workplace that values the creatives and the drivers of results and the importance of making sure your creative satisfaction occurs outside of work if it doesn’t happen within.

Find Madeline online: https://www.madelineschwarzcoaching.com/about

Find us online: https://impactfulcoachingpodcast.com/

2:18 Joseph forecasts the episode’s themes of introversion and extraversion as well as creativity in the workplace and asks Madeline to tell of her career, which entails helping the creative introverts of the world find their voice and take on leadership roles. Joseph asks her if leadership qualities of introverts differ from that of extraverts.

6:22 Madeline states the qualities of leadership introverts are known for and Joseph shares a longstanding observation he made in that leadership is fluid, he uses an analogy of soccer (or football) because whomever has the ball controls the game.

12:09 Madeline talks about the feedback she received pivoting from her work as a visual merchandiser to communication coach as Joseph asked if she recounted any significant achievements thanks to her creative thinking.

20:29 Joseph shares a takeaway that our relationship with social media is a powerful but dangerous tool and asks if there is a specific layout that people need if they’re more introverted as it relates to social media. Madeline believes that these platforms are skills to develop and so regardless of your energy type, it’s not restricted to you.

25:00 What headspace does the artistically/creatively minded need in order to thrive in the workplace? What expectations should be set?

30:12 Joseph and Madeline brainstorm different company workplace roles that inspire and involve creativity.

37:56 One issue both sides can encounter is making peace with the change and innovation in the corporate world. Our natural instinct is to dig in our heels and defend the work, money and grief we invested into our expertise and refuse to allow for innovation.

48:47 Madeline shares some of her past experiences dealing with the difficulty of data, she tells of a series of proposals where those who could approve or not were caught up in the small details and neglected to observe the big picture.