In this episode of Leading Beyond Limits: Cultivating Creativity, Julie Pham, Phd joins me to discuss the intersection of curiosity and creativity, why optimizing your team’s energy instead of their time brings better results, and how to leverage failure as a growth propellant.  Julie is an author, TEDx Speaker, curiosity connoisseur, CEO of CuriosityBased, and founder of “7 Forms of Respect®”. She was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and raised in Seattle. Dr. Pham earned her PhD in history at Cambridge University as a Gates Cambridge Scholar and she graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley, where she studied history. She earned her real-life MBA by running her family’s Vietnamese language newspaper during the 2008-2010 recession. She has worked as a journalist, historian, marketer, nonprofit executive, community organizer, and management consultant. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her community leadership. She lives in Seattle, Washington. 

• 1:51 You’ll hear about the elements of curiosity as a practice, including self-awareness, relationship building, and clear communication.
• 4:20 You’ll hear how setting learning goals, not just revenue or growth goals, provides value even when things fail and how important it is for leaders to model the behaviors of embracing failing and learning in public.
• 8:30 You’ll hear about how leaders can create a culture of learning together as a team by intentionally creating structural practices for relationship building to get to know and connect with one another. 
• 13:20 You’ll hear about creating spaces of trust that foster accountability in shared work environments by leveraging personal expectations and stories of highs and lows.
• 16:30 You’ll hear about time blocking, making time for deep thought, valuing rest, four day workweeks, and other tactics to prevent burnout and make space for creativity.
• 18:30 You’ll hear about how moving away from managing time and moving towards managing energy and being curious collectively as a team can optimize a team’s capabilities.
• 20:30 You’ll hear about how, as an entrepreneur, taking the unconventional path of bringing on employees early in your business can propel growth, build energy, and bring joy.
• 23:18 You’ll hear about the intersection of curiosity and creativity, how to address the fact that 70% of people feel they face barriers asking questions at work, and how to navigate external pressures that often stifle creativity, like focusing on certain outcomes, false urgency, not making space for rest, and perfectionism.

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