Stretching Yourself at Work Through Creative Tension

Career

Nov 22

This week was a big one for me—on Wednesday, I led my first training as a facilitator for Harvard Business Publishing's corporate leadership development program. From there, I attended a VIP dinner for the speakers of the ON Leadership Conference, rested my head for a few hours, and woke up to present a TED-style talk on my leadership philosophy in front of my biggest conference audience yet.

For the past few weeks, this week has loomed large in my mind—a mix of excitement and nerves. Because stretching is uncomfortable. And it's somehow also my favorite.

Two years ago, when I sat down to write my personal Strategic Career Compass, I identified that one of the key ways that I feel fulfilled and successful is through maintaining something called creative tension.

Creative tension is a simple but powerful concept that was formed by Peter Senge, a professor of organizational learning at MIT's Sloan School of Management:

Picture a rubber band stretched between your two hands: on one side is your current reality, you as you are now. On the other side is your vision for who you want to be, how you want to grow. If who you are now and your vision are too close together, the rubber band will be floppy—you'll be bored and unchallenged. If your vision is too far away from your current reality, the rubber band will stretch to the point of breaking—you'll be exhausted and discouraged.

The key is to maintain a creative tension—setting that vision just far enough that you find a sweet spot where your rubber band is pleasantly taut, pulling you forward with both energy and momentum.

I continually check in with and readjust my rubber band. Last year, industry conferences felt like an exciting stretch for me. This year, they felt completely natural. So I needed to figure out how to create opportunities to stretch myself further in the ways I most want to grow—by stepping onto larger stages in new formats.

Because I know that maintaining creative tension is key to my sense of success, I am always tuned in to both how I am stretching and taking good care of myself for growth and sustainability.

Here are some questions to ask yourself about your own experience with creative tension:
• Think of a time in your career when your current reality and vision were too close together. What was it like and how did it feel?
• Think of a time in your career when you felt so stretched that you were about to break. What was that experience like for you?
• Where is your sense of creative tension right now?

Want to dive in to Creative Tension More?
C reativeTensionWorkbook - From Penney Leadership
I made you a free workbook to check in with how you experience creative tension and to design how you'd like to stretch yourself right now. I also included my favorite tips for maintaining that forward movement.

Peter Senge ExplainsCreativeTension
Hear all about it from the man himself in this five minute video. Senge outlines how creative tension doesn't just apply to us as individuals—it's also a leadership tool for organizations and larger movements.

UsingCreativeTensionto Motivate Your Team
This article from Inc. explores how to build a culture of creative tension on your team. It starts with monitoring how stretched everyone feels, but it also means getting on the same page on where things stand and the vision for where you're collectively going.