#121 - Developing Creative Identity at Work & Personal Life - Oana Velcu-Laitinen

“Creativity at work is a type of thinking and a process of developing ourselves and our ability to create and bring novelty to our professional life." Oana Velcu-Laitinen is the author of “How to Develop Your Creative Identity at Work”. In this episode, Dr. Oana shared how we can develop our creative identity at work and in our personal life. She first started by describing the definition of creativity in her book, its relation with intelligence, and explained why creativity is important for maintaining our sense of engagement and motivation. Dr. Oana outlined the 4 different types of thinking that can help us foster our creative diversity and shared several tips on how to explore our creativity by channeling our curiosity, choosing our audience, finding time for creative work, and overcoming the fear of rejection. Dr. Oana also shared some potential barriers hindering our creativity at work and why we should avoid them to foster more creative innovations. I also shared my own creative journey, including how I ended up doing this podcast. If you are looking to exercise more of your creativity or thinking of starting your creative journey, check out this episode. Listen out for: Career Journey - [00:05:01] Definition of Creativity - [00:07:35] Creativity for Engagement and Motivation - [00:11:07] Creativity and Intelligence - [00:13:55] Fear of Rejection - [00:16:14] 4 Types of Thinking for Creative Diversity - [00:18:46] Channeling Curiosity - [00:21:17] Importance of Audience - [00:27:08] Creativity Barriers at Work - [00:30:49] Finding Time for Creative Work - [00:34:13] Creative Belief - [00:40:15] Tips to Explore Creativity - [00:42:33] 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:48:08] _____ Oana Velcu-Laitinen’s Bio Oana Velcu-Laitinen is a NeuroLeadership coach and trainer focusing on creative thinking to enhance work performance. Her clients include researchers, change leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals seeking career growth. Oana holds a PhD in Economics from the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland. In 2016, she disrupted her academic career to become a knowledge solopreneur. The book “How to Develop Your Creative Identity at Work” reflects Oana’s curiosity to keep abreast of the latest research on creative identity, mindsets and beliefs and turn it into actionable principles for ambitious knowledge workers. Her motto is, “To know job satisfaction, know your creativity.” Follow Oana: Website – velcu.fi LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/oana-velcu-laitinen-phd-6081084 Email – [email protected] _____ Our Sponsors Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Head on over to skillsmatter.com to become part of the tech community that matters most to you - it’s free to join and easy to keep up with the latest tech trends. Are you looking for a new cool swag? Tech Lead Journal now offers you some swags that you can purchase online. These swags are printed on-demand based on your preference, and will be delivered safely to you all over the world where shipping is available. Check out all the cool swags available by visiting techleadjournal.dev/shop. And don't forget to brag yourself once you receive any of those swags. Like this episode? Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Pledge your support by becoming a patron. For episode show notes, visit techleadjournal.dev/episodes/121.