Prime (noun)
the state or time of greatest vigour or success in a person’s life.

Hi, I’m Jason. This is where I share openly about the challenges, insights and lessons from my own journey. My hope is that these thoughts spark reflections that help you navigate your own path to living better and leading better. 

Jason Leavy
Founder

Prime Perspective:
Reflections on Leadership and Growth

"Creativity is an expression
of self."

– Sir John Templeton

“I’m not creative.”

The number of times a senior leader has said that to me is off the charts. It’s the very definition of negative reinforcement.

Let me be clear, as someone who spent 20+ years in leadership roles in the creative industries, I am in awe of the vision and work of the likes of Christopher Nolan, Kendrick Lamar and Yayoi Kusama. 

But I cannot stress this enough: as a leader you cannot think of creativity as something reserved for designers, artists or musicians. As we enter the era of AI, creativity is about human potential. Your potential. 

I've chosen Sir John Templeton's quote deliberately, as in many respects, he's the last person you'd expect to champion creativity. After all, Sir John was regarded as one of the most influential investors of all time – a world associated with numbers and logic.

Yet he understood the power of the creative act, that ability to make unexpected connections to solve problems in new ways.

You’ll have heard me before talking about the importance of having an ‘explorer mindset’ and Sir John compared creative explorers to pioneers, venturing into unknown territory for the benefit of progress. 

Think about what great leadership actually requires:

• Vision.

• Innovation.

• Problem-solving.

• Forecasting.

Every single one of those elements demands creative thinking.

The problem I see far too frequently is that you tell yourself you’re not creative, so you don’t make any time for it. 

Back-to-back meetings. Constant email. The relentless push for ‘productivity’. You've trapped yourself in 24/7 execution mode.

You’re falling into the ‘glamorisation of busy’ trap and systematically killing your creative capacity without even realizing it.

Supercharge Your Creativity 

1. Create white space – Get away from the noise. Ditch that phone. Go for a walk (moving meditation!); read a physical book; try journaling or sketching.

2. Be curious – Think explorer mindset rather than expert. Embrace new things and seek out different perspectives. Deliberate exposure to unfamiliar territory is how you expand what's possible – new inputs create new neural connections. New connections enable creative breakthroughs.

3. Be disciplined – Creative thinking requires you to protect unstructured time when every instinct tells you to fill your calendar. Those white space moments will feel deeply uncomfortable… lean into them rather than trying to fill the gaps.

And remember, as a leader, your team takes their cues from you. If you want to unlock their creativity, you have to create the right environment and lead by example:

• Encourage curiosity

• Embrace failure as a learning experience

• Give them that most precious of commodities… time

Your Choice

You can keep filling every minute with meetings and emails, convincing yourself that's what real value looks like.

Or you can give your brain what it actually needs to think.

Don't wait for inspiration to strike. Create the conditions. Build the discipline. Trust the process.

You are creative. You’re just not giving yourself the chance to be.