Creativity can mean taking a path less followed. While it is about coming up with new ideas and images, it can also require courage to do something different.
Here are some synonyms for creativity – originality, individuality, imagination, innovation, vision and resourcefulness.
In Collaborative Divorce, there is a team of professionals who commit to resolving their case out of court. When the parties sign a Collaborative Participation Agreement, it serves as a contractual commitment that neither attorney will represent that client in litigation. The threat of litigation is replaced with a commitment to be creative in settlement of the case.
We look at the law as one frame of reference, yet look to other reference points in decision making such as:
1) Sense of fairness
2) Interests and needs (of parties and children)
3) Relationship of parties (how decisions will affect it)
4) Practical and economic realities
5) Prior agreements
6) Other (cultural issues, emotional issues)
7) Goals of the parties
Our clients may want to try something different or non-traditional and may need the support of the team to help them develop their ideas. We create options in order to help resolve issues and help clients heal from the pain of divorce.
When there are children, they may benefit from the creativity of the team that develops a parenting plan that works for that unique family. Work schedules, extended family traditions, the various ages of the children and their activities, can all be factors to consider when creating a plan that addresses sharing of parenting time and how holidays will be celebrated. Sometimes, rather than look to the past for traditions that may no longer work in the future, parents can be encouraged to establish new ways to celebrate special occasions with their children.
Frequently there is a common goal, for parents using Mediation or the Collaborative Divorce Process, to create a plan where their children can thrive and both parents can have a strong, healthy parent-child relationship, even if the parents are not staying married.
Divorce can bring sadness and loss, yet it also can lead to growth for all involved. If Collaborative Professionals and their clients are able to creatively resolve the issues for settlement, there is a feeling of accomplishment. It can be rewarding to look at the outcome and also the path taken to get there. As professionals, it can inspire us to pull from that experience as we work with others through collaborative problem solving.
The creative work done with clients not only helps the clients reach resolution, but also can have a lasting impact on those directly and indirectly involved. The benefit can impact children, as well as others who then may use similar creative skills in resolving future disputes. In addition, the creative problem solving approach can be passed down to the next generation.
“We have no hope of solving our problems without harnessing the diversity, the energy, and the creativity of all our people.” Roger Wilkins