February Reflections | The Quiet Fire of Creativity
At this time of year in the northern hemisphere, as the ground begins to soften and snowdrops appear at the edges of paths and hedgerows - I find myself listening for what wants to emerge.
Imbolc, the ancient festival that falls at the start of February, marks a quiet turning. A returning of the light. The first signs of spring are stirring beneath the surface - not yet visible in their fullness, but present. A time to tend the embers before the flame.
And this February, something else has arrived alongside that quiet stirring. Chinese New Year brought with it a wave of collective energy - colour, intention, the renewal of beginnings. In the northern hemisphere, we hold both at once: the deep wintering of the earth still beneath our feet, and a new current of vitality beginning to move through us. Two traditions, one feeling. Something is waking up.
I notice it in the rowan tree at the edge of the garden. She stands bare-branched still, her red berries long given over to the birds, but there's a quality to her stillness that speaks of readiness - of roots gathering what they need before the upward push of spring. She has not rushed. She has simply held her ground.
This is also a time when I return to creativity - in my work, writing, photography, and in how I lead and support others to lead. Not as something separate from the season, but as something shaped by it.
What are you noticing stirring in you?
Creativity as Everyday Leadership
Creativity is not just for artists. Nor is it something to be squeezed into a few hours at the weekend, or saved for when the "real work" is done.
Creativity is the work.
Whether we're leading a team through uncertainty, making a difficult decision, or shaping the culture of an organisation, creativity is the source we draw from to do it well. It's the capacity to imagine, to reframe, to sense, to connect. It's how we problem-solve and how we relate. It's as strategic as it is soulful.
Creativity was very much the subject of a recent episode of Finding Your Collaborative Edge Lucy Kidd and I were in conversation with Ali Mapletoft, where she talks powerfully about creativity. You can watch or listen to the full episode here .
Fires Worth Tending
As I look ahead to the coming season, I'm giving space to what sparks my own creativity - not as a luxury, but as a practice. Walking. Taking photographs. Reflecting. Writing. Holding space for leaders and teams to pause and think differently.
The rowan tree knows something about this. She doesn't force her blossoming. She waits. She conserves. She trusts that what has sustained her through winter will also carry her into spring. Her roots run deeper than what we can see.
These practices - walking, noticing, pausing - sustain my work. They are not a break from leadership. They are how I lead.
And it's something I invite the leaders I work with to consider, too. Especially now, at this time in February, when the light is genuinely lengthening and the energy around us - personal, cultural, organisational - is beginning to shift.
What creativity lives quietly in your day? What might shift if you gave it room?
Three Invitations
As you move through this early part of the calendar year, I offer three simple invitations for your own creative leadership:
Trust your creativity — even if it doesn't look how you expect. It may arrive as a question, a walk, a conversation, a completely different way of seeing.
Make space — a pause, a moment of writing, a breath before the next meeting, and notice what arises when you stop filling every moment with doing.
Bring it into relationship — let your creativity support how you listen, lead, and connect with others. Creativity shared becomes something more.
These are small things. But small things, repeated with care, become transformative. The rowan knows this too - a season of bare branches, and then, quietly, everything.
An extra invite for those with a stirring to write…
If you live locally to Lewes, East Sussex I would like to invite you to a Writer’s Retreat with Holly Dawson at The Grain Store, here in the heart of the South Downs.
11th March 10am - 4.30pm: The Grain Store, South Downs
This is a rare opportunity to spend a day immersed in your writing, with Holly's support, in a place designed for quiet focus, gentle encouragement and creative renewal. An opportunity to nourish your creativity in a beautiful setting, quietly guided by Holly, author of All of Us Atoms.
Whether you’re an experienced writer or simply curious, the retreat invites you to explore your voice through:
Guided prompts, readings and reflective exercises
A 1:1 session with Holly to develop your work
Time and space to write, reflect, and connect with others
A beautiful vegan lunch by Chloe of Seven Sisters Spices
The Grain Store offers both quiet corners to tuck away in and open space to gather in community. Tea and coffee will be flowing throughout the day. The link to book is below:
A New Season, A New Way
In my work with senior teams and executive leaders, creativity shows up again and again - not as something abstract, but as the spark that shifts conversations, the fresh perspective that changes direction, the breath that creates space for trust.
Late February in the northern hemisphere holds something particular: we are not yet in spring, but we are no longer in the depths of winter. We are at the threshold. And it's in the threshold - that liminal, uncertain, generative space - where the most honest leadership often begins.
As Imbolc reminds us, and as the rowan quietly demonstrates: a new season begins in the quiet. Not in the fanfare. Not in the push. But in the patient, rooted readiness of something that has waited - and is now, gently, beginning to move.
What quiet creativity is calling for your attention? And how might it guide the way you lead - this week, this month, this year?
With warmth, Anni
