A Creative Approach to Managing Creative Talent
Managing and keeping creative minds on task can be quite difficult, but there are ways to maintain a steady ship (and everyone's sanity).
A Creative Approach to Managing Creative Talent
Managing and keeping creative minds on task can be quite difficult, but there are ways to maintain a steady ship (and everyone's sanity).
Think of the most creative person you know. Now, think of a word to describe them. I’m willing to bet words like artistic, fun, unique, and imaginative were quick to come to mind. Adjectives along the lines of organized, timely, or analytical were most likely far off in the distance. We all know at least one creative person who marches to the beat of their own drum. And when it comes to managing a whole team of creative thinkers, this can bring forth a unique set of challenges. You need them to think outside the box, be cutting edge, and allow some room for the “head in the clouds” moments (that’s what you hired them for, right?) At the same time, you also need them to meet deadlines and keep clients happy. So, how do you get the most out of your “head in the clouds” thinkers, all the while keeping the project moving without tearing your hair out?
It boils down to three core principles:
- Communication
- Respect
- Trust
I’m sure anyone could tell you these principles are vital to any management position, but it’s how we each define these big picture ideas and the tactics we utilize to achieve success in these areas that set a good manager apart from the rest.
Core Principles
Communication
Take the time to really get to know your creative team and keep that conversation going. For many non-creative roles, you may be able to give that individual a task and a deadline and never have to check in with them until it’s done. For creative minds, this approach may not be the best route, as they may have gotten caught up on the wrong detail and are running in the wrong direction. Or they may have run into some serious creative blocks and need some assistance or a change in direction to get the back into the groove.
Help build up their strengths, find their weakness, and then come up with a game plan. Taking the time in the beginning to really get to know your team and what makes them all different will really pay off in the long run. By encouraging an open line of communication, your team will be more likely to bring issues to you as soon as they happen (instead of after they are spiraling out of control) and allow you to help them work through the kinks. This communication makes your creative geniuses feel as though they have support behind them, instead of feeling as though they are left to fend for themselves and figure it out alone.
Respect
Creative roles in an organization operate and produce in ways entirely different from most other typical job titles. The day-to-day of an employee in the creative department may greatly differ from what you or I do, but that does not mean their roadblocks are any less difficult. Let your creative team know you respect their work and the creative process. Good ideas can take time and often there are many bad ideas along the way. The bad ideas need to get out of the way for the good ones to come through. Be open with your team. If you have a question, ask it. Let your creative team teach and talk through their methods with you. Listen with the intent to understand. You expect your team to respect your decisions and methods, so give them the same respect and learn how you can help. If your team perceives you do not respect their process, they’ll likely only get just beyond the bad ideas and settle on a good idea (or a safe bet). But if you’ve given the impression the full creative process is not a worthwhile investment, it’s unlikely your creative team will ever push beyond those good ideas to produce that one great piece to send shockwaves throughout the industry.
Trust
Each creative individual was hired for their imaginative and unique perspective; trust they will not let you down in producing when the time comes. These different viewpoints will be what drives your team to deliver amazing results. Though the path to these results may not always be clear or comprehensible to you, trust (within reason) the path your creatives are wandering will lead to the correct destination. Your role is to keep the end goal in their sights and provide guidance and prioritization, as needed, to stay on track.
These core principles are a two way street and, in order to get the best out of the team, your team must also communicate, respect, and trust you and the company. You may be thinking “well, of course an employee would deliver better results if there was an open line of communication and everyone respected and trusted each other—this is not a revolutionary or particularly creative notion by any means.” You are correct. The principles stand as your end goal; ideals you want to get your team to. It’s the getting there that is typically hard. The following tactics can help get you there.
Tactics
Flexible Hours
Being creative is not something that can always be easily turned on—you don’t walk through the door flip the switch on at 9:00 a.m. and turn it off at 5:00 p.m. when the work day is done. Creativity can come at odd hours. Make your requirements known, such as a full work week of 40 hours, but allow for flexibility in how this requirement is met. Creatives know themselves better than you ever could. If they know they do their best work in the evening, don’t push them to suddenly become a morning person. It does not do anyone any good if they come in at 8:00 a.m. and putz around for 2-3 hours, while they slowly get into the groove. That’s lost time to the company and the team. By allowing them to bump their start time back, they are able to start the day in a state more likely to induce creative flow and be able to deliver much more productive days. Similarly, for creative staff who are morning people, respect the fact that they may be creatively burned out at 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m., and asking them to stay late to work on additional concepts may be wasted time.
Daily Check-Ins
Communication and collaboration are vital to any organization. When multiple creative minds are working toward the same goal, it is important to make sure everyone is on the same page. In order to encourage collaboration and prevent people from creating in a vacuum, set aside scheduled time where the team knows they need to take a break, come together, and run through what has been accomplished so far. This helps bring any issues to the forefront and allows other members of the team to give any advice or input.
Bring the Creative Team into the Deadline Process
Make sure you are not making promises to your client that would be impossible for your creative team to meet. This only creates an unnecessary stress on your team. Often, tight deadlines can be met, but your results will be better if your team has help set these deadlines and do not feel thrown under the bus. It's also good to keep in mind that creatives can sometimes have an overly optimistic estimate of how long a task will take them to complete, as they tend not to remember the "bad ideas" portion of the design process in previous projects.
Avoid Excessive Task Switching
We’ve all felt the stress of being pulled in several directions all at once. When too much is on our plate at one time, the probability of mistakes is greater and the output usually is not our best works. The same can be said of creatives. Allow enough time for your creative team to get started on a project before throwing them a new one. In order to get the absolute best out of your creative talent, let them to fully immerse into the project. Set realistic deadlines and communicate what is expected, but avoid overloading any one person. Creative work requires the right mindset and if you interrupt someone every few minutes to assign a new task, they may never be able to really dive in. It is the project manager who breaks down the big project, organizes the pieces, and establishes priorities. Recognize the abilities of each member of the team and feed work at a rate they are able to digest.
Encourage a Creative Workspace
Boring spaces do not spark creative ideas. Talk with your team and see what little things can be done to make their work environment more conducive to creativity. Let them have plants, hang photos, posters, or even paint the walls. It’s amazing how a change in color can change the mood of a whole space. By letting individuals create their unique and comfortable space, your team will be more likely to get into their creative groove faster.
Managing a team of people is not easy; managing a team of creatives brings forth a whole new set of challenges. Give them space, but keep them in check. Manage, but don’t micromanage. Allow for pie in the sky ideas, but know when to reel them back to reality. It's all a balancing act and something that takes time to get down. Remember to keep in mind the overall principles and tactics to help keep your team on track, and you’ll likely keep your hair intact.
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Keywords
- Time Management
- Project Management
- Coordination
- Organization