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4 TIPS ON LEADING CREATIVESWORDS BY MARK MILLER The goal in leading creatives is to maximize their

creativity so that they produce good work for the

organization, and feel good about the work they are

doing. But maximizing creativity requires intentionality

– it doesn’t always happen on its own. Together, I’d like

to walk through 4 simple tips for leading your creative

teams in a way that builds health while pushing

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boundaries, and frees up the necessary space to do

what they love:

1. SHAPE CULTURE, NOT STRATEGY

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Advantage, once said:

“Culture will eat strategy for lunch, every time.” Almost

everyone I interact with in nonprofit or business

leadership knows this principle to be true, yet very

few know how to implement it. As humans, it’s always

easier to re-invent processes for project failures, than

address a specific behavior that’s been ingrained in us.

But those behaviors are what shape our cultures, so

we must pay attention to them.

Jason Fried, author of Rework, Remote, and CEO of

Basecamp writes, “You don’t create a culture. Culture

happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior.”

Your leadership should bring reliable practices to the

team that shape the culture around health and the

values you want your team to embody. Once unhealthy

behaviors enter an environment, it can be hard work

to change them. That’s why it’s also important to

remember that the behaviors of the people you hire will

accelerate or impede the things you do to build your

team’s culture. Human capital is the most important

investment you can make.

As a leader of a creative team, spend your time building

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and shaping the culture you want. Don’t waste

precious time trying to correct the old one.

2. BE TRANSPARENT, COMPLETELY

Walking into a workplace every day and with the

responsibility to create something new takes a lot

of emotional energy – for all types of people. Inside

every creative professional lies an artistic desire

for affirmation in what they create, and to be great

at their craft. In a commercial context, where you

have expectations and tasks, that desire can be

easy to overlook.

In order for your team of creatives to create

amazing work, you will need to push them to 110%.

Ask everyone to work late some days, go the extra

mile. And you’ll need to continually challenge

them, which opens up the doors to failure. And

when failure happens, it does anything but provide

the affirmation your creatives want, and desire to

be great at their craft.

All of this requires trust. Trust that the work

environment is a safe place to fail. Trust that

staying late will pay off. Trust that “I will have

become better at my job when I leave”.

The only way for your team to have trust is for you

as a leader to give it. Be transparent, completely.

Every time I have defaulted to more transparency

than less, it has created long-lasting relationships

and resulted in amazing work, a more productive

team, and a higher standard for the entire

organization.

3. FAIL SPECTACULARLY

Learning from failure breeds innovation.

In nonprofits and ministry, where budgets are

tight, it can be hard to make room for failure. But

planning for failure can help mitigate the stress of

having to deal with the real world consequences

of an unsuccessful project.

Planned failure means developing projects and

budgets that aren’t mission critical, but mission

extensions. These types of projects still move

the organization forward, but aren’t critical to its

success. Mission extension projects should bring a

unique value by extending the mission in new ways

(like reaching new people, or the same people in

a new way).

By creating this planned failure, you create a safe

place to experiment and push the boundaries of

everyone’s abilities. If the project succeeds, then

everyone wins. If it fails, the organization will still

go on, and you and your team can evaluate, learn,

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and move forward.

An important aspect of a planned failure project

is allowing your team to be in on the decision-

making process. Let them own the concept and

the execution, but provide guidelines that ensure

it is challenging those on the team. Again, trust

is key, and you’d be surprised how these planned

failures all become success.

4. REMOVE THE BUREAUCRACY

Most creative people love the freedom of

creating. With some, any type of process can be

a challenge to that creativity. In order for your

team to operate at their best, it’s helpful to remove

the red tape and put in place barriers that keep

them from bureaucracy and remedial tasks as

much as possible. It is unrealistic to remove them

from everything that isn’t “creative” within an

organization. Instead, as a leader you can work

diligently to streamline processes to free up their

time, and their minds.

Limit meetings and paperwork for your team, and

then replace them with leadership responsibilities.

Doing this provides more time to create and

opportunities for personal growth. If money is

tight and offloading administrative tasks feels

impossible, take the time to lead up, and help

the organization as a whole improve processes.

Change won’t happen overnight, but the long-

term payoff will benefit everyone.

Mark Miller

Brand Strategy & Partner

Gilbert, AZ