They Put You in Charge of a Creative Team. Now What?

Here's some helpful guidance

Back when reality shows were just called game shows, there was a game show called Name That Tune. Contestants would try to guess a song title from just a few notes. I once had a creative director who had me do the same with headlines—could I write a headline in 10 words so it would fit on a billboard? Could I write it in 5 so it would work on a title card?

My new book Raising Creative Teams is about 65,000 words. I can Name That Tune in 800.

Say Thank You

If you only remember one thing as a leader, remember to say thank you. A lot. And mean it.

So, You’re in Charge of Other People Now

When you first decided to join this crazy industry, you were totally focused on learning to be creative. You took portfolio classes. You wrote and art directed and designed and shot until your fingers bled. Then you got your big break. You paid your dues. Maybe you won some awards. You got to be a successful creative. So successful that they decided to put you in charge of other creatives.

Only nobody taught you how to do that. So I figured I’d take a crack at it.

What Exactly Does a Creative Leader Do?

As a creative, your job was to create stuff. As a creative leader, your job is to help other people who are creating stuff be successful.

And, because repetition is such a valuable leadership tool, here it is again: As a creative leader, your job is to help other people be successful.

That’s it. That’s your whole job. Actually doing that job is the tricky part.

How to Do the Aforementioned Tricky Part

First, you need to know what success means for your team members. And the way to do that is to ask them.

Schedule recurring one-to-one meetings where you talk with the individuals on your team about what would make them successful. You set goals together, you work on those goals, and as you achieve them you set new ones. And because you’ve made time in regularly scheduled one-to-ones to talk about those goals and work on them, it makes space for the cycle to perpetuate itself.

Build Culture

Culture is the guiding principle that will help the group be more successful. When you’re building your team, you’re looking for individuals who have the skills to create the kind of work you envision. When you’re building team culture, you’re describing how those individuals are going to create that work together.

Be the CEO of Your Team

You are not a creative director. Or an ECD. Or a CCO. You are the CEO of your team.

And here’s the big secret about CEOs: They don’t know everything. But the most successful ones know what they’re good at. They hire people who are experts in the things they’re not so good at to do those things. You can do the same.

Give Better Feedback

Effective feedback isn’t about what you like or don’t like. Or what you’d hoped to see. Or an idea you came up with that you like better.

Instead, make your feedback about making the work more successful. Start with the phrase “I think the work will be more successful if…” Talk to your team about the things that are working, and the things you want them to change to make the work more successful.

Sell More Work

Selling work happens in the process, not the presentation. It’s in all of the actions you take leading up to the meeting. It’s the time you invest in one-to-ones with your clients, learning how they think, understanding what challenges they’re solving for, and sharing with them where you are in your creative process. It’s creating a team culture that puts relationship building at its core. It’s giving detailed feedback on the work and the detailed reasons why you’re giving that feedback. And all of that happens before you share a single idea with the client.

Develop a Creative Vision

As a creative leader, your job is to make your team more successful. But you can also make the industry more successful. What do you see in the industry that could be better? What are the things you wished existed at the agencies or companies where you worked? What kind of creative hasn’t the world seen yet? Create that.

Here’s My Parting Thought:

Don’t forget to say thank you a lot. And mean it.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful.