Thursday, May 31, 2012
Managing Creative People
One of the hardest aspects of working within any creative field is dealing with creative people. I, being one of those creative types myself, used to create all sorts of problems for myself and my employer when I was younger. However, in the 90’s when I was promoted to the role of art director and later to creative director, I suddenly had to manage and motivate my fellow artists into doing things they might not necessarily “feel inspired” to do.
Over the years I have come up with five simple rules that I look for when working with creative people.
1. MUST BE A TIME LORD
It may be I have been watching too much Dr. Who lately, but as a creative person time is what you get paid for and how you manage your time is incredibly important. It is so important that a creative person working in a business environment has the ability to look at a project and accurately project the time it will take to complete the project. Without this ability communication, billing and trust break down.
Any child can look at something and tell you what they don’t like about it. It takes someone of maturity to look at a situation that is in need of fixing and see what is still working. By being able to see the 10% that is working, even though 90% is not, you will gain a better understanding of your client as well as develop a deeper level of trust with them moving forward.
3. UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS OF THEIR CRAFT
If you are a fine artists who works in oils you understand that you are not going to create a photorealistic 3D globe that spins around on the canvas. Truly great artists never ask for more freedom, truly great artists understand the limitations of their craft and create something timeless within those limitations. 99% of the time artists that continually want “more freedom” are really showing their limitations, not their genius. The other 1% might actually be geniuses and they wont be ask your permission anyway.
When most creative types get inspired they will kill themselves to complete the project. This is great as long as their vision lines up with the desired end result of the one that is paying them to do the job. It is not so good when their personal need to create something is not what the client is asking for. A seasoned creative pro knows how to leave their personal projects at home and how to use their skills to create what the customer wants.
Here is the most important trait of a successful creative person. They never believe themselves to be a victim. They do not blame clients, they do not blame their bosses and they do not blame the universe in general. They take responsibility for their actions. If they miss a deadline they own up to it. If they slip into looking at everything from a negative point of view they internalize what is going wrong and they fix it. If they screw up, they move on and do better the next time.
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