The gift and the curse of being creative [Part 1 of 2: the Curse]
Some background
It's hard for creatives to live in a world that's so full of trivial stuff and administrative tasks. Creatives hate routines. We constantly have ideas pop into our heads. We like to see those ideas come to life. We like to see people actually using our inventions. Like I said in my previous post: we have this fire burning inside us.
We just have to wake up and create stuff. Otherwise creative people will feel so unfulfilled. It's important to do something that has meaning. Something that every bone in your body feels like it's built to do. It's an urge that's even bigger than our desire to just survive in life.
Why I'm sounding so dramatic right now
A creative person can really die from not being creative. If it doesn't kill you, it will really crush your soul. You can come back from that but for a period you'll be so unhappy from being forced to only perform routine tasks. I'll also discuss how to come back from a creative dip. In the second part I'll discuss the great joys of being creative.
What micro-managers should know
For a non-creative (no offense micro-managers) it's so important to recognize what drives creatives. So you know how to deal with them. I've seen managers lose valuable creative people, just because they didn't recognize what creative people value the most. If you think you can push a creative person to become 'a machine in a factory', you'll make the creative unhappy and you'll gain nothing in the process.
And thats crazy, because you NEED creative people. Well I'm biased here because I'm a creative :). But if you have a creative person working for you, know that they are awake at night thinking. Not because they are scared of losing their job or money. No. They're thinking about how to grow YOUR business. How to make YOU successful. They will come with ideas and solutions that you may find 'hard to implement'. There are a few reasons you find it hard to implement (and it will cause some friction):
A new solution requires you to work in a different way. Unlike creatives, micro-managers are less flexible people and this triggers some fear.
A new solution may require you to abandon the things you thought would make a business successful. What worked in the past will work in the future? Nope. And creatives see the business threats before you see them.
You'll have to take risks. Because, why believe a creative, right? You only hired one who should 'just make it look like Apple'.
You are afraid you can't 'manage and control' the creative in a traditional matter. That creative is going crazy with his/her ideas and you'll be afraid you can't manage that energy/time. It's all over the place. Learn to live with it. We're not working in factories anymore. Except for the people working in factories. More power to you!
How to deal with creatives as a manager
Here are some tips to help you cope with these wild animals called 'creatives'. Don't worry, creatives have their responsibilities too. They'll have some focus point to make the lives of their managers better. I'll discuss that in part 2.
Creatives are emotional. That's not the creative's problem, it's the manager's problem. Let's not call it a problem. The creative's emotions are the manager's MOST VALUABLE STRENGTH. Yes, you paid for all those emotions because you needed them. Telling a creative person to be less emotional is the same as telling the creative person to be less creative. Creatives speak to the emotions of your clients. They can touch that special place inside your client, because they express themselves from that place too. You probably hired them, because you couldn't meet those needs yourself. So trust their highly emotional nature to be a strength. Applaud it and know your clients want their emotions/needs to be heard. Your creative people will 'hear' these client needs before others can. That's because they instantly recognise the source of the needs of your clients. The why behind the why.
Creativity takes time. Sometimes it means just staring at a wall for 4 hours straight. Most of the creative's time is not spent on output. It's spent on input. It's spent on thinking about the solution before 'building' anything. It's spent on doubting that same solution you just came up with and validating that idea. When you ask a creative to 'just build something quick', you'll get what you paid for. Better yet, you should've probably done it yourself. I'm not suggesting to send your creative to the Maldives for an unlimited time till he/she comes up with ideas. A creative can give a good time estimate. We're not that crippled by our creative nature guys. It's important to know that if a manager can't grant the time needed, YOU as a manager have to fix the problems that result from those constraints. You're responsible for the environmental requirements under which highly productive creativity can exist.
Say thank you and show appreciation. Creatives like to see their work be used in the real world. Before the work reaches the end-user, it will first reach you. More than money and security, creatives value meaning and fulfilment. Of course, a good MacBook and a new Audi will get you a long way. Showing appreciation (for example by saying thank you) will cost you nothing. Then, a creative that feels valued will somehow love to give you more and more of their creativity. We're just wired that way. It's a creative curse :D. As a manager use that to your advantage. Sorry creatives, I had to share some secrets about us too. It's a two way street. I'm also trying to get you guys new Audi's.
Creatives will not misuse the freedom you give them. So many managers are afraid that creatives will just use up too much time if you give them that. That's only true when you mismanage the project. In that case, the creative has to first fix the basic needs for the project themselves before they can be creative. They do this because they are problem solvers. They will also try to solve problems that are not their responsibilities. This can have a huge impact on the creatives energy and health. When all basics for a good project are in place, and the creative is appreciated, the freedom will be used to create the greatest products.
Conclusion
I hope this helps to give some insight in the mind of the creative. I Also hope that this helps to create great products together. It's sad to see so many companies have a 'production-factory' mindset. That's really killing employee spirit and that's bad for everyone. It's bad for the employee in the first place, but also for the manager and the company itself.
If you have a creative person give them a hug today. They're the once to make sure your clients will hug you and appreciate you.
If you're already a manager who meets these needs, you're a boss! You're invaluable and you can expect much loyalty from your creative person. When you see them staring outside, know they're thinking of how to create the best products in the world. As a manager you did great and it means you're actually very creative too! Here's a kiss on the forehead. Your parents were right: you are special!
Cover Image comes from: https://www.pexels.com/photo/closeup-photo-of-man-close-eyes-and-mouth-904276/