How to WIN as a creative manager.
From over 20 years of being a team member to department leader, here are some key lessons I’ve picked up to find, create, and ensure your team performs, is happy and looks after you!
Whilst there’s no definitive list and everyone has different agendas, there can be many traits we overlook in designing, and managing our teams, especially when it comes to getting the most out of the individuals.
Here are a few of my top tips for getting the best from your players, ensuring you feel involved without micromanaging, finding the balance between Creativity vs Order and help young creatives struggling to have their voice heard - particularly in corporate spaces to feel heard and seen.
Have team values
Just as the overall business will have values and mission, having a set of values and mission for the team will allow you to drive the team with a clear goal and vision
Automate as much as possible
Organise team management to build straight forward workflow
Keep the work to being THE work as much as possible, there’s nothing worse than bringing your capacity down by wasting it on administrative functions - if you can make that part of your team structure i.e. office manager/marketing coordinators, etc. then all the better, but fins software and comms systems that don’t add to the burden but make life easier.
Ensure there is time for you to spend with your team - mentoring, developing the inter-team relationship, working out strengths and weaknesses.
Following on from the previous point - some of this will come from sorting out your systems, but it is key to spend time developing your team relationships both between yourself and between each other.
Build an understanding of each individual, their skills, weaknesses and what additional skills they might bring, also have them get to know how they can support each other in the team.
Build agency in your teams - ensure every member feels responsible and has genuine responsibility they can take.
One of the best ways to build your talent is to build their job satisfaction and feeling of contribution.
Make sure each member feels the responsibility for their role - leave them to projects where you can (ensuring you have thoroughly briefed), don’t do work for them, mentor them and keep a caring eye open - one of the best tips I can give is to be glancing around your team and trying to read faces and body language - are they struggling, are they stuck? Go over and chat to them about it, but don’t feed answers, try and get them to make decisions or come up with ideas by themselves.
Cover skills gaps in order to ensure vacation and life-balance
Make sure your guys can take time off!
Don’t watch the entry and exit times - strive to encourage the understanding of why, give to receive, a little here and there will almost guarantee more willingness to give back at another time.Encourage experience and travel so make sure they can have time to do this.
Share what’s necessary not everything - avoid too much worry/distraction
It’s good to be as open and honest as possible as this builds trust which encourages creativity and output.
Not every team member needs to know every detail of every area of the business but make sure this is spelled out - as failure to let people know that there are something they just don’t need to worry about will breed gossip and concern.
Get your team communicating with the rest of the organisation…
…especially the higher-ups - build their confidence and company-wide confidence in them and yourself (the team overall) or with your customers & suppliers.
Get your staff paid.
Nothing will help your team focus like knowing their bills are covered and they can eat!
Make sure you celebrate wins - big and small
Stop and enjoy the work you have done, take time as a team, address individual projects and the work that went into making the project happen.
If you create a solution you or the team are particularly proud of consider submitting to awards
If you can celebrate with other teams or clients all the better!
Include reviews/endorsements as part of the round up of the project.
Make sure your staff are equipped - the right tech, the right support, the right skills
Don’t make your guys struggle with old, outdated or incorrect equipment - if a particular programme, operating system or hardware is industry standard, ensure that you are using these, rather than cheap alternatives as you will end up paying much more in time/frustration in the long run anyway.
If you need to look at alternatives based on cost, try and build a business case - even for yourself - to try and understand the cost vs savings over time taking into account replacing kit, paying for upgrades or if a piece of software will stopped being supported and need replacement, also consider how much frustration you might build in your relationships if you are using different programmes or kit than them.
I hope these tips have made you think.
Even if there’s nothing new here, like it just reminds you or reinforces something else you’ve thought or heard, I hope it gets you to question how you’re running your team or how you are going to design the team you're dreaming about.
There’s tons of nuance in operating a good team - especially when you throw clients or other departments into the mix, but these are some of the key things I’ve found that, by getting them in place, there’s much more headspace to be able to stay more agile for the other much more nuanced moments.
If you’re still not sure or you’d like advice or support, you can get in touch any time for direct, objective, supportive, mentoring or consultancy.
Go and get some wins.
Benn.
