Managers believe that managing and leading a creative team can be a lot like taking care of preschoolers: they sleep when they want, play when they want, and whine if things don’t go their way. But does this group deliver results? It delivers results! It doesn’t matter what you do, all that matters is that the jobs get done. You need to know the characteristics of creative professionals.
You need to understand the personalities of creative people in order to understand their motivations. Numerous psychological studies have identified common traits in creative people, allowing managers to understand how they interact with the world.
Take risks.
Have heightened emotional sensitivity
They are easy to adapt to the chaos environment.
Are highly self-aspired
Encourage divergent thinking
They are flexible, adaptable, and open for new ideas
These traits are all clear workplace advantages: Curiosity sparks new ideas.
They can take risks and solve difficult problems quickly by taking on risk.
They will be able to work well with others if they feel empathy for other creatives (but only if they “share their pain”).
They will be able to accept “the chaos” and perform in any environment.
They will be driven forward by their self-aspiration.
Unique solutions will be found by thinking “outside-the-box”.
These individuals are creative and can make a significant contribution to the company.
Lead creative teams
It is different from managing creatives. You must be influential but not intrusive to lead your creative team. Leadership must be obvious – management must be done incognito. All creative work is subject to differing opinions depending on the individual. You may be presented with a sketch, text or design that you don’t like. You shouldn’t let your personal preference cause it to be dismissed. It can be run through the test to see if it performs well. Then make the results public. Victor Lipman, an author in Forbes magazine, recalled the nationwide focus group testing that proved that the insurance commercial that he thought was “ridiculous” was actually loved by the public. It ran for years to come and became the most successful commercial ever, as well as foundation for further marketing activities.Meaningful praise over extra money – Monetary reward can easily motivate employees that are performing mundane tasks they have no personal connection to. They should be given bonuses if they fold more boxes an hour than they expected. Morale can be restored by a small intensive. Creative employees, on the contrary, are more invested in their work and create it according to their preferences. Although they appear independent, they are sensitive to the creations of others. However, a bonus increase is not as effective as praising them publicly (or privately depending on preferences) for their creations. They need guidance and can thrive if they have a “leadership personpillar” to turn to. They can do one of two things by being in a position of power: They don’t establish authority and they become too stretched to balance new responsibility with maintaining positive relationships with their former team mates.
They become dictatorial oligarchs.