How to lead your creative people

Here's a copy of my new white paper. It's the precursor to my book series due out in about June this year. To view just click on the animation. Or download a pdf version. Hope you enjoy.

Being creative is sexy. Everybody is talking about it and everybody is doing it. Being creative is the new black.

And in business, being creative is even sexier.  Why? Because being creative drives business.  It adds real value to a business. Value to its people, value to its customers, and value to its bottom line.

Log onto any business website, such as Business Week or Harvard Business Review, search for ‘creativity’, and you’ll find a plethora of articles. In his book Flight of the Creative Class, Richard Florida points out that in the US alone, workers in the creative sector make up 30% of the workforce and earn nearly 50% of the money.  Being creative is not some whimsical, intangible thing – it’s a major business tool.

Intrinsically, we all understand this.

But there is a problem – because there is a gap. There’s a gap between the value an organization places on being creative and its ability to tap into its creative resources to fully use the talents of its creative people.

How do we know this? Because we asked. Recently, we conducted a survey of both business leaders and creative people[2]. One of the questions we asked was, ‘In business, should creativity have a commercial value?’ Pretty straightforward and, as you would expect, most people answered yes – 90%, in fact.  Not surprising, when you think about it. In the commercial world, creativity just isn’t that useful unless it leads to a positive business outcome.

BUT… the surprise was the result from another fairly straightforward question: ‘Do you fully utilize the talents of your creative people?’ Only 17% of people answered yes!

I don’t know about you, but that rings alarm bells for me.

On the one hand, business emphatically understands the need for creativity to be commercially valuable – yet 83% don’t make full use of their creative people’s abilities and wisdom to achieve this. What’s even more amazing is that they know they don’t!

It’s like building a bridge across a canyon to get a heap of stuff to the other side, but only using 17% of that bridge’s capacity. You’d have to limit how much you carry across or do multiple trips. Either way, it’s inefficient: you’re not making full use of a very useful bridge.  You wouldn’t utilize only 17% of the bridge's capacity, so why use only 17% of your organization's creative capacity?

The answer lies in the challenge that faces creative organizations. The challenge is not actually to find creative people and it's not to teach your people how to be more creative. The real challenge facing creative organizations is knowing how to lead your creative people and your innovative thinkers. It is knowing how to tap into their talents, harness their genius, and direct it towards viable business outcomes.

Click here to read the full paper

How’s your Creative Fitness?

Utilizing the creative talents of your people is key to fully realizing the creative potential of your organisation.

Recently we undertook a short ‘360-degree Creativity Health Check’ on how the ‘not-for-profit-network’ utilizes creativity. With their permission here’s a exert from the article…. Also if you want to see the entire artilce...here's the link.

Creativity is a major business driver. No argument there. It delivers ideas, outpaces competition, reaches markets, improves systems, and creates leader of industry. In the competitive world of not-for-profit it helps streamline systems, create strategies and find new ways of reaching people. Creativity delivers real value and many levels.

However, in an attempt to harness creativity many organisations are not fully utilizing the creative talents of their people and as a result there are lost opportunities.

So how do you improve your organisations’ creative fitness? Well it’s a bit like when you join a gym. The first thing that happens is a fitness instructor sits you down and does a full fitness appraisal so they can devise the appropriate strategy. You could of course start without that, but chances are you’d be working on the wrong areas, focusing on the wrong things, or even worse, ultimately doing damage. So the first thing to do is figure out how creatively fit your organisation is.

Recently we undertook a short ‘360-degree Creativity Health Check’ on how the ‘not-for-profit-network’ utilizes creativity. Although not a full assessment, the results were both interesting and telling. And although it covered the sector as a whole, rather than individual organisations, it certainly highlighted some trends and areas of focus. Here’s what we found.

To view the entire artilce here's the link

To view the entire Not for Profit online magazine click here

What motivates your creative people?

Now that the New Year is well underway it may be time to sit back and think about what it is that motivates your creative people. Because it’s important to understand that creative people are turned on and driven by different things, if you are to lead them effectively, help them be their best and, in turn, fully utilize their talents and abilities.

It makes sense when you think about it; and we all know that you can’t motivate anybody no matter how hard you try. You can however, help people achieve and attain what’s important to them. But first you have to know what that is.

So what is it that drives your creative people? Well to help give you some insight to that, last year we surveyed a group of creative people (a hundred and seven of them) and asked what is was that motivated them.

The number 1 thing was ‘self-fulfilment’, closely followed by ‘recognition’ and then ‘being part of a creative team’. Financial compensation came in a number 5 with only10% listing it as their major choice. That doesn’t mean it’s not important, it just means it’s just not the main one. ‘Career advancement’ was way down on the scale as well. Which doesn’t surprise me too much because from my own experience career advancement can mean less opportunity for a creative to do what they do. It can get in the way.

Now to be fair, we did only allow often 8 choices and did only allow for one response; but we also allowed people to leave comments. Quite a number of participants said that it was a combination of factors; others said it was such things like ‘creative freedom’ and ‘making a difference’ motivated them. (You’ll find a list at the bottom).

So what’s the lesson?

Well it goes to show you that creative people are not all driven by the same thing. And it’s often not what leaders expect.  So we need to understand what it is that motivates our creative people on an individual level and them try help them achieve it, rather than lock them into what we think motivate them.

It’s like trying to get your children to have bath by telling them it will make them clean. There is nothing motivating to a 4 -year-old about getting clean (that’s your motivation). To a 4-year-old it’s quite the opposite. Taking a bath is all about making a mess and splashing water all over the place.  

Same result. Different driver.

 

Other
- All of the above, (numerous comments)
- Solutions to business problems and opportunities.
- Making a difference
- Adding adventure
- Helping others
- Creative that works -- results!
- Success
- Creating helpful work that everyone feels good about 
- Helping people see the world through new eyes
- Running with ideas
- Seeing a finished product being used effectively
- Creative freedom
- Using talents in full
- Contribution
- Having fun for crying out loud
- Leading my company to financial and moral success by applying creative



Creative Space

Your workspace has huge ramifications to how you feel about your work and how you approach it. So when it comes down to getting into a creative zone you need to look at your immediate surroundings.

That’s why artists have studios – so they can be inspired and get themselves into a completely different space mentally and physically, which lets them do what they do.

I was brought up in Sydney  - not a bad place to live - and have always been turned on by the home of Norman Lindsay who was, and still is, an iconic Australian artist of the early century. Now a gallery, his home was situated in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, at a place called Springwood.

Springwood is nestled in the Australia Bush about an hours drive from the city. The Blue Mountains are now listed as a World Heritage National Park and rise steeply but not too high out from the Sydney basin, and so relatively quickly you can leave the city and suburbs behind and enter a world of beauty, tranquillity and nature.

And that’s where Norman Lindsay set up house. On a good patch of land surrounded by the Australia Bush with a beautiful Federation house with wide verandas all around and a separate studio, detached from the house where he would work. Down a path is a natural pool cut into the rocks and hillside. This was a real bohemian, 1920’s, artist’s haven.

He died in 1969 and his studio was left exactly as it was when he died and you can’t help but feel the magic of the place. At any point you can imagine Norman Lindsay wandering in, taking up his brushes and beginning another work. And here’s the thing. The studio isn’t that big and it isn’t that well lit. What makes it so inviting is it was his place. Contained, unique and specific. He created a sanctuary for no one but himself. (There’s irony for you because budding young artists now flock to the place).

Lindsay understood the power of space. Of course you don’t have to just go to Norma Lindasy's to understand this. If you live in the city and go for a drive in the country you’ll soon discover how differently you feel. If you’ve been working in an office all day and go and grab a cup of coffee in a trendy café you’ll feel completely different as well.

Our immediate environment plays a vital role in affecting our headspace. And what works for you may not work for me.

So the challenge is to translate that into your immediate work environment. To create a space that triggers and inspires creative thought and activity. We all intrinsically know this.

But here’s the thing. The trick is to create a environment that allows your people to then make it their space. To be able to create their ‘studio’, whatever that means for them. Not to impose a space upon them but create one that allows them to play, and explore, and make their own.

Shooting Ducks

When I was a young lad I wanted to be a filmmaker. I remember I was a seminar with film producer Michael Weiss - who produced Dirty Dancing - and he was talking about how you get a project up. He was saying that you need to talk about it, collaborate it, breath it, live it and just keep banging away, that you just need to get it out there. And then someone asked 'what happens if someone steals your idea'?

His answer was fantastic, because it summed up a very real issue about creativity. He said (and I paraphrase) ‘firstly you should be very happy you’ve had an idea worth stealing and secondly go find another one because the world is full of ideas’.

And he’s right - the world is full of ideas.  Ideas are everywhere and with right tools and knowledge it isn’t actually hard to come up with them, you can teach your people to do that, (and you should), you can even pay someone to do it for you.

The issue is not coming up with ideas, it’s coming up with ideas that make a difference, ideas that are valuable. Valuable to your clients, valuable to your people and valuable to your business.

When you think about it, it’s a lot like shooting ducks at a carnival. Because the ducks just keep on coming, there’s an endless supply of them. The ducks themselves are not the problem, the problem is actually hitting them…or more importantly, being able to hit the ones that give you the big prize.

I believe business often overlooks this. In an attempt to become a more creative organization, the emphasis is often placed on finding ideas, when in fact the emphasis should be placed on finding the right ideas – on finding the ones that give you the big prize. That’s a very different game.

It takes leadership. It takes vision. It requires environments that allow creative people to explore possibilities and take creative risks. And it requires the ability to direct and funnel those possibilities into real practical and workable solutions.

Anyone can shoot ducks. But it takes real talent to hit the rights ones and to keep hitting them consistently.

Here are some tips:

Focus on possibilities not ideas:
Great ideas come from seeing greater possibilities. So create an environment where your creative people can explore and investigate possibilities.

Work backwards:
Be clear about your endgame. That way you’ll know from the start, which ducks are worth aiming at. Creatives love clear direction.

Shoot often:
You can’t hit them if you ain’t shooting – and don’t worry if you miss a few. So create an environment of creative risk taking.

How's your creative currency?

It occurred to me a while back that organizations wanting to improve their creative currency needed a tool to assess how well they utilize the creative talents and genius of their people. It's one thing to teach leaders how to lead creatives but another to build a truely creative organization that nurtures and stimulates creativity on a 24/7 basis.

Why is that important, because businesses that understand the importance of creativity and how to utilize it are in better positions to lead thier competitors, outpace change, meet their clients needs and retain great people. But creatives businesses don't just appear overnight - they are designed. It's starts with a vision from teh top end and them a strategy to be creative.

So...it's been a while in the making but we have just launched our new 'Creativity 360 Assessment'.
We look at essential aspects of how your business supports and stimulates creativity and then deliver to you a range recommendations. The survey is divided into 4 key areas of leadership, culture, process and values.

Together, we select a range of participants from different areas of your business, including your leaders and seniors executives, creative people, innovative thinkers, your suppliers or peers, and as an option your clients.

It’s looking at these areas from the perspectives of different people that gives us a 360 degree view of how your company utilizes creativity.

For more information about the Creativity 360. Click here

5 reasons creatives hate working for you.

Leading creative people is like herding cats. They sometimes appear to be all over the place, to be mischievous, off in their own worlds, extremely curious and can be a tad hard to manage at times. But your business needs them and they need you, and when you get to understand and know creative people, gain their confidence and respect, then extraordinary things happen.

Unfortunately most leaders don’t take the time to understand that creative people work, behave and think differently, and that in order to utilize their genius you need to provide them with a stimulating and conducive environment. So…here’s 5 mistakes that businesses make which will ensure their creative people will hate working for them.

1. Segregate them.
Creative people love hanging out with other creative people. It’s stimulates them, allows them to bounce ideas around, gives them a sense of camaraderie. So whatever you do, make sure your creative people get to network and hangout with others (within and without your organisation).

2. Same, same, same.
Creative people love variety. They are by nature curious. It’s what creativity is all about… trying new things, exploring new territories, it’s what keeps creative people fresh and inspired. So whatever you do, don’t keep giving them the same brief just because they did a good job last time. Mix it up, challenge them, and keep things interesting.

3. Contain their expertise.
In a recent survey we conducted, one of the key things that kept popping up for creatives was the ability to keep learning new skills. It’s important to allow your creative people to attend courses and seminars or just hang out in other areas with other people and learn how to do different things. And don’t be too concerned if it’s not industry or job related because it all adds and the best inspiration often comes from outside sources.

4. Play the money game.
Listen. One thing I know from experience is that most creative people really love stability of income and although it’s not always their major driver it is important. So you need to pay them well and pay them consistently. If you start playing games financially you’ll only upset things.

5. Act superior.
One thing you can never do with creative people is act superior or above them. Although Creative people understand and appreciate hierarchy and chain of command, what they don’t respect or like is someone who throws their weight around. Creative people are happy knowing someone’s in charge, and knowing what’s required of them, but they also need your respect. So lead them, mentor them, guide them, include them but don't manage them or boss them about.

 

The form & function of creativity

Like great architecture, creativity must be intrinsically related to your purpose and your values.

Why creatives should be like helicopters.

Creatives need to be helicopters and their leaders need to build the heliports.

One of my favorite books is ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ by designer Alan Fletcher. It’s a book of creative ponderings and observations and in it he makes an analogy of helicopters and vending machines.

The Helicopters are those people who look at a project, or problem, from all different angles and perspectives. They hover over the terrain to see everything in its entirety in order to get the big picture. They then zoom in, get nice and close to see all the detail. They move around and see the terrain from as many different vantage points as possible.  And because they see problems from many perspectives, they are able to see endless possibilities.

Then there are those who are like vending machines. These are creatives (or creative companies) who have a range of standard solutions and ideas already in place. Clients put their money in the slot and out come the same old, off the shelf, solutions wrapped up a little bit differently. 

To be truly creative is to be like a helicopter.

The problem is that many companies in their quest to win over a client or get a project out, or find a creative solution quickly, settle for the vending machine approach. Yes it delivers solutions and ideas, but only adequate ones, not the best ones, not the great ones.

As creative people and as leaders of creative teams we need to be like helicopters, because being creative is all about seeing the world from different perspectives and from fresh and unique angles. It’s all about being open to as many possibilities as you can, because from possibilities come great ideas. If you limit the possibilities you see (by being vending machines), you then limit the value and quality of our ideas. To be truly creative you need to be a helicopter.

But there’s something even more important.

Without the right ground support, a brilliant creative will never get airborne. It’s vital for leaders to hire, develop and retain helicopters. Great leaders of creative people build heliports and maintain safe air space to work in. They know it’s important because that’s where the gold lies, and it’s what compounds their creative currency.

Great ideas come from possibilities, and you need to get on a different and higher level for that to happen. It will never happen if you’re stuck on the ground being a vending machine.

It’s a great analogy – thanks Alan.

The truth about creativity in business

Creativity is one of the most misunderstood and overly complicated issues in business! But the truth is - creativity needs to be simple and practical.

I used to play golf. I had to give it up because me and golf simply did not mix. But before I did I learned a few things.

Firstly, golf is one of those games that if you over analyze it you are screwed. There are literally thousands of things to get right. The back swing alone has a myriad of variants and then there’s the follow through, the grip, the club selection, the heckling from your so called friends, the mind game and who knows what else to consider. Add to that the fact that every golf pro has a different method of teaching you that by the time to you take it all in it’s a monumental miracle you hit the ball at all, let alone stay sane. 

So the first trick with golf is to let go and just let it happen, because the more you think about it the worse it gets. You just got to get into the zone.

Secondly there’s the whole focus thing. Golf is all about visualizing where you want that ruddy white thing to go by empowering it’s trajectory with every once of psychic energy you can muster. There is no doubt in ‘mind over matter’ or in golf’s case ‘mind over whacker’. How many times have you been ready to strike the ball when someone says, ‘don’t hit the water’ so what happens? No matter how hard you try, your focus and mind control is now on the water and that’s where that ball is heading.

So the other trick about golf is to understand what you see is what you get. In golf, if you set your mind the task, it will find a way of getting the ball there.

Creativity is like that.

Firstly, like golf, it can get complex. There are a million people out there talking it up, telling you how to do it and yes, there is a lot to it – BUT – sometimes you just need to let go and let it happen. The more you think about it the worse it gets. You just got to get ‘into the zone’.

And the other thing about creativity, again like golf, is that it works best when you are very clear about what it is you are trying to accomplish. When you have a simple, clear focus. Set your mind the task and it will find the solution, with or without you. And leaders of creative people especially need to understand this in order to let their people be totally on their creative game.

So here’s the thing. I reckon we complicate creativity way too much and by trying to make sense of it, and analyzing how it works we are simply fighting an up hill battle and ending up in a tangled mess.