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Directing the Bottled Lightning: Working With Creatives
Working with creatives is a double-edged sword. They are people who are effortlessly dynamic and come up with infinite ideas, but it’s almost like trying to capture lightning in a bottle when you find the right person. When we are looking to bolster our business, we have to find the right balance. How can we work with creatives effectively?
The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
We can spend a lot of time trying to find the right person and scouring every LinkedIn webpage when, actually, we have to go through the right resources. If you are looking for an influencer, an agency like unrulyagency.com can provide you with inspiration and resources to become an influencer or utilize influencer tactics.
Clearing Space Under the Spotlight
Creatives will thrive under the spotlight, but they are less likely to conform to conventional thinking methods. To manage a creative person’s impulse to seek attention, you need to ride the wave. Try not to compete with them for your employees’ attention. The benefit of being a good manager who can effectively guide a creative person’s approach is knowing how not to stifle them.
Your goal is to provide some guidelines to filter out certain inappropriate behaviors, especially when the stakes are high. There is no point trying to micromanage them, but if you can gun for semi-respectable behavior from them, you will have done your best.
They Are Not All the Same
There is a case to be made for assuming all creatives fit a certain personality type. While this article on linkedin.com makes a case for not stereotyping creatives, we need to remember that creativity comes with peaks and troughs. We may think that a creative person goes against the grain or is someone prone to bouts of hyperbole.
And when we start to believe the stereotypes about creative individuals, we may make assumptions about them that are not true. While we need to be on the lookout for creatives who tend to twist the truth, this can eat away at our own professional behavior. We should not be paranoid, nor should we tolerate any dishonesty or deception in the work environment.
It’s All About the Bigger Picture
The creative individual may very well believe they are an island. But if we are to harness creativity effectively, it’s about utilizing them in the right place. The common goal is something you need to remind your colleagues of.
One of the best things you can do is match them with an individual who balances them out. Pairing up a creative team member who is organized and conscientious is a great way to get the yin and yang in balance. And this is where the creativity of a team becomes invaluable. One individual might be difficult to work with on occasion, but it takes a team of individuals to make the final project sing.
