As marketeers and communications professionals we have all been there. The organization you work for has come up with a new strategic direction and now the whole world is looking at you to translate that vision into tangible, high impact and differentiating communications projects. And that means... working with creative people for success.
So how do you get the best out of creative people? It’s not that hard, its actually about understanding how they operate and trusting them to get the job done. Your key challenge is on how you manage the fine line between keeping the creatives on track/scope without hindering the out of the box thinking process…
To understand where this line is, and how you get the very best out of your creatives, here are some tips to take into account.
Creativity is about experience: Creative people look at their own emotional experiences to give their creative ideas a personality. They are more than often sensitive people.
Creative people don’t work well with boundaries: The biggest mistake you can make and the biggest turn-off for any creative person is limitation in time and scope. Throw these limitations out the window in a first phase because they will frustrate and lead to poor ideas. Give it the time (see below) but also allow the broadest possible scope.
Yes, I know that you do need to respect deadlines, that's not the point - the message here is, try to apply less pressure to the creative team to deliver "immediately" - work with your management to get the needed space to achieve results.
Also, when you have a brainstorm, agree on a few rules such as “what’s discussed in the room will stay in the room” and “there is no such thing as a bad idea”. That will give the creatives in the room a better sense of security that they can overstep some lines in the service of a creative idea.
HOWEVER, creatives will be looking at you, as the project leader, to help steer them. So the creative process also needs to be channeled and held for evaluation and fine tuning at different stages.
Stage 1: Go as broad as you can, let creatives go crazy (remember, an idea generated today on a different topic may be a winner for future projects, so keep a note!)
Stage 2: Start to filter, pulling out the ideas that make sense to the project scope & goals.
Stage 3: Define three or so of the best creative ideas and present these to leadership. In all my years of experience you learn that many leadership teams like to be involved in making a final CHOICE. So give options but remember to highlight your (team’s) preference.
Creative people’s best ideas are extreme: …and that’s exactly what you are looking for. Because even though the extreme idea may be a bridge too far, it’s much easier to “downscale” a crazy idea to a great one than it is to improve a bad idea to acceptable levels. It’s a mistake many companies make – they come up with ideas that are poor out of concern that their extreme ideas will be frowned at or ignored, rather than embrace their possibilities as a differentiator.
Creative people often have a sense of humor: It’s often part of their creative though process, listen to their (at times bad) jokes because it plays a role.
Creative people are often intelligent and non-conformist: It’s what makes them work so well, but it’s also where non-creatives often clash with them. Accept these traits as a skill that creatives deliver to your team.
Creative people generate 1000 times more ideas than they can deliver on. Don’t judge them on whether they delivered on all of these – judge on their ability to prioritize the projects that deliver the best return and support them in defining these. And don’t forget to note down all the ideas, they will contribute to other projects – create a basket of ideas that people can dip into for future use.
Creativity is about dreams: Creative people are dreamers and more than often fans of series, movies, books and comics. We all dream of adventure and creative people leverage this as part of their thinking. That doesn’t mean all ideas start and stop with Superman, but they are often part of the “spark”.
Creative people struggle with non-creative people (and vice versa): Try to keep the PowerPoints and the Excel lovers in your organization apart during a first creative brainstorm. Have two separate sessions with each because creative people will roll their eyes at the “boring” ideas proposed by non-creatives and those non-creatives will limit the discussion, feeling a lot of the creative's ideas are "stupid".
In a second meeting merge the ideas in a joint session with all contributors. It works much better and I have often found increases the respect amongst the whole group.
Creativity takes time: Creative people often carry a pen and notepad, or have a note-taking app on their phone because a creative idea can pop up at any time – a smell, an incident, even something somebody said will trigger an idea. So don’t promise your leadership a full presentation within 24 hours, because even the most creative people will struggle to meet that. A week to 14 days is best.
Also avoid cramming lots of people into a room for an hour meeting so you can squeeze as many ideas into a list…it won’t deliver the best ideas most of the time – DO however, have a creative brainstorming meeting with the relevant people but don’t set the expectation that an idea has to be found within that hour.
Creativity is a building process: One idea often leads to another, so don’t be afraid to work with “pretty good” ideas that have impact – the amazing idea often follows in a second or third stage as you and your team get feedback on execution of the initial ideas.
Creatives are overachievers, but poor promoters of their own success: In short, they expect to be recognized for the work that they do without having to beg for it. Keep a close eye on their successes and ensure a regular reward - simple recognition is enough. It will fuel their passion for more ideas and, in return, your success.
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know!
About the author
Frederique Depraetere is a native English and Dutch speaker with a UK/US education and background. He is a marketing & communications professional with an extensive background in both Public Relations and (Digital) Marketing and is based in Belgium. As a freelancer he supports customers globally across a wide array of industries, from start-ups to established companies. On top of being a marketing professional with 23 years of experience at some of the highest levels in leading companies, Frederique is a pro copywriter, expert content creator and highly creative mind. He is also the author of "The Scarlet Crown", a thriller which he wrote and published under the name "Frederic Dalton".
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