Key points we should consider when we lead and manage a creative team
Roles
Structure and define roles and responsibilities, empower people and make them fully accountable for their specific roles.
Trust
With ultimate trust, projects run smoothly, effectively and successfully. Building this trust is key to a successful team.
Embrace differences
Dont fight the differences, embrace them, love what the person brings to the team and forget the bullshit.
Chance
Give people the chance and let them surprise and surpass your expectations.
Distribution
Each project is given to those best suited in terms of skills and experience, however you must also rely on available resources and have the flexibility to shuffle things around.
Plan
Plan with project managers, never pass a project around the whole team as everyone works in different styles
Apathy
Stray minds lead to the suffering of work quality and demotivates the team. Stop it.
Communicate
Drink beers, have lunch, talk openly and listen attentively and allow everyone to have an equally loud voice. Get up and walk around, ask “hey, what you working on?”. Get involved
Team meetings
Monday prep talk, or Thursday night beer and review. Assemble the team to talk about current and upcoming projects, specs, ideas, bring paper, pencils, let people think out loud and write everything down.
Lead
Leaders should be established and they’ll naturally rise to the top. Follow those who are passionate, those who really believe.
Direction
Creative Director sets the overall tone of the project’s creative and planning phase, make sure everything is tight and on brand and can be executed from a technological standpoint.
Art Director dictates the design specifics and execution, working closely with Designers and Developers on the look and feel and motion.
Think
Ask questions that get people to think. Groups become very stale if they don’t engage in strategic thinking. Pose imaginary problems and let the group solve them. “If we were to get such and such project, how would we attack it?”
Question
If there is a project that is particularly impressive done by another company, get together and ask how we would have done it. This will not only provide ammunition for the next pitch but also grow the team as a single thinking unit.
Expectations
Bonuses are for production over a year and should go to people who went above and beyond the call of duty as well as those who have performed on a consistently high level all year. You hired them to perform and a good performance should be expected.
Standards
Care about shit, just care, give it more than a second or two in thought, be honest with yourself and others and make sure that you never ever compromise your standards, your ethics and your beliefs.
Love and Passion
Love what you do and do it hard! The team is in this together!
