When I think about what most people idealize in a creative leader, more often than not I start to feel itchy. Twitchy. Irritated.
A lot of folks have soaked up that gatekeeper philosophy that you must be an expert in every single skill to advance. That you must always be running ahead of the pack. Always better than everyone else. Always getting snarky about how someone else is not anywhere near as good as you are. Always doing more and staying later than everyone else. A "creative genius". A "rockstar."
Those who idolize this type of creative leader (myself included at one point) fail to notice what ACTUALLY helps them in a boss: a person who nurtures their career. A person who makes sure the schedule for a project is reasonable. A person who gives them opportunities to succeed and asks what THEY think. Who sticks out their neck to get them the things they need to thrive. Who patiently files and refiles the paperwork to submit their promotion as many times as it takes. Who makes sure they have the correct tools to be able to do their job. None of those things have anything to do with their boss' rote creative skill or "coolness factor".
If that's you, it's not your fault. I mean this kind of "creative genius who can't be bothered with the pesky human details" creative lead is reflected in every piece of media. Just look at Mad Men.
However, leveling up is going to require an evolution in how you think about yourself.
Yes, of course if you are going to lead a creative team you need to be brilliant at shaping creative ideas. But more importantly, you need to be brilliant at nudging them out of OTHER PEOPLE. Not at coming up with all of them yourself. If you feel like the ideas are only good when you've touched them directly, something's gone wrong.
It's time to stop boxing yourself into the narrow identity of a "doing all the creative things there are to do" person and realize that what you need to learn to level up is how to empower other people to do "all the things".
That's what great leaders actually do. They keep the wheels on. They support the team's ability to scale. They also make sure the team is hitting the right goals and objectives so that their external stakeholders keep funding the business or providing budget for the team. They save the juiciest projects for their team members because they know that the more everyone on their team shines brightly, the more everyone gets to keep their jobs.
The managers who empower you? Worth hanging on to/for.
The managers who look the flashiest? Seem like the best artists? Are the best at speaking? They're too busy admiring their own reflection in the mirror to care about making sure you get credit for your work or form the right relationships with other colleagues.
They might even consider you a threat if you get too good.
They'll use you and guilt you and neg you as much as possible to keep you from realizing that you are worth so much more. They'll also make YOU a shitty manager, when it's your turn. You'll never have known any other truth.
This is why I just can't stopping writing to you, for you, about you. That's why I'm doing this. I believe we can build a better industry by manifesting a different kind of leader from our ranks. We can do better. And it starts with you. I believe that if you are reading this, you are meant for great things. You can do this.
XOXO,
Cathy