Values & Management
I have a passion for bringing employees to their highest potential in both their design work and careers. I believe that my employees are all unique individuals who should bring their whole selves to their work and their workplace. I see myself as my employees’ biggest advocate and that a team cannot succeed without true transparency, collaboration, and communication.
In my own work and in my role as a creative director, I am guided by three core working principles.
My working principles
Be confident.
Confidence not cockiness. It is important to stand up for your beliefs and values, and to be free to share your expert opinion on your work.
A true creative leader acts as an expert and partner for their client, sharing their knowledge and expertise to get to the best creative output, not acting as only the means of production.
Be curious.
A safe creative space gives room for asking “why” and “why not,” questioning the goals and objectives of a project, and opens the door to learning from failure and experimentation.
A fear to fail means a fear to try new ideas, a fear to test and gain new metrics, and leads to overall stagnation.
Be a coach.
Cheerleaders invigorate the team, but optimism and encouragement alone is not what gets the team to a win. The coach is the one who gives the (sometimes difficult) guidance and feedback that shapes the team’s next moves.
Honest feedback is critical to helping employees work toward their best selves individually, while guiding them to a place of ownership over actions and work shapes contributions to the team.
Principles in action
With stakeholders
Making sure that creative is included in the early stages of a project plan, and that creative’s expertise and guidance is factored into decision-making.
Finding and defining the boundaries of how far creative can push a brainstorm or process allows for the exploration of new ideas and diverse perspectives.
Collecting stakeholder concerns or objectives early on, as well as continuously throughout the project, ensures adoption and alignment of ideas more quickly. Transparency and connection with the creative team guides the project to success as plans can be shifted and pivoted with all factors in the open and understood.
With project management
Sharing expertise and knowledge from similar projects or past experience helps delegate the best employee or group to partner with to make a project happen seamlessly.
Asking all relevant questions at the kickoff of a project helps make sure that creative is set up for success, as well as planning for any metrics or measurable outcomes to review post-launch.
Working efficiently and planning effectively to leave time and space for creatives to experiment with new and different ideas without being bogged down by micromanagement or overwhelming processes.
Gathering feedback and monitoring progress in the beginning, and middle of a project ensures that creative stays on track with deadlines, as well as addresses any concerns in a timely fashion rather than allowing them to fester until a post-mortem review.