The ‘X-Factor’ of creative leadership.

38 years. 

In March, this year, I’ll have clocked up 38 years on the career-o-meter. Almost four decades of continuous ups-and-downs, round-and-rounds and inside-outs in the unpredictable, often satisfying and sometimes absurd world of design and advertising.

I started my journey back in 1987 just as those beige boxes from Cupertino were starting to arrive, turning the creative industries on their collective heads. 

As one of the original cohort of ‘Mac users’ I was asked to lead quite early on in my career.

Setting up and running digital artwork studios (just don’t call it DTP) in a succession of agencies from the age of 21.

Since then, I have also:

• Created and curated work that’s ended up as every kind of output imaginable. From a beer mat to a national TV campaign and everything in-between;

• Conceived and delivered complex brand roll-outs for public and private sector organisations;

• Run successful pitches for international clients against world-class competition;

• Project managed enterprise-level website builds;

• Co-founded and led a successful agency from nothing;

• Had three stints as Creative Director – one of which was with an agency with offices on opposite sides of the world;

• Lead, managed and nurtured creative and production people of all types and at every level.

So, yeah. I like to think I know a thing or two about creative leadership and, as an experienced creative leader, I am keen to share what I know with the next generation of creatives being asked to lead. 

Creative people making the challenging step up to into a leadership role are often given little-to-no advice on how to show up when leading, managing and nurturing a team.

To kick things off, I’m sharing my ‘X-Factor’ of creative leadership. 

Ten topics I’ve collected over time that cover off everything I think a good creative leader should be doing:

1. Set a good example;

2. Put yourself in other people’s shoes;

3. Show kindness and respect;

4. Define a compelling and infectious vision;

5. Listen intently;

6. Manage the whole person;

7. Give constructive and progressive feedback;

8. Know the difference you want to make;

9. Recognise your strengths;

10. Have no fear of your weaknesses.

I’m going to take a deeper dive into each one over the coming weeks. It’s only my opinion and, of course, everybody’s got one but I hope they might be useful to someone. 

If you think so, please do let me know.

You’re welcome.