This paper is adapted from an internal training presentation. We streamlined some points and added others from Felix Ng, Creative Director (CD) of award-winning Anonymous and one-time guest CD at The Lab.
You can open your own studio and call yourself a CD like I did in 2014, but it wasn't until 2016 that I earned the trust of a team and client partners that I played that role. When people trust you with their projects, businesses, and careers, then you can call yourself a CD.
I call it the inflection point. It's the moment where one unit of effort generates more than one unit of reward because you've built up experiences that allow you to add greater value to a project. When more people know of your work than you know of other people's (in the context of your community). When your opinion (for better or worse) carries more weight than it used to. More of your ideas get produced. More of them make an impact. More money. More expectations. This is when your job becomes easier, but also scarier.
I was fortunate enough to learn under three amazing, and different, types of creative leadership.
The friend. My first CD was also one of my closest friends. I learned a lot from him, but I also got away with a lot because we were also drinking buddies. Be careful that your personal relationship doesn't interfere with your professional development and decisions.
The genius. He didn't need me. All you can hope for from a genius-type Creative Director is to ****learn by osmosis.
The dictator. I learned how to read and lead a room. How to make my voice heard, how to present, how to sit across from a CEO without flinching. How to decide with incomplete information and own my decisions.
Most people know Michael Jordan, the legendary basketball player. Few know Phil Jackson, his coach at the Chicago Bulls, who led his team to six championships.
So, who was more important? Michael Jordan? Phil Jackson?
Both?
Neither.
The whole team was. At The Lab, I play the coach; I try to bring out the best in everyone but judge everyone's contribution as a function of the team's output.
