You Don't Have to be a Star

When you go into a leadership role, it doesn't have to be all about you. And when you're leading Creatives, it really shouldn't be.

An article in Friday's Washington Post addresses the evolving need for less emphasis on THE leader, and more emphasis on leadership. Juana Bordas writes in "Holdin' Out for a Hero" that "everything a leader accomplishes is only possible because of the many contributions and good effort of his or her people and supporters." She writes further that

leadership today is transforming from a hierarchical form based on the military model to a more collaborative, participatory, people-oriented one. Leadership is moving from the one to the many. Even the military now has tactical and strategic leadership that moves down the ranks...Perhaps it is time to lay to rest the "great man" theory of leadership and stop looking for a hero.

Many people come into a leadership position thinking they're going to save the day, or make the big change that will transform the company. But anyone who's leading Creatives needs to recognize they can have a much more powerful effect if they allow their employees to exercise their skills and their initiative, rather than trying to do everything themselves. Your Creatives have skills you don't, they have ideas that never occur to you, and if you don't let them have a voice, you're wasting a lot of talent.

This isn't to say that you put every decision to a vote, or that you have a meeting every day to discuss whatever issues have arisen in the last 24 hours. Leadership by teams can take much too long. What you should realize, though, is that in a creative firm your role isn't to come up with all the answers yourself, but instead is to harness the talent at your disposal and keep it focused. Instead of always telling people what to do, maybe you should be getting them to tell you what they CAN do.

Remember: Superman could always do more when he was fighting evil alongside the Justice League rather than when he was on his own.