Job Descriptions

When you move Creatives into new positions, especially if they have leadership and/or management responsibilities, you need to give them a clear job description. Otherwise, they might not know what they're supposed to be doing, and no one else is likely to know, either.

Some leadership positions are pretty easy to define. Lower-level leadership, however, might be a little tougher. What role does a Junior Art Director play in an ad agency? What responsibilities does a Lead Stylist have at a salon? What does your Second Assistant Director do on your film project? If YOU know what you expect of them, but nobody else does, then you're sure to face a lot of confusion.

The people in these positions need to know what they're supposed to do. What are they responsible for? What authority do they have to get it done? Understanding what they HAVE to do and what they CAN do is essential for anyone in a leadership role. This is especially true for your Creatives as they make the transition into leadership for the first time. If they've spent years developing their talents as individuals, but now are responsible for other people, you need to give them some pretty clear guidance.

Other employees need to know what these leaders are responsible for, too. To whom do they go with a problems? Who can tell them what to do, and who can't? If they get conflicting guidance from different leaders/managers, whom should they follow? Things get pretty sketchy when your employees aren't sure who's in charge of what, and that kind of confusion can slow down the creative process when people aren't really sure what their expectations are. Make life easier for your employees by clearly defining the roles of the leaders under whom they work.

Even your non-leadership positions should have a clear job description...after all, people need to know the expectations and requirements under which they're working. It really becomes critical, though, for people in leadership positions at all levels, because they've got more responsibility, and they really need to know what that responsibility is.