I’m going to start ‘liking’ you a whole lot more.

Some of our creative industry’s most phenomenally talented people live right here in our city — and yet we keep our distance from each other. So, why are creative folk from different agencies often so hesitant to connect?

While we have a lot in common — perhaps — that’s exactly the thing that keeps us apart.

Siloed in our trendy offices, we quietly admire each other’s brilliance from afar ?? … but no no no, we must not, I say DARE NOT be so bold as to tap the ‘like’ button on another agency’s social media post.

What madness might ensue if we’re seen to be publicly ‘liking’ and endorsing a nearby agency’s content as being ‘good’ (because it is)? What will our bosses think if they see we’ve committed this tiny crime? Will our team's heavyweights be lured away?! Will our favourite clients suddenly realise they chose the wrong agency? THE CALAMITYYY.

The reality is, probably not. Almost definitely not.

If you’re doing things ‘right’, that is.

(and for those who are finding this all a little anxiety inducing — look inwards and ask yourself why?)

Rather, if we could just ease off on the suspicious side eye for a minute, buddy up and openly support each other’s work — engagement and brand equity across the board might actually skyrocket.

For instance, if we occasionally popped a ?? on each other’s social content, we’d all begin to experience greater reach, strengthened brand presence and an elevated value in the market. Not just as individual agencies, but as a community amplifying our city’s collective creative brand to the world. We might even find ourselves a smidge closer to garnering the gravitas we so often attribute to the much adored Sydney, Melbourne and London agencies.

Some might argue that there isn’t enough work to go around, so we must be like seagulls on a chip. Each for their own. But thanks to the raging dumpster fire that was 2020, we can now work from just about anywhere, on just about anything. There’s an entire world of client work out there, if we’re creative enough about accessing it.

Others might say we’re limited by the vanilla culture of our location and creativity is a finite resource that must be hoarded. Wrong(ish) ??. Boundary pushing creative thinking can, and does, live everywhere. It thrives on collaboration, and location is just a place. Inspiration is instantly accessible with just a beep boop of your smartphone, and if you’re living somewhere different to where everyone else is claiming to feel inspired? Lucky you. You’re blessed with a particularly unique perspective that very few have access to.

And sure — some/most might be deadline rich and time poor — however the creative fairies aren't going to magically build our local creative community for us ??? . If we want our community to exist, we need to find the time and energy to build it ourselves.

Soooo so so soooo….

So. ?

What’s still holding us all back from a friendly ‘how do you do’? ??

Our biggest limitation — is actually ourselves.

Or, our ‘selves’. Our egos. Our insecurities.

We are in our own way. (which is true of many things in life)

?

So here we go ... *deep breath*

?

I …

for instance …

… can …

… boldly say ……………….

…. that Swell do phenomenal high end branding work, ED craft beautiful digital experiences, and Poyo Studio’s illustrations are FIRE ?? ?? ??

Argh. That wasn’t so scary ??. Felt pretty good actually.

Turns out that beyond simply ‘liking’ a ‘competing’ agencies social post, I can even get away with explicitly sharing my aforementioned adoration in the public forum that is LinkedIn (nothing has struck me down yet ?? — will report back). I can openly and confidently say these things not only because they're true, but because I experientially know that another's shine doesn’t dim my sparkle, my team’s, yours or anyone else’s. Equally, ours doesn’t dim theirs. We can and should all be able to openly admire the best of others in our industry without fearing that it will negatively impact out own success.

This is because we each define success for our selves. And to be successful in our own right, we don’t need to be anyone but our (best) selves in alignment to our values.

Anyone could talk for days about what they do, and others can try their darnedest to imitate them and their approach to creativity, but the reality is that no one can manufacture anyone else’s lifetime of experience, talent, knowledge, conquered adversity, or sense of self. We’ve all earned that the hard way. You’ve earned that.

No one can do you as well as you do. Others can try, but it won’t come naturally. This means that you and your agency are not really actually directly ‘competing’ with anyone (except for perhaps that whole thing where we sometimes submit for the same RFQ ??). We’re all different. Playing in different spaces. With different teams of ‘selves’, who derive their meaning, purpose and value from different places.

This keeps us all relatively safe in the market.

Case in point — if every creative agency independently set out to write this same article you’re reading right now, no one article would have the same mix of words, tone, or ideas. Not even close. And very few critics could fully agree on who’s was the ‘best’, because the ‘best’ is largely subjective and defined differently through individual motivations, experiences and understanding. The same goes with anything we create. We are all running our own race.

This means we’re all ‘right’ and ‘the best’ in something, to someone, somewhere. Probably many ‘someones’. We all have something different to offer.

Every agency's 'Employee/client Value Proposition' is a unique concoction of mentorship, friendship, career trajectory, lateral career growth, opportunities to lead, types of work, travel (or lack thereof), flexibility, structure, location/s, team size, capabilities, culture, salary, promotions, expectation, intensity, hours, parties, meaningful work, clients, impact, glory... anything imaginable.

The 'right' mix will be different for everyone.

So, the more authentic we are to our true selves and secure in what makes us unique, the less nervous we can be about each other, and who might 'steal' who, because we will begin to attract and retain our own ‘right’ tribes of both team and clients — those who fit us, and we fit them. In turn we’ll find a 9-5 existence that is more fulfilling (for everyone involved), where healthy cultures can flourish, and all of our professional relationships can feel more secure — fostering ongoing healthy communication that earns the continuation of our relationships across the board. People will choose to stay, if they want to stay.?

We become our point of difference in the market by owning and celebrating what our authentically different self can bring.?

Sounds like the foundations for some great sustainable business practices to me.

Once we begin to actively and intentionally choose to foster this authentic human connection with ourselves and others — we can also more easily begin to accept that emotion lives, and has always lived, in the office — whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Ignored and discouraged internalised emotions inevitably manifest into strange and unhealthy behaviours, environments, cultures, and pressures down the line — ultimately impacting our mental health, and in turn our ability to attract and create the work and people we are proud to stand alongside.

Most, if not all of us, will or already have experienced these pressures at some point in our careers. Chances are you're experiencing it in some form right now.

This unnecessary disconnection from ourselves and each other is not serving anyone.

It's tempting to ignore the feelings and push them aside. But as many will have learned the hard way, we inevitably have to deal with what we’ve neglected eventually — and often by the time it catches up with us the solution is far from simple.?That's where businesses crash and burn.

Putting people first is how businesses will ultimately thrive.

For our industry, for our creative neighbours, and ourselves, we must learn to prioritise the short-term discomfort of nudging our egos aside in favour of the far greater long-term outcome.

It won’t always feel like sunshine and rainbows. It’s hard inner work. It takes a lot of creativity and some comfort in ambiguity. But — in acknowledging the role our egos might be playing, we can begin to knock down the walls that keep us from connecting with the very people who fell in love with the same industry we did, and who might arguably understand parts of us better than many others ever could.

Let’s try to take those uncomfortable flashes of green as a gift that shines a spotlight on where we can grow, and better care for our inner selves, to learn to be inspired by each other, happy for each other, and to better connect with others in all facets of life.?

In fact, the strength of our industry and our mental health depends upon it.

Consider your mental health in this context ——— We spend more time with our colleagues (and sometimes our clients) each week than we do with our partners, closest friends, and family. While competence in our jobs is crucial, it’s reasonable that above all our teams and clients are drawn to the people that we want to interact with — those who we can authentically relate to, who can play nice in the sandpit, and can put their ego aside in favour of kindness, humanity and generosity of knowledge. Those who have cheerleader pom poms and aren’t afraid to use them.?

So, if we don’t look at where our feelings are coming from, or waste time trying to replicate what others are doing, how will our tribe of fellow team and clients who really really fit with us, ever find us? How will we find these incredible people we would happily spend up to 38.5 hours a week with??

Put simply, our tribes can only find us if we are consistently unapologetically our ‘best’ selves, and we empathetically make that visible for everyone to see — whatever that looks like for each of us.

Of course, in following this path of bold authenticity, we might lose some people. Which is ok, because if we try to please everyone, we dilute ourselves and everything we do will be a bit ‘meh’.

No one wants 'meh'.

So, as the saying goes(ish) — team and clients aren’t stolen unless they want to be. If people want to go elsewhere, in work, relationships or life, they will. They can't be forced to stay. And being weird about your team celebrating others doesn't stop it from happening, it just pushes it underground and away from your visibility. So if someone wants to go, step out of their way and genuinely wish them well. Let them leave a space to be filled by those who are the right fit and want to be around what makes you a bit spesh. Likewise, you’ll get to appreciate what's spesh in them too.

In sharing this article, I don’t expect everyone’s socks will be blown off. Some might even feel compelled to troll the comments (although I would personally recommend trying to write a better article yourself — then I can return the favour and review yours too yeah? ?? ??). Others might ?? or even ?? it. I’m just curious to point out the elephant in the room and see what happens. I’m willing to show some strength in vulnerability, put my thinks out there, and risk it for the proverbial biscuit.

I mean, I haven’t lost you yet, so maybe you’re my part of my tribe?

After all, just being in the same industry together — you and I already have a lot to connect on.

For instance, we can likely both experientially agree that:

• 'Exposure' doesn’t pay the bills and devalues our entire industry.
• Creativity isn’t ‘owned’ by any one city.
• Creativity doesn’t only belong to the self-proclaimed ‘creative industries’.
• There isn’t nearly enough gender diversity (or diversity across the board) amongst creative leadership. As at Dec 2021, only 11% of Creative Directors were women ??.
• Our industry suffers from ageism. Where are all the 35+ year old designers?! Do they turn to dust and blow away? Someone please tell me before I turn 35.
• Government work is only as ‘boring’ as we let it be.
• Mental health in the creative industries is suffering. Connection, community and empathy is crucial.
• Creative agencies can only be played off against each other if we choose to participate. We all benefit when we collaborate and stand our ground on the immense value of what we deliver.
• You and I make up at least part of each other’s tribes ?? ??
• Etc etc. (add your own universally true gripes in the below comments for us to bond over if you will. Or throw an agency you admire a genuine compliment will you?).

You and I — and so many others reading these words — have chosen the same industry. Many through a passion for it. Just by being here we have a lot in common. We also have a lot that makes us irreplaceably unique. So, while we often subconsciously or consciously choose to let what we have in common be the thing that unsettles and divides us (guiltyyy ??), we can also choose to get out of our own way, to unite, celebrate ourselves and each other, to elevate our entire creative community towards greater heights.?

Take the leap. Find strength in vulnerability. Connect with your creative neighbours.

You’re cool. We’re cool. Let’s start ‘liking’ each other (on socials and IRL) a little more yah? ?? ???

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Erin Collett is Senior Creative in Synergy's?creativeXpeople; a journey of exploration to shift, influence and motivate behaviours in ways that make lasting and meaningful impact. They are thinking beyond the textbook manifestations of behavioural theory and into new and uncharted territory — venturing into domains that are reserved for explorers, adventurers and artists.

Illustrator Juliette Dudley (who designed the gorgeous artwork for this article) leads Poyo Studio, a Creative studio based in Canberra, specialising in graphic design, illustration and branding.