Joy, Conflict, & Leading Creative Teams

Recently a finance leader said: “How do I get them to be more creative?” Every leader and organization we work with, whether in energy or pharma, HR or IT, feels the need to be more innovative, flexible, and creative.

Recent research findings?indicate that joy at work “comes from using our strengths or talents, being courageous, authentic, grateful and connected.” Collaborating on important work can be a perfect context for cultivating an environment with those characteristics.

It can also create workplaces rife with stress, tension, or burnout. How do we lead for healthy, joyful creative collaboration??

We’ve?taken inspiration this month from a?recent Dare to Lead? podcast?episode by the same name, in which Brené Brown interviewed Kam Franklin. Franklin has worked in the energy industry and leads and works with a large group of touring musicians.

Brené asked Franklin about leading through creative conflict:?

”Leading through creative conflict is something I work through every day. Every day someone’s upset with somebody about something.”

It’s tempting to think these lessons only apply to creative industries, but even software engineer and Doodle founder Mike N?f said the hardest leadership lesson he’d learned was “how to get people to do great work together without making each other miserable.”

Whether you’re in finance, AI, or the arts, collaboration and diversity — things we want and need more of — can lead to individuals creating at different speeds, in different ways, being attached to their own ideas, defensiveness, and other behaviors difficult for leaders to manage.?

Franklin offered tips and lessons from her own experience:

Listen.?

It’s scary for people to speak up. Even if they are not consistent with your experience, as a leader, their perspectives offer useful data on your environment. Listen and learn from them.

Mindfulness & Self-Care are Job #1.

Franklin said , ”I need to make sure I’m fed so I can be present. I need to make sure I’m sleeping so I can take care of the conflicts we have as a group.” Both women recommend: Journal. Rest. Take breaks. “You are not a machine.”

Communication is everything.

Imagine a band onstage that doesn’t communicate with one another. It would produce an audible mess. Without continuous communication, creative teams get out of sync. Leaders need to create an environment in which it’s safe to say when things aren’t working. Equally important, Franklin reminds us to ask, “What have we accomplished? What are we proud of?” and building celebrations of milestones and jobs well done.

Finally, Franklin harkens back to the Dare to Lead? concept of?Square Squad?— having a few trusted advisors and friends — noting that the group who understands her as she takes on greater levels of leadership has become smaller and more important, essential for success at all three of the above.

What have you learned or seen about leading joyful creative teams? How can you apply these lessons?

Join us Friday, June 3, 2022 for a lunchtime talk on?Joy, Conflict, & Leading Creative Teams?at work. Bring your examples, ideas, and questions to this exploration. These conversations are free, open tot republic, and always yield interesting insights.