Creative operations 2024 key takeways
1.Why are you doing what you’re doing?
Who is the leader you want to become? What motivates you to do what you do? Are you achievement driven or goal driven? What are your values? How often do you reflect on them? Have they changed or evolved?
You cant pour from an empty cup, and your teams will feed from your energy so its important you find the why in what you’re doing and remind yourself when things get challenging.
How can you visualise your values so you can use them to give you a boost when you’re feeling low?
2. great teamwork comes from deep familiarity
Great teamwork comes from deep familiarity. Take the time to get to know your teams.
1. Quarterly conversations: There’s a reason we have 1 mouth, 2 eyes and 2 ears. We should be observing and listening twice as much as we talk. What motivates individual team members? What do they love? Why? What do they hate doing? Why? What does good work look like to them? Observe how they are in these conversations, are they nervous? frustrated? and you guessed it… why?
2. ‘How are you out of 10? ‘. A simple way to find out how you’re team are really feeling. If the answers is ‘7’, ask what would get them to an 8.
3. Do you feel alright traffic light:
Red, amber or green? Track the results and get use the patterns to predict whats coming.
3. Level up
Daniel pink - Drive the surprising truth about what motivates us
How can you give your team members autonomy, a chance to master their skills and a sense of purpose?
Autonomy – humans have a desire to direct their own lives. Give your teams the space to come up with great ideas to improve how they work.
Mastery – humans love to get better as stuff, seeing progress and gaining a sense of momentum contributes to personal drive. Champion your team members when they improve.
Purpose – human beings have a desire for a sense of purpose, and every business needs one to engage team members. Encourage your team to find their purpose.
“It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret”
4. Customer made motivation
Get your team together to come with custom motivation solutions. It might be taking a shared inspiration day, finding your own ‘employee of the month’ or having a chance to work on briefs that they write themselves. Find the stuff that resonates with them and sets you apart from other creative teams. Try some stuff, keep what works.
“The culture of any organisation is shaped by the worst behaviour the leader is willing to tolerate”
5. Create your own culture
High perfoming teams are built on trust and psychological safety. Ask your team to identify your culture, does it need to change? What does it look like in 12 months? How can you ensure you’re living the values and setting the best example to teams members?