Creative People Are Different
Creative people are different.
No secret right. Let’s be honest there are a lot of times we walk by the “creative offices” and wonder what in the world is happening in that room? There are people lying on the floor, music is blaring, ping-pong is being played and we start to panic. What about the stage set up? What about the light programming? What about the service programming for next week? Its different and different is actually not only ok…it’s what we need. Creativity gets really good when artists, and yes your tech and production team are artists, have permission to be who God created them to be, CREATIVES.
In my experience in life there are ways to promote creativity and ways to impede the growth of creativity in our organizations. Creativity killers are actually really easy to avoid and the results will position our teams to do their absolute best work! So what are some of the biggest creative killers that are hiding in our organization?
Suggested Tweet: "Creativity gets really good when artists have permission to be who God created them to be: CREATIVES @B_REWSTER"
The first is a lack of vision! Most creative people are fueled by the belief that they are working on something that will make a dent in the world. When we fail to vision cast why this work matters, we try to run a diesel engine on plain old water. Lead with the “Why”. Every single day. Every single second. Why matters and it really matters to the people who do ministry that does not directly interact with stories of life change. Your production team, creative team, music team, they are setting the table for life change but they rarely experience the moment when that person who’s marriage got put back together shares their story. Fuel your creative monsters with a lot of WHY and watch their passion level destroy your expectations.
Suggested Tweet: "Want awesome creative stuff & creativity in your organization? Choose new team members wisely. @B_REWSTER"
Another of the greatest creative killers is language! Words speak life. Words like can’t, not how we do it here, not how we have always done this, that wont work…are the equivalent of bullets shot into the heart of innovation. When we are leading creative people choose to answer with “Yes, and…” Because Inside of the “…and ” is the opportunity to set expectations! Expectation management is another creative killer because when we don’t clearly define the target we don’t set the team up to win. Set expectations clearly on the front side, remind the team of them, make sure they understand them, and then let them soar! “Yes, and…” allows you to set the expectation without risking deflating energy by leading with the negative.
Finally, choose wisely. Owners are always better than renters in our organization. If you want really awesome creative stuff and want to protect innovation and creativity in your organization choose each new team member wisely. Tension is healthy but negativity is not. Each new team member will adjust the chemistry of our organization so make sure we choose people who care, who can get behind the vision, who will be responsible and who won’t create a negative environment for our teams to live, create, and dream!
So the next time you walk by that office and wonder if anything is getting done say a prayer of thanks for the artists God has sent you and trust the process. Great days are ahead and all that crazy stuff is helping these artists to refine, define, and process how to share Jesus with the people in your community that are hopeless.
Keep creating.
Suggested Tweet: "Tension is healthy but negativity is not. @B_REWSTER"
