The Surprising Secret Todd Henry Reveals About Becoming an Irresistible Leader Everyone Depends On
Dan Schawbel: Do creatives need a different kind of leader than non-creatives in the business world? What are the differences and/or similarities?
Todd Henry: While some traditional leadership principles apply to both groups, there are also some unique challenges to leading highly fluid, creative work. First, the creative process is opaque to outsiders, so it’s often the case that stakeholders – even those inside of your own organization – have little understanding of what it actually takes to produce the work. Because of this, leaders of creative teams have to play a dual role of fighting for the resources (focus, time, energy) the team needs to do its work while simultaneously challenging the team to meet the sometimes unrealistic demands of the stakeholders. So, leaders of creative teams have to go the extra step of shedding light on the process, and fighting for buy-in at critical moments so that their team isn’t charged with excessive re-work.
