How can creative leaders balance strategy and creativity?

Na verdade, um líder criativo entende o problema como oportunidade. Quando alguém procura essa pessoa, alegando uma dificuldade em uma situação, o papel primário da liderança é: se tem um problema, já está resolvido. A capacidade de criar soluções para as mais variadas situações, gera autoridade e um oceano azul de possibilidades. A velocidade na análise dos dados de um problema apresentado são pontos que devem ser facilmente conectados e amarrados, em prol da solução comum entre todos. Afinal, como dizem: o que diferencia o louco do gênio, é o resultado. E é isso que a liderança criativa deve buscar a todo momento.

Central to this approach is the skill of formulating the right questions, with which to identify and create new opportunities through bold and imaginative exploration. Success goes beyond mere data-driven decisions; it requires a seamless integration of forward-looking analysis and innovative strategies. Additionally, collaborative efforts within a diverse team utilizing diverse backgrounds and skills are key to this collective journey of discovery. This endeavor requires vision and courage, emphasizing the role of leaders who champion forward-looking employee initiatives and embrace risk-taking as a cornerstone of progress.

Great creative and great strategy come from the deep understanding that can only come sharp observation. There should be no light between the two disciplines. That's how advertising should be made.

They are one. An effective creative idea should be born from the strategy. If the creative is not rooted in the strategy, it's just a fun idea - probably not an effective one.

Einstein is reported have said that if he was given 60 minutes to save the world, he would spend the first 59 minutes on defining the problem clearly and 1 minute on the solution. That's the role of strategy - to help define the problem in a way that then allows creativity to solve it in a way that is surprising and magical. Good creative leaders should have conversations with the strategist on trying to identify all possible approaches to the problem, look at the research, study the data, before they attempt the solution. Remember that Strategy is part of the creative solution, not separate. A good strategist could have been a good creative and a good creative could have been a good strategist.

They're both integral to the process of creativity. Strategy guides the compass with purpose, while creatives provide the direction and innovation. They coexist to create a well-defined vision, and not just another thing someone else is doing.

Strategy is the foundation of great creativity. Even clever, smart creative can't be considered great if it doesn't resonate with the audience and support the ultimate business goals of the client.

Alberto Ponte, Global Creative Director for Nike, talks about including the limits instead of excluding them. Time and time again, that thought has helped me find the right mindset to be able to transform boundaries into something that actually makes part of the solution.

A well-crafted, thoughtful, creative brief is a stepping stone to insight. Constraints aren't limits, they define the path to be followed without limiting how to follow the path.

To get creative juices flowing, constraints are effective, but the opposite can also work. Best is to combine them. Let one group ideate without any constraints, and another with severe constraints. Then put the insights together. Or have the same group iterate between the two viewpoints. In the end, true creativity comes from scarcity. Just look at how people in Africa managed to make wonderful toys from discarded tin cans for example...

I have observed and experienced more than once the power of creativity when subjected to confrontation with others. If the rules of benevolence and freedom of opinion are respected, it gives birth to the most incredible and exhilarating ideas, that the difficulty of implementation that it could generate is in no way an obstacle to its achievement: The pooling of creative forces raises mountains!

Strategy feeds creativity If strategic leaders respect creative leaders & vice versa it creates a collaborative atmostphere. The best way to balance the two is to cultivate a servitude atmosphere.

Maybe it's just me but I've never worked on a project where the dividing line between strategy and creative is absolutely clear. I agree with John Hegarty: great work is 80% idea and 80% execution. An idea shouldn't develop on an assembly line with each department neatly taking its turn. It's much more messy and fun!

A liderança criativa deve se desapegar da ideia de ser sempre a mente brilhante do grupo. Compor um time criativo, mantendo-o estimulado e extrair o melhor das pessoas é muito mais rico e proveitoso. A composição do grupo que vai atacar um determinado problema é o início da solução. Verifique se todas cadeiras que poderiam fazer parte dessa solução estarão representadas por ao menos um profissional. Outro ponto importante: quanto mais diverso o grupo, seja em relação a cor, gênero, orientação sexual, idade etc, maior a diversidade de prismas através dos quais o problema será visto, trazendo maior potencia para o grupo.

Great insights have already been shared on the value of collaboration and involving others. I’ll add that in addition to results, the reward is often more meaningful. The trust built between you and your colleagues, the shared experience and enjoyment of the outcome, the stories of challenges overcome, and the discovery of the abilities and talents of the team- all of these are true rewards. And they strengthen the team for future challenges.

Everybody instantly "clicks" on a good idea, it cannot be hidden, everybody in the room gets a smile on their faces! But, bringing it to life needs more than one iteration, until you nail down the execution itself, especially if it is a global campaign adopted to local markets and insights. Trial and error is sometimes your best friend.

Do it “wrong” intentionally. Break brand guidelines wherever possible. Mad lib briefs in real time. Make time for real play, throw paint at the wall kind of play. Color outside the lines to cultivate a culture of exploration and growth.

Iteration and the ability to embrace failure is key to doing great creative work, within advertising and beyond. Oftentimes we want to bulletproof everything, incorporate every viewpoint, do the least risky thing. Which often, is the most risky thing as the work ends up boring and forgettable.

Do creative work that follows the strat. Then do one creative work that is not on strat, and get the strat to reverse engineer the work. Will this balance things out? Maybe. But we are in the business of creative commerce and communication. Sometimes you need to do work that’s extremely creative to get to your customers. And something extremely strategic to hijack customers’ mind.

You progress through trial and error. If you've learned something new go ahead and put it into practice. Even if you fail, you can move on and try something new. And it's only possible when you learn and work. Experiment a lot and find what works the best for you!

que cela soit dans la création ou dans tout autre domaine... encourager, féliciter etc. donne confiance. Permet d'avancer. sans cela vous êtes peut-être créatif, mais pas leader 😁

A creative leader knows the value of creative work and how much effort it takes to get the job done. Whenever you or your team achieve something, celebrate it. It's not only a good gesture, but it also shows that you care about them. This will help them brainstorm even more once they're ensured that there's reward at the end of hard work.

Creative thinking, creativity in all fields, is a lifestyle. It is not a job. Personally I don’t care much for reward and celebration. Achieving great outcomes requires a piece of one’s soul. The greatest reward is to see the thought and the subsequent execution be realised. If you like adulation and peer review and celebration that is great but nothing beats the quiet after the silent success of an immaculate execution.

Celebrate big wins, but also celebrate the experiments that maybe didn't go so well because a lot of great ideas come from creative learning. I implement this within my teams by hosting a monthly "creative show & tell". Every member brings one project they worked on (doesn't matter if it worked or not) and presents the strategy and why they think it did/didn't work. It not only allows us the opportunity to celebrate the project, but it also gives the idea exposure to other team members that may not have seen it and can be used to educate and inspire them - and maybe they even borrow it.

Honor is built on recognition to those who help. Honor is the invisible medal that never disappears. Celebrate every time you achieve, celebrate every time you overtake problems, and reward so it becomes a healthy and profitable cycle.

Balance is the wrong way to look at it. Balance suggests that one discipline is constantly looking to have a relationship with the other. That’s limiting. The best strategists want to create the circumstances for creativity beyond their wildest dreams.

Strategy and Creativity are not on opposite sides in which balance is needed. I consider those two more linear. Great creative comes from a sound, insightful strategy. If creative is off, point the finger to the brief before pointing it to the creative team.

I'm imagining a tightrope walker about 70 feet above a net, funambulating across a 1" diameter steel cable, pole in hand. Though business may often feel like a circus, you don't need to balance strategy and creativity like some highwire act. They're not in opposition but complement and support each other. Get the strat right and then go execute a million different ways. And have some popcorn, too. The process should not be a struggle, but fun.

Strategy and creativity are the same thing. They’re inextricably linked. Any strategy requires thinking creatively and any creative requires thinking strategically. Raise your teams to understand your creatives are actually strategists just as important as any marketer to the success of your business.

Strategy first. Creative second. Please don't overcomplicate things! Please thing about the why(s) first. You likely have content you can ~reuse.