What do you do if your boss's feedback is hindering your creative strategy work?

I reject the word “boss.” Any good manager I’ve ever had agrees and doesn’t accept being called “boss”. First step: Change the patriarchal, hierarchical rhetoric.

Try to understand the feedback and request for the logic & reasoning behind that. If it makes sense, put your egot aside and implement it. Else very politely suggest your counter view.

It can also be helpful to resurface the brief and track the feedback against the strategy. I think this gives you an objective barometer to push back or move forward.

If your boss's feedback is hindering your creative strategy work, it's important to approach the situation diplomatically. Firstly, try to understand their perspective and the reasons behind their feedback. Then, respectfully communicate your own ideas and rationale, providing evidence of why you believe your approach is valuable. Consider proposing a small pilot project or test to demonstrate the effectiveness of your strategy. If necessary, seek support from colleagues or mentors who can provide additional perspective or advocate on your behalf. Ultimately, maintaining open communication and a collaborative mindset is key to finding a mutually beneficial solution.

Execute the plan. You are paid to support the vision and contribute when needed. If you're feeling hindered, put your ego aside and execute the boss's plan. Otherwise, you know what you need to do.

Everyone has a different style of communication. Before deferring to your means of expression, understand your environment and the ways in which your peers prefer to receive and digest information. Take time to write down clarifying questions so you can articulate your perspective from a growth mindset vs. emotional

Instead of getting defensive or dismissive, approach the situation with an open mind. Schedule a meeting and calmly explain your thought process behind the strategy. Use specific examples to illustrate how your ideas align with business objectives. Listen attentively to their concerns and try to understand their perspective. If there's a misalignment, ask clarifying questions and seek common ground. Perhaps there are valid points you hadn't considered or information you were missing. Collaborate to find a solution that addresses both your creative vision and their feedback. At the end of the day, your boss has the final say, but by communicating clearly and professionally, you may be able to find a middle ground that satisfies both parties.

It's essential to combine emotional intelligence with clear communication. Maintaining a positive and professional demeanor, even in challenging conversations, By managing your emotions effectively, you can avoid reacting impulsively to restrictive feedback. Instead, approach your boss with a constructive attitude . Be specific about your concerns and suggest alternatives that align with both your creative vision and the project's goals. Remember, the goal is not to win an argument but to find a solution that benefits everyone involved.

Communicate your concerns and the potential impact of the feedback on the creative strategy clearly and respectfully. Present data or evidence that supports your original strategy, such as predictive analytics or A/B testing results that you can gather through AI tools, to back up your creative decisions.

One of the most important elements in any professional relationship is that of communication and it’s important to have a very open one among everyone. Even in situations of a senior manager and a creative resource it’s the sense of being able to speak openly that’s critical. One should speak exactly how one feels/ thinks and it’s quite OK to have a difference of opinion. Also as a manager too only because of one’s seniority it’s not right to force a POV or have work done especially in a creative domain without some rationale to your junior. Easy chatter is healthy, makes for better creative output and brings about teamwork too

Being receptive to feedback can yield unforeseen benefits. Embrace the opportunity to adjust your creative strategy, as it may result in positive outcomes. Flexibility demonstrates your problem-solving skills and could enhance the final product. Nonetheless, any changes should align with the project's primary goals and maintain the integrity of your creative vision.

Show willingness to adapt and incorporate your boss’s feedback where it aligns logically with the project goals. Use creative problem-solving to modify aspects of your strategy without compromising the core creative vision. Employ AI-driven project management tools to simulate outcomes of different strategies.

Start by actively listening to grasp their viewpoint. Remember, feedback, although it might sting initially, often holds valuable gems of insight. Keep an open mind, aiming to weave constructive elements of their feedback into your creative vision. Dialogue with your boss can be enlightening; it's a chance to align expectations and discover common ground. Flexibility is key; explore alternative routes that address their concerns while staying true to your creative essence. Seek a collaborative solution where both your boss's input and your creative expertise are honored warmly.

Being agile and nimble is a great quality to have. Loosing your mind and taking things on ego is simple. Idea is to take things easy and be flexible enough to listen to your boss's ideas. The kind of experience and leadership qualities a boss holds pushes the team to do better and the inputs can at times be surprisingly helpful and add more value to your creative plans. No harm in having another perspective. Right?

Your leadership may be risk adverse. Walking through your brainstorming and decision-making process may make them feel more comfortable with your plan.

Show diplomacy: : 1-Collaborate and Compromise by Exploring opportunities for collaboration with your boss to find common ground. Be open to compromise and adjustments to your creative strategy that address their concerns without sacrificing your core principles. 2-Build Bridges: by Identifing potential allies or ambassadors within the organization who may support your creative ideas and can advocate on your behalf.

This is one of my favorite approaches, but it’s also one of the TOUGHEST to be comfortable with. I tend to enjoy the tension that comes from opposing viewpoints but only when this tension is about the work and not about ego. Some of the strongest and successful work really comes from creative collaboration; taking the little bits of goodness from each point of view.

Reflecting and evaluating the situation take some time to reflect on the feedback and evaluate its validity, then consider whether there may be any truth to the feedback and how it aligns with your goals and objectives. Seek additional input: If necessary, seek input from others to gain a broader perspective on the feedback received. This can help validate or challenge the feedback and provide additional insights for improvement.

Start with suggesting a meeting to combine ideas. This way, one shows value for each other's opinions. During the meeting, we can talk about how to combine our ideas while still keeping what we believe in. Working together like this can help us find new and clever solutions that makes a win win situation.

People fear what they do not understand. A great way to educate is with a case study. It couches an example in outcome-oriented framework and allows for explanations without patronizing.

Sometimes feedback stems from a lack of understanding of specific creative choices or strategies. Educate your boss about the latest trends and data-backed strategies in your field, using articles, case studies, and industry reports found on LinkedIn or other professional networks.

I always try to back up my creative strategy with data, research, and case studies that demonstrate its effectiveness and potential impact. Try to present concrete examples of successful campaigns or industry best practices that align with your approach. By providing tangible evidence of the validity and potential success of your creative strategy, you can help alleviate any doubts or reservations your boss may have and build confidence in your proposed approach.

Many times we forget to use the Boss's perspective as a first hand check (devil's advocate-- heard this term) to bounce your creative ideas. It is a perfect alert for you that there may be others who have the same opinion as your boss. Try to find out what will be your justification or counter to reason out to them. Once you find that, it will be easier for you to convince others with your creative perspective.

I wish someone had taught me this tactic when I was a young designer. I’ve always found the creative process to be propelled by emotion. When challenging feedback seeps into this emotional space it can be easy to react irrationally. Taking your ego out of the reaction will allow you to truly evaluate the merit of the feedback.

Keeping realistic perspectives can be challenging when a designer has great passion for creating. Remaining open minded is important when hearing critical feedback at pivotal points of a creative project journey. Listening and staying focused on good communication and clarification of project scope is also important to keep in perspective. Feedback isn’t always a „no“ - it’s just a way to get editing advice to tell the story you need to tell your audience.

Remember these points 1) Keep emotions aside. I know it's difficult because we all are creative people. But believe me it solves 90% of uninvited problems 2) It's okay for people to disagree with your creative ideas. It is a winning idea for you not for them - easy peasy 3) Great Ideas get canned for all of us. Calm down. There's always a way to refurbish those ideas and present them again. 4) Listen before you wish to be heard

Handling counterproductive feedback requires patience, humility, and a willingness to learn and grow from the experience. By approaching feedback with an open mind and a good attitude, it can turn into an opportunity for personal and professional development.

It can be challenging when your boss's feedback seems to impede your creative strategy work. In such situations, it may be beneficial to try and open a constructive dialogue with your boss, expressing your perspective and the value of your creative approach. Seeking to understand their concerns and finding common ground could help bridge the gap. Additionally, considering how you can adapt your strategies while staying true to your creativity might also be a productive approach. Collaboration and communication are key in navigating such situations effectively.

Leverage AI tools to create visualizations or simulations that can demonstrate how your creative ideas are projected to perform. This can help make your case more compelling.

QUIT! QUIT NOW! FIND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WHERE YOUR TALENTS WILL BE VALUED, WHERE YOUR SKILLS WILL BE UTILISED FAIRLY, WHERE YOUR IDEAS CAN BREATHE. F*CKING QUIT!

I would take it into consideration and reflect on my boss's needs. But it all depends on the position you have and the responsibilities, a good brand manager first of all has to look after the brand and the boss is not always right.

Collaboration. With common goals. Perhaps, we should parameterize communication codes. Find a common vocabulary. For greater clarity. Greater flexibility. In reflection. The creative strategy must first be articulated and in a creative way to the boss of the company. It's her primary job!!!