How to work with creative employees effectively?

However, creative employees don't always like to "play by the rules," and managing them is never an easy task. You need to make sure to provide them with an environment that encourages creative exploration and risk-taking, helps them understand the mission, stick to their goals, and meet deadlines and budgets. Here are a few ways to do that.

Present the problem, not the solution

There is nothing more creative employees enjoy than taking on a challenge that requires them to use their skills to find a solution. And nothing frustrates them more than a manager trying to tell them what the solution will look like.

Of course, there will be certain limitations in terms of time, finance… Determining these is your job as a manager, but giving an “outline” of the solution is not. Proposals like this will limit creativity because it is difficult to disprove the ideas of superiors and the end result is inevitably affected.

Direct them to real problems

Sometimes creative people can go too far to create something useful. So you need to give them information and direction so that they get the big picture rather than obsessing over the minutiae. Identify the real problem you are facing and communicate so that they can focus on solving it, the results may surprise you.

Give employees time and space to work alone

According to many studies, people tend to come up with fewer ideas when working in groups instead of working alone. Furthermore, the odds of getting bogged down in something are also higher in the collective brainstorming process.

This is not to say that teamwork isn't effective, but the fact is that most creative people are introverted – they'll come up with unique ideas without pressure or social interaction. So make sure to give employees enough time and space to work alone, then they can present their ideas at brainstorming sessions.

“Working with right-brained employees – more creative requires a different set of rules than left-brain employees – more analytical.”

Emphasize the importance of balance

Many creatives will neglect the uninteresting, monotonous aspects of their work. But such “boring” tasks are also important, work must be recorded in reports, paperwork must be completed. Therefore, while it is important to be flexible with employees, you must also emphasize that they must not neglect the less enjoyable aspects, no matter how tedious it may be.

Allow failure

If you want to encourage creativity and innovation, you need to create a supportive work environment where failure is okay. Creativity and innovation require experimentation, risk taking, and sometimes failure happening right in front of your eyes. If the employee has done well but the results are not as expected, give them another chance and also talk about what did and did contribute to the final result. Creative people often have huge egos and need to feel a "glimmer of hope" in order to continue to be successful.

Surround them with the right people

Too many creators working together can be a recipe for disaster, competing for ideas, brainstorming endlessly or simply ignoring each other. However, you should also not mix creative workers with too serious and traditional teammates to come together to come up with unique problem solving.

Practice shows that groups consisting of people from different backgrounds foster creativity, as long as team members are open to each other's perspectives. So, mix creatives with others who may be less creative, but willing to support novel ideas and work well with them to improve those ideas.

Open to new ways of working

Many companies encourage employees to work when they feel most creative. They can be flexible in working hours, just need to handle the assigned tasks well and coordinate well with the team.

For creative employees, responsibility doesn't have to be represented by hours spent sitting at a desk. Instead, accountability is seen in quantifiable results like great new ideas, unique designs, or anything else that can make people “oh” with surprise and delight. animal.

Provide honest feedback

Just like other employees, provide objective and specific feedback to creative members based on what you see and feel. Instead of just saying “Very good,” appreciate them more enthusiastically when they come up with a good idea by saying something you really like about the initiative. This will motivate them to give more. Likewise, tell them what they can improve on if their contribution falls short of expectations.

In short, the key to successful management is understanding how employees work creatively, communicate continuously, and create conditions for them to do what they do best. You may have to get out of your comfort zone to do that, but try to overcome difficulties because the results will be innovations that make you happy and bring great benefits to the whole team.