You Don’t Need to Be in Charge to Take Charge

After more than 15 years in advertising, and a large large part of that time spent working with creative teams, one thing I’ve learnt is that you don’t need to be in charge to take charge. For me, leadership has never been just about a designation. It’s about taking ownership, noticing what needs to be done and stepping up. In creative work, there isn’t always one right answer. Briefs change, deadlines get tight and sometimes you have to work things out as you go. That’s where ownership really matters.

Taking charge of a team doesn’t mean being involved in every little thing. There’s a difference between being available and micromanaging. Designers need space to think, try things and figure out their own way of working. But giving them space doesn’t mean disappearing either. You have to check in and understand what’s going on. Are they stuck? Do they need a little direction, a push, someone to listen, or just some time to work it out? It changes from person to person, and a big part of leadership is learning to recognise that.

A big part of leadership is knowing when to step in and when to give people space. 

Designers put a lot of themselves into their work. Whether they’re working on something in Adobe Photoshop, refining details in  Adobe Illustrator or trying to bring an idea to life, they care about what they make. So feedback needs a bit of thought. You have to be honest about the work, but the person should never feel that the feedback is a judgement of them. At the same time, you can’t be afraid to challenge them. People need room to experiment, make mistakes and learn from them. That’s how they get better.

Not everyone in a team works the same way. Some people are always looking for the next challenge. Some need more structure, some need a nudge, and some need encouragement. People don’t always tell you what’s bothering them, either. You have to keep talking to them, pay attention and sometimes read between the lines. For me, understanding people is as important as understanding the work. You can’t lead a team well if you only look at what they deliver and never check in on the person doing it.

Intent, attitude and integrity matter just as much as skill in creative teams. 

When I look at what matters while building a team, three things always stand out: intent, attitude and integrity. Skills can be learnt and experience comes with time, but how someone approaches their work, deals with a challenge and treats the people around them matters a lot. As leaders, we also have to make sure curiosity doesn’t take a back seat. Read, look at references, travel, observe and take an interest in things beyond advertising. There’s so much visual clutter around us that finding your own point of view takes effort. You have to keep looking and learning, even when you’re not working on a brief.

I don’t think leadership means having every answer or being part of every decision. It’s about giving people the confidence to own their work, while making sure they know they can come to you when they need help. And when something doesn’t work out, instead of waiting for someone else to fix it, sometimes you just need to ask, “Okay, how do we figure this out?” For me, that’s what taking charge looks like. You don’t need a title to do it.

Give people ownership, but make sure they know they’re not on their own.