Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
I am writing a “Part 3″ to this “Cut and Paste Creativity” idea. I was humbled to have Worship Musician Magazine publish the first two posts in their current issue. (Links: Post 1 and Post 2)
There are two ways in a church setting that creativity is honed and prepared before public display. Censorship is when things are taken out because of fear that they may damage the mission. Editing is when things are pruned in order to highlight the mission. The truth is that us creatives need some filtering before we lay out our stuff before the masses, even if our own congregation or community is the scope of our platform. (more…)
Monday, April 9th, 2012
Controlling risk is the job of a good manager. Taking risks is the sweet spot of the most creative people on your team. This means that if you lead a creative you will be best to go against your instinct to control if you truly want the best results. And, managing chaos is the MO of the best creative leader. The delicate balance pushes beyond safety, displaying a gooey, unstable, and abstract process. It is much like a baby’s birth. Messy. But, powerful. And, miraculous. Only when the creation is complete does it make sense. (more…)
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
No matter your vocation, if you are a creative you will face all sorts things because of your unique filter on life. This is true in the workplace where your work producing music, creating graphic layouts, or designing experiences is not what everyone else does in your office–even if you don’t have an office. Here are five people you will face and how to win them over.
- Anesthetized Aesthetic: This person means well, as most do. The rub is that they show the signs of understanding aesthetics, but because of being told they couldn’t draw in the second grade they are rarely moved by things like design. Lack of creative confidence is the issue. Your job is to awaken the inner artist by encouraging and valuing the creativity you notice in them. “Bob, I did not know you liked to cook?. Nice!” Acknowledge their resonance with your creative work and earn an advocate. (more…)
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
The school yard bully is quintessential in our memories. Creatives, even those that work in faith institutions or volunteer for a cause, face a bully of sorts. You see, often there exists a factory mindset that says conformity is unity as it cries fowl at innovation. Innovation means change. Change is bad. Creatives simply change things because that is the nature of creativity! Compliance to vision is actually not the question–status-quo worship is. I am going to use the sacred cow detector and list ten statements that bully us creatives as we serve the church. Some of these are more subtly expressed, but we hear them all the same. (more…)
Manuel Luz on 
Guy on 
Rob Still on 
RK on 
