Saturday, November 07, 2009
Is Managing Creatives really different than Managing Others?
Behind the Scenes at Taylor Studios: "There are endless articles, books and seminars on managing creatives. I am often asked how a business person like me handles managing artists. I even find myself using that as an excuse when I get frustrated with a people-management issue. And sure, left brainers are different than right brainers, and country people are different than urban people and Gen Y is different than the Baby Boomers and … I think artists or creatives are given an out with their stereotypes when they are disruptive."
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11 comments:
This article is a reminder for people like me who don't always give artists the benefit of the doubt when it comes to waking up on time or remembering times and places of meetings. Its tough to let go of that mothering instinct and trust these...adults to be responsible for themselves sometimes but it often yields better results.
I know its the stereotype that artists are irresponsible and not exactly well organized, and although it may be true often, it should not be assumed.
However, I appreciated the way this article addressed the difficulties and solutions to this sometimes uncomfortable situation. In many cases it is an issue, and although the artist should be held accountable as well, it is management that will really be responsible.
I'm glad this article addresses that creative types should be held accountable for their actions like everyone else, and that their talent shouldn't be an excuse. "Betty" also goes on to explain that management is often the root problem when it comes to accountability and adhering to standards. She hints that managing artists is difficult because managers acknowledge their truly unique talents and try to be flexible around their process in order to get a quality result. The result is an immense amount of flexibility forced on the fabricators, when the best result may have come around if the artist and fabricator were truly collaborative and reach a middle ground of flexibility. This isn't to say that management shouldn't be flexible but that they should do their job and manage, even when it gets difficult because of the talent.
I am really interested in this article. The issue of managing artists and creative people is often seen as being different than managing others. I believe that the business and management in theater are not different than the business aspect of every other industry. Yes, each industry is different, but none are special. Most professional artists are very organized and on top their stuff. What is different about the artistic process is not the artist, but the art itself, the creation of a show is a process and, like everything else, flexibility is needed. Yes, artists should not use the stereotype as a crutch and managers should hold them accountable.
although many times people assume that creatives, because the sporadic and spontaneous way of thinking that makes them who they are, have a bad work ethic/temperament, i think that its vital for creatives to be structured at times and pushed to excel because you can benefit so greatly whether or not your field is creative or not. there was recently a guest lecturer in the school of design that explained her unique ideation process and that if you envision the process to be a structured, technical process within your reach, it can help you avoid creative blocks
My favorite part of this article was when the author discussed management expectations. This goes for teaching as well as management: the first rule in getting results from students/creatives is to set a bar and expect them to meet it. If you don't believe in a person, they won't know what they are capable. of. My english teacher in 10th grade, for example, set the bar really high and we all managed to do really well in her class. Most english teachers at my school, however, all expected their students to fail, and most of them did. Of course...the bar at CMU is set pretty pretty high...and I think that's why this school has produced so many successful individuals. The creatives are able to go into the industry and meet the demands. I also really liked this quote:
"The only way to deliver to the people who are achieving is to not burden them with the people who are not achieving.” Creative energy depends on so many things. One of them is definitely the people surrounding you, so I also think the team of collaborators is something to highly take into consideration if you are managing creatives.
I completely agree with the article's statement that the creative staff must be held just as accountable as others. I find in entertainment that is often the technical or management side that is put to blame for others' mistakes. However, theater is also not so black and white. You never really can tell why things didn't work out. For example, was the budget late because the scene designer took to long on the redesign or did the project manager take to long to budget it again. If we tried to make this distinction we'd all just end up pointing finders and tossing unnecessary blame around. To adhere to this statement above it is only fair that both heads are accountable as a team, not separate units. However, some cases are black and white but that's a less interesting topic to breakdown. In theater, accountability is hard to decipher when we all work so tightly as a team and our work affects other department's work.
This seems to me a little vague in its assessment. Admittedly, it is essentially an advertisement for the survives this company provides and as such may be unrealistically optimistic.
As a creative type, I've had some strange reactions to being managed. Either I chafe and complain or I'm completely reliant on it. Ask the stage managers in PTM; sometimes I kidnap Hannah and Chris to be my personal assistants. I realize this shows a lack of personal responsibility on my behalf and is something I need to change. In order to be successful, I need to take charge for myself.
I tend to agree with this philosophy. People should be motivated about their work, not by overbearing managers, especially in an industry where we (even the technical among us) get to be so creative. At the same time, standards ought to be high, and nobody should consider themselves important enough to ignore them. To my mind, working with creative people isn't the big difference. The big difference is working in a field that tends to value collaboration much more than the outside world. We often lament that there isn't enough collaboration, but when I compare the floor of a scene shop to the floor at a manufacturing plant, or the scene at a building construction site, I see a much less rigid structure, and a lot more bi-directional information flow.
At it's core, managing is managing is managing. However, part of managing is figuring out the most efficient and clear way to communicate to the people involved.
I believe that this skill is integral to managing any kind of project. And yes, someone who creates arts is going to need different things than someone who deals with business and numbers. This is not a judgement of one being better or smarter, but simply needing different ways of communicating.
As for being accountable... EVERYONE needs to be accountable...
I have really enjoyed the comment thread and am glad my blog creates conversation. Coworker artists do appreciate when you hold others accountable. It makes the workplace more pleasurable, which also allows for more collaboration. Yes, artistic endevours take a lot of communication. If an artist is not there when that communication needs to happen that can cause problems. We have set up a communication process also, so all parties are in the loop from design to the installation team.
Betty
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