Founder's Thoughts – Art of Creative Leadership
Creative Leadership: An Art Form to Inspire Change.
Four months into 2023, I am finding myself more and more inspired by the concept and ideology of Creative Leadership. I'm excited to share how this has manifested itself in my work and Visuable's first few months of this year.
Leadership is a concept that has been around for centuries, and while there are various theories on how to lead, the world around us is changing, and so is the way we lead. What’s more, the ongoing leadership research is trying to keep up with more inclusive and diverse ways of leading. One leadership philosophy that is gaining popularity is Creative Leadership, which embraces change and seeks out opportunities everywhere. As described by THNK, an organisation that supports leaders in developing innovative solutions to the world’s greatest societal challenges, it is a mindset that unleashes courage, collaboration, and creativity, builds on innovative strategies, and creates clarity of purpose for teams, even in the face of complex or changing situations.
After discovering the concept of ‘Creative Leadership’, this ideology struck a chord in my heart. As a Founder of Visuable, a digital brand agency, I’ve always thought of myself as a Creative Doer. My creative path began when studying for an Arts Degree over 15 years from now, and subsequently progressed into a career as a photographer and a web designer, and eventually led me to launching my own creative company. When the company started growing into something bigger than just myself, I’ve decided to embark on another learning journey, this time studying for an MBA in Organisational Leadership, and as a result, I’ve naturally began my transition into a Creative Director. Nine years into running the company, and one year after graduating, I finally feel fully qualified to call myself a Creative Leader.
Leading Oneself, Leading Others, Leading a Company
I believe that leading creatively is more of an art than a science. It requires embracing an artist mindset, where failure is not feared but rather seen as an opportunity to learn and improve. Creative leaders must have the ability to envision tangible solutions that shape a better world and possess the necessary competencies to make their vision a reality. These competencies, as described by THNK, are exploring, architecting, conducting, and directing.
Exploring – seeking inspiration and discovering new opportunities. For me, this means reading books and journal articles, studying courses to learn new skills and engaging in conversations with other leaders. Those sources of inspiration help spark new ideas and come up with innovative solutions.
Architecting – envisioning big tangible solutions to shape a better world. For me, this is all about putting the ideas into practice and linking them with problems and desires of our clients, or audiences as a whole. Our branding, web design and marketing product range has been crafted with an aim to help our clients get better business results, so that they can better their own lives. What’s more, our intrinsic motivation as a company is to make the internet a more beautiful and functional place, so that brands and audiences co-exist together in a better reality.
Conducting – leveraging on the collective power of the team. This is all about getting the buy-in from the team and bringing them on board with the ideas and strategies, so that we turn plans into a reality, together. When teams of people work together, amazing things can happen. At Visuable, we’re working collaboratively with each other, with clients and with partners to create great results.
Directing – driving impact by storytelling that creates urgency and moves to action. When ideas are developed into products, it’s time to shout about them to the world. Directing is all about engaging with the external audiences and getting them on board. Our marketing team communicates our mission, thoughts, ideas and solutions to the world through weekly blogs, newsletter and engaging force for good campaigns.
With all of this being said, I’ve come to an understanding that my role is to wear many hats. In all honesty, it can be overwhelming sometimes, but at the end of the day it excites me that I am able to inspire change and innovate on a daily basis, grow and empower our people, initiate improvements to our processes, and keep launching great products that make a positive difference to our client’s lives.
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
Insights into our internal initiatives resulting from the Creative Leadership
One of the ways in which I believe creative leadership is put into practice at Visuable is through our Social Impact Initiatives, which are deeply rooted in one of our company values, and using our business as a force for good. Some of our recent campaigns include DigitALL – Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality, which highlights the voices of female leaders in digital, tech, and creative industries and calls for gender equality, and It's Time to Unite and Support the People in Turkey and Syria, a campaign that seeks to support those affected by recent earthquakes in these countries.
Another way in which I try to lead creatively is through engagement with other organisations that enable me to collaborate with like-minded individuals and businesses. As part of my collaborative efforts, I have recently been invited to be a guest on Locally Made Podcast, to discuss my entrepreneurial journey, growing an agency, and building a team; I also gave a talk to a global Squarespace Designer Community audience which was a great experience that allowed me to share my insights on product building and pricing strategies I use here at Visuable; Also, I am currently in the process of being interviewed for a book feature, which is a super exciting opportunity that I’ll talk more about in the future.
My Creative Leadership is also evident in the way Visuable’s company culture is built. We are developing our structures, processes, and policies to enable personal freedom and creativity, champion collaboration and seek out innovative solutions. For example, we have a work-from-anywhere policy that allows our team members to move around countries freely while continuing to work; We subsidise some of the travel costs when team members travel anywhere they like to meet specifically for co-works (more than half of the team recently met in Bristol, England – and it was so much fun!); We also have ‘Creative Tuesdays’ where we meet as a team to get inspired, learn and grow together. What’s more, we have scrapped the outdated corporate appraisals and replaced them with a friendlier version which we call ‘Role Focus Sessions’ – focusing on career progression, personal development, and training needs to build better, brighter, and more passionate humans.
Final Words
Creative Leadership is not just another leadership philosophy but a mindset that inspires change and innovation and it truly resonates with me and my leadership style. Perhaps, a different leadership style may be more fitting for your company needs, and that’s completely fine. Creative Leadership works for me and us at Visuable as a creative company which strives to build a fun and innovative culture. Regardless of the style you prefer, I believe that leadership is an art form that requires the courage to embrace change, the vision to create tangible solutions, and the ability to empower others to make a difference in the world. As a leader, I’m extremely passionate about the way in which the Creative Leadership has influenced the way Visuable operates and the opportunities and innitiatives we’ve been getting involved in. Overall, I have embraced this philosophy of leading creatively, and making a positive difference in the world, and I challenge you to do the same.
Creative Leader = Creative Changemaker.
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