Managing Creatives

As an arts administrator you will spend many hours managing your staff, both artistic and administrative. In order to be a successful arts manager it is important to understand that creative personnel, need to be managed differently than most employees.

Often in the arts we limit "creative personnel" to our artistic staff. It is my experience that administrative staff in most arts organizations come from an artistic background and often have an artistic temperament as well. So these comments apply equally to artistic and administrative staff in an arts organization.

Here are a few things to be aware of when managing artistic personnel:

1. Creatives are often more visual, emotional and impulsive then most employees. They like to move around when they are working and listen to music. They want to be able to design their own work space.

2. Creatives are independent thinkers and free spirited. They usually start with the big idea and they will get to the details much later, if ever.

3. To creatives their work at the theatre or gallery is a way of life to them, not a 9-5 job. They invest themselves personally and professionally in their work.

4. Creatives want to be heard...they want to be included in the decision making process. Their suggestions do not always have to be implemented, but they want management to listen to their ideas and have them seriously considered.

Play to your creatives' strengths. Don't try to change them, you will never succeed. Learn to respect the unique working style of each of your creatives, even if you think it is not an effective style and not how you would handle the situation.

Creatives are risk-takers, we must encourage their exploration and experimentation for the arts to flourish. Your challenge as an arts administrator is to allow your creatives the freedom to create, but at the same time keep control of the outcome so that it happens on time and on budget so that the organization can flourish as well

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