Managing Creative Teams
Whether you're running a television show or steering a design team, the principles of creative leadership remain constant. Here are a few pages from my playbook:
What's a Creative Team?
An effective creative team isn't just a group of people working together; it's a collective of diverse talents and voices that, when managed effectively, can produce magic. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
This alchemy is the backbone of innovation and is not confined to the arts. Any enterprise that thrives on original ideas and artistic expression fits the bill; I believe the lessons from a writers’ room can illuminate paths for all creative organizations.
finding your team
Who you choose to be on your team will be the core of your success. That process begins by knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, next determining what qualities your brain trust needs to succeed, then proceeding to find players who can fulfill those needs
For example, if you’re doing a police procedural about a female detective set in the South, you’d be especially interested in writers with a law enforcement or Southern background; you’re also looking for people with experience in writing procedurals or mysteries or rural characters; if you’re a man, particularly need strong need female voices to give your protagonist dimension and challenge your own perspectives. Similarly, you want a range of races and viewpoints in the room to provide depth and scope.
You want writers who can augment your background and talents, individuals with distinctive voices and sensibilities who will make you and your show better.
You then put out the word to agents, managers, and others, and read through the ton of scripts and resumes that subsequently flood your inbox. You’re looking for scripts that make you sit and say, “I want to meet the person who wrote this.” Trust your gut. Ultimately, you bring in a handful of writers to interview, at least twice as many as you can afford to hire—some you won’t respond to, others you won’t be able to sign, others still will take other offers.
It may be that you’re lucky enough to find writers who embody several of the key qualities you’re working for; it’s more likely they will tick off one or two boxes at most. So you start thinking of balance, how to mix and match, assessing assets and deficits.
What’s equally important to a writer’s professional profile is how you react to them personally in the interview. Are you comfortable with them? Do they bring positive energy? Are you on the same wavelength? Do you think you could work together well under pressure? Is this someone you’d look forward to seeing every morning and through some long nights?
Once you’ve begun to “cast” the writing staff in your mind, you begin to judge subsequent candidates by how well you think they’d help fill out the team.
Just going for writers with the longest or most prestigious resumes is no guarantee of success.
In his autobiography, Bruce Springsteen talks about how he assembles a band: “You’re not looking for the best players. You’re looking for the right players who click into something unique….The primary math of the real world is one and one equals two….But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics, and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire.”
Take it from the Boss: A winning team does not necessarily mean the most experienced or even the most naturally gifted players. An eager rookie might prove more valuable than a cynical veteran.
Some showrunners approach team-building like assembling a military platoon. I think of it more like choosing a pick-up team for baseball. You show up at the park, see who’s available, make your picks, and manage according to the skills of your players.
Tips for Managing Creatives
Creative minds flourish under conditions that might stifle others. They need an environment where the unconventional is celebrated and “failure” is reframed as “learning.” A frequent prelude to a new idea in the writers’ room is, “This isn’t it, but…” or “This is the worst idea ever, but what if…?” Such self-deprecating introductions often lead to successful outcomes.
This doesn’t mean that a writers’ room is unstructured. Quite the contrary. It is precisely the discipline of a well-maintained playground with clear rules that allows ideas to blossom and imaginations to wander. Organization is essential. To quote fabled UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
Of course, what you’re preparing for in a creative endeavor is the unexpected. It’s a dilemma. You want to plan for the unplanned to surprise and delight you. How to do that?
As I say in my book, the major challenge in running a writers room is managing the art of discovery. Robert Frost said: “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”
Without discovery, writing is dead on arrival. Without you providing a road to follow, however, writers on staff can get lost. Consequently, your job as a showrunner is to convey a clear vision of what you’re after while allowing writers enough latitude to make their own discoveries without fear of being shut down.
It’s not easy. At times, you might have to force yourself to hold your tongue; otherwise, you’ll kill the mood.
Some tips:
Embrace diverse perspectives: Encourage your team to bring their unique backgrounds and ideas to the table. Such diversity fuels innovation.
Set clear expectations: While creativity thrives on freedom, clarity of goals and boundaries is crucial to productive discussion. As said earlier, guidelines help creatives understand the sandbox they're playing in.
Encourage constructive dialogue: You want your writers to be tough on ideas, but criticism should focus on the work, not on colleagues. Some showrunners refer to the “yes/and” approach of improvisational actors. “Yes, that’s a great idea——and what about this?” The point is to always be building something rather than tearing it down. As a fellow showrunner puts it, “You’re looking for firefighters, not arsonists.”
Encourage autonomy: Give your team members ownership of their work. This empowers them and enhances their creative output.
Celebrate every step: Recognize not just the big wins but also the small victories along the way. This builds momentum and morale.
For more guidance on leading creative teams, read my book, Running the Show: Television from the Inside. And if you want to get in touch, contact me to discuss how I can help.
