Are You Holding Your Creatives Too Tight? Here’s Why Loosening the Reins Leads to Greater Innovation
Are You Holding Your Creatives Too Tight?
As a creative leader, it’s natural to want control over your team’s work. After all, you have deadlines to meet, goals to hit, and a brand to protect. But what if I told you that holding your team too tightly might be stifling their creativity? What if the key to unlocking their full potential and sparking innovation is giving them more freedom—both inside and outside of their regular work hours?
The truth is, creativity can’t flourish under a microscope. It thrives when it’s given room to explore and expand. That’s why I encourage my team to step outside our ecosystem, tackle projects beyond the 9-to-5, and continuously build their portfolios. The results have been eye-opening—not only for their personal growth but for the innovation they bring back to our work.
The Power of External Work
When creatives work solely within the confines of a single environment, they begin to lose perspective. That’s why I push my team to take on projects outside of our organization. Solving problems in different industries or contexts gives them fresh eyes when they return to our own challenges.
Think about it: When you face new problems outside your usual ecosystem, you develop new solutions. These solutions—these fresh ways of thinking—translate back into your core work. By loosening the reins and encouraging my team to explore beyond our own projects, they bring new approaches and innovative ideas back into our team’s ecosystem.
In short, I’ve found that giving them the space to work elsewhere strengthens their problem-solving abilities and allows them to see our own challenges with a clearer, broader perspective.
Creativity Comes from a Deeper Well
Another reason I encourage my team to work beyond their usual hours is that creativity comes from consumption. The deeper your well of experiences and inspiration, the more creative you can be. If you’re always consuming the same types of content or solving the same problems, your well will eventually run dry. But when you’re exposed to new ideas and environments, you deepen that well.
Encouraging my team to solve new problems in other areas and consume different content channels helps them bring fresh energy into their daily work. The more diverse their experiences, the more innovative their solutions will be within our own projects. It’s about expanding their creative well and ensuring they don’t become stagnant by drawing from the same source over and over.
The Portfolio Push
One of the strongest ways I ensure my team is growing is by encouraging them to continuously build their portfolios. But this isn’t just about finding a new job; it’s about archiving their work, reminding them of their value, and pushing them to think more critically about their projects.
Here’s why portfolios matter:
Archiving and improving: When creatives document their work, they’re not starting from scratch each time. They look at past projects and ask, “How can I improve on this?” This mindset leads to steady growth and innovation.
Personal value: A portfolio is a reminder of the problems they’ve solved and the impact they’ve made. On days when creativity feels distant, their portfolio reminds them that they’re capable and valuable.
Responsibility and intentionality: Knowing that they’ll have to present their work in a portfolio adds a layer of accountability. They think more deeply about the “why” behind a project—who it’s for, how it will resonate, and why it matters. This shifts the way they approach every new task, ensuring they’re not just creating but creating with purpose.
Loosening the Reins for Greater Innovation
If you’re a creative leader, it’s tempting to keep a tight grip on your team to maintain focus and direction. But consider this: by loosening the reins, you give your team the freedom to grow in ways that can directly benefit your organization.
Encouraging them to work outside of your ecosystem, explore new ideas, and archive their growth through portfolios unlocks new levels of creativity and problem-solving. They’ll bring fresh perspectives to the table, ask deeper questions, and push the boundaries of innovation—all because you gave them the space to breathe.
So, ask yourself: Are you holding your creatives too tightly? What would happen if you gave them room to explore and grow? You might find that by loosening the reins, you unlock the very innovation you’ve been striving for.
