Creative People Need to Man Up, Woman Up

I think that most creative people tend to not want to lead because they are always against The Man, and when they become The Man it’s quite awkward.  People who are authoritative have difficulty leading creative people because creative people are kind of divergent.  They aren’t good soldiers.  They diverge.  They wander too much.  

So that rift is interesting from the follower’s side, from the leader’s side.  For those who are leading creatives and feel uncomfortable with that I think that the challenge is to be open, which is not normal for a formal leader to be open to risk.  How does that leader take that path?  That leader should really take off their suit maybe and try to be with the people, because if they don’t take the risk they will not see a reflexive outcome.  

If you’re a creative person who is unsure of how to lead authoritatively, and don’t want to be The Man, I would say, gender aside, you should woman up.  You should man up.  You have to realize your position.  It’s not pleasant, but over time you realize it has to happen.  It’s necessary.  

Can you be two people at one time?  Of course, I can be a father.  I can be a programmer.  I can be a painter.  We can do all these things.  So letting yourself be both I think is important.