Our teams are filled with talented people. And they are continually creating. To lead them well, we must build our a creator appreciation mindset. It’s easy to get started with these five simple steps.
Wait!
Are about to stop reading because you think you don’t work with creative types?
I don’t mean to be argumentative, but I think you’re wrong.
But I don’t have artists on my team
When you hear the term “creator”, who do you think of?
Does this guy fit your the image of a creator?
He probably does. He’s got some tattoos. Hair that isn’t his natural color. And, he’s working with paint. Most of the stereotypical boxes are checked.
This dude is clearly a creator.
And, I know. You don’t have anyone that looks like that on your team.
But please don’t quit reading just yet. This post really is for you.
Trust me.
How about these three guys?
Matt Amos, Chet Sears, and Troy Trussell (left to right) are friends of mine and have their own podcast with a YouTube channel, and a website.
Creators? Or no?
But, how about this woman?
I know she’s using an Apple product so some would say she’s automatically a creator.
But what if she’s building a spreadsheet or writing an email instead of writing a poem or doing graphic design?
Would you still consider her to be a creator?
To have a creator appreciation mindset, we need to start with getting clear on who we consider to be a creator.
Consider your team. You’ve done the work to get to know each of your teammates.
Would you label any of the people on your team as a creator?
Your answer may change after you finish this post.
Who is a creator?
Merriam-Webster defines a creator this way.
This definition is pretty broad. And, I agree with it. That’s why I made the statement earlier that we are surrounded by creators.
Our teams are constantly “bringing something new or original into being”.
It may be an idea, a presentation, a computer program, or even an email. Our teammates are creating new things. And, so are we.
We are creators.
But, maybe you think you’re not creating anything new or original. You’re just taking what learned from others and combining it and passing it along.
That’s not being a creator is it?
I say it is.
Every creator starts with something
Every human who has ever created anything has started with something.
There’s an old joke you’ve probably heard that makes this point.
Get your own dirt
Here’s the joke. An oldie but a goodie.
God was approached by a scientist who said, “Listen God, we’ve decided we don’t need you anymore. These days we can clone people, transplant organs, and do all sorts of things that used to be considered miraculous.”
God replied, “Don’t need me huh? How about we put your theory to the test? Why don’t we have a competition to see who can make a human being, say, a male human being.”
The scientist agrees, so God declares they should do it like he did in the good old days when he created Adam.
“Fine” says the scientist as he bends down to scoop up a handful of dirt.”
“Whoa!” says God, shaking his head in disapproval. “Not so fast. You get your own dirt.”
Your worldview may not align with God as the Creator of earth and people, but you get the point.
When humans start creating, they are starting with something that already exists.
The most creative people in history built with existing material
Even the people considered to be the most creative and talented in history started with some raw materials.
Michelangelo didn’t create the marble he used to sculpt the masterpiece David.
The same is true with you and the creators on your team.
We are all creating using ideas and content shared with us by someone else at some point in our lives.
I was reminded of this by a tweet and a quote by a talented writer and creator, David Perell.
News ideas start with existing ideas
You can learn more about David Perell on his website. He is a great follow on Twitter (@david_perell) too.
Here’s the quote I saw from him there.
All creativity is inspired by other people’s ideas. The faster you embrace that, the more successful you can be as a creative.
David Perell
Perell also quoted Maria Papova to support his point.
Creativity is combinatorial, nothing is original, everything builds on what came before, and we create by taking existing pieces of inspiration, knowledge, skill, and insight that we gather over the course of our lives and recombining them into new creations.
Maria Papova
You can read his Twitter thread on this topic here and find his mini-essay, Intellectual Phase Transitions, on his website.
Ideas turn into creations
As I noted earlier, our teams are constantly “bringing something new or original into being”. Their combining of existing ideas results in new ideas. And, these new ideas lead to new things we can observe and admire with our senses.
We can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch the work of the many talented creators around us.
Those observations of the countless creations around us allow us to build a creator appreciation mindset.
We can do this with five simple steps.
5 simple steps to build a Creator Appreciation Mindset
It’s simple to get started building an appreciation of the valuable work of the many talented creators who surround us.
Take these five steps to lay a foundation that will allow you to further encourage and support the creators you appreciate and admire.
Step 1 – Pay attention to things you admire
This first step may seem obvious. But it is critical to building a creator appreciation mindset.
And, it’s easy to skip.
We need to continually remind ourselves of the many creations we enjoy and admire. Simply paying attention to things that amaze us or bring us benefit is a skill we need to practice.
It’s easy to be amazed by the obviously impressive creations from those with celebrity status.
- Compelling books written by famous authors
- Beautiful paintings created by master artists
- Moving songs by our favorite musicians
- Inspiring YouTube videos from motivational leaders
Recognizing these often awe-inspiring masterful creations is an important part of building a mindset of appreciation for creators.
We can strengthen our appreciation mindset even further by paying attention beyond the obvious.
Consider these examples of creations that, while perhaps less obvious, are impressive in their own way.
- Clear and concise emails
- Carefully designed game plans
- Entertaining podcast episodes
- Visually compelling presentations
- Effective lesson plans for remote learning
- Perfectly coordinated outfits
- Witty social media posts
- Ingenious solutions to customer problems
- Striking photographs
- Delicious and nutritious meals
- Thought-provoking blog posts
- Accurate and engaging sermons
We can be grateful for the unlimited creativity available to us through the internet. And, many of us have direct connections with people who are positively impacting our lives every day through their creative work.
Paying attention to the multitude of creations around us, the things we admire and appreciate, is the first step in building our mindset of creator appreciation.
And, it’s simple. We just need to take a little bit of time to do it.
The next step is just as simple and also takes just a small amount of time.
Step 2 – Closely observe the creations you appreciate
The examples in step one are the final creations. We often see only one thing that was produced. And, we only make surface-level observations.
We can deepen our level of appreciation for the creator of that one thing by taking a moment to examine the creation with more scrutiny. To consider its more subtle, less obvious traits.
Why do we admire this particular creation we’ve observed? What caused us to pay attention to this work and not another?
An unusual example of a complex and beautiful creation
I’ll use an example many of you may find completely boring and irrelevant. And, because that’s true, it may just make my point.
One creation that’s been a part of my entire career is the PowerPoint presentation or slide deck as some call it.
While some might call these documents the bane of their existence, I have learned to appreciate the beauty a high quality PowerPoint slide can contain.
Your world may not involve communicating through digital presentations, but you’ve likely seen similar documents in webinars, YouTube videos, and many other places. So, I think you’ll understand the example.
What all is involved is contained in a high quality slide in a presentation?
Here are just a few aspects of a well-crafted slide you may not have considered.
- Colors of the background, text, and images
- Font used for the text
- Size of the text and images
- Number of words
- Correct spelling
- Clarity of the message
- Readability when viewed on screen and printed
- Visualization of data (type of graph used)
- Alignment of visual elements
- Consistency of theme
I’ve been fortunate to learn how important all of these nuances are to creating a single slide for an effective presentation. I’m no expert, but by learning from communication experts on my team, I have a much deeper understanding and appreciation for what expert creators in this field do.
I’m sure you can talk for hours about the details required to create with excellence in your field. Whatever that field may be.
Chefs, plumbers, musicians, visual artists, entrepreneurs, pilots, bloggers, podcasters, interior designers, coaches, financial advisors, administrative assistants, teachers, electricians, and on and on.
Team members in every industry and area are creators. They are bringing new ideas, solutions, and tangible items into existence.
Their work will amaze us when we pause and consider all they must do to produce their creations we admire.
So, by taking steps one and two, we should be thoroughly impressed by the many creators around us.
What should we do next to strengthen our appreciation mindset for the amazing creators in our lives?
We simply take the next step, step 3.
Step 3 – Record creations as you encounter them
I’ll admit. My memory is not that great.
I have to write things down to remember them.
Even after being powerfully impacted by a creation like a podcast episode or a video online or a painting I see somewhere, I’ll forget where I heard the message. I often can’t remember where I was when I saw the image still in my mind.
I need to write things down or take a picture to remember them.
You may be the same way. That’s why step 3 is so important.
We need to record the creations we admire when we encounter them.
Taking time to stop allows us to acknowledge the value of the creation. If something gets our attention, we can be sure it has some level of importance to us.
If we’re scrolling through social media feeds or your emails and we stop the scroll to read something, the creation we are observing may be valuable to us. Either now or in the future. And, if the value is in the future, you need to be able to return to it later.
So, take a screen capture of the creation you are admiring.
In the same way, if you’re out and about and begin to admire something, whatever the creation might be, take a picture of it.
And, there is always the tried and trusted method of remembering something.
Write a note to record the creation you appreciate and admire. Pen and paper still works even today.
You will thank yourself later. And, if you follow the remaining steps and upcoming blog posts, the creator or creators you appreciate will thank you too.
Step 4 – Think about who might have contributed to the work
Our fourth step is based on a truth similar to the idea that no creator has a completely original creation.
No creator delivers his or her creation without the support of other creators.
This belief further deepens our creator appreciation mindset.
In step four we consider all of the people who were involved to allow us to observe and admire the creation before us. These additional creators may be directly connected with the primary creator or they may be more distance resources indirectly providing support.
These are the behind-the-scenes creators who don’t typically get the credit.
Those who enable others to create are creators in their own way.
The computer programmers who write the code to enable the beautiful website we appreciate are just as creative as the web designer. And, the web designer is a creator as much as the person producing the content delivered through the website.
Creators are supported by other creators with their own unique skills and talents. Each person is valuable. They deserve to have their creative contribution recognized too.
And, to recognize them, we have to know who they are.
Step 5 – Identify the creators
The fifth and final step in building our Creator Appreciation Mindset is to identify the creators of the work we appreciate.
After we recognize the creations we admire, deeply consider their complexity, and then understand that many creators are involved, we are compelled to find out who those people are.
Finding out who is responsible for the creations we appreciate typically isn’t too difficult. When we are directly connected to the creator , it’s obvious. We can ask them who else supported them to create what we enjoyed.
For less direct connections, we can usually find the original source of the content with some basic internet detective work.
This last step takes a bit of effort, but it’s worth it.
Having a creator appreciation mindset is of little value if we don’t put it to use. And, one of the best way to apply this mindset is to connect with and support people who create.
The importance of knowing and supporting creators
Identifying the creators who have provided value to us is important. Communicating with them is even more important.
Being a creator can be difficult and discouraging work. Creators need ongoing feedback to be reminded that the work they do matters and it’s making a difference in people’s lives.
If creators are positively impacting our life through their creations, we need to make sure they know that.
This is especially important when those creators are on our team. We should thank them for their work and encourage them. Often we can learn from them and be further supported ourselves through their expertise.
By knowing and supporting creators, we can be teammates and leaders who gives them the energy and motivation to provide even more valuable contributions for our team.
And, even when the creators aren’t on our immediate team, we can still take actions to support and encourage them too.
How do we do that? Once we’ve identified the creators who have impacted our lives, what practical steps can we take to serve them?
We will cover those steps in a future post, but until then apply what you already know to reach out to your teammates.
Start by telling them you appreciate what they create. Communicate to them that the work they do matters.
They will benefit and so will you.
Put your Creator Appreciation Mindset into action
By continually applying these five steps, we can build and strengthen a mindset of appreciation for creators of all types.
With this approach we can lead teams of people who see themselves as valuable and important contributors. Our teams will continue to create in their own unique ways and impact the people around them for good.
As we recognize and appreciate all the creators who positively influence us, we will be a source of encouragement and energy for them. By giving back to them, we can be a part of impacting others through their work and sharing the benefits we have received.
Creators are all around us. Look for them. Support them. Lead them well.
Let’s lead with kindness and confidence.
Greg
Discussion Questions
- Who in your organization would you now consider to be a creator based on this approach?
- How can you apply these five steps to make a difference in the life of a creator you know?
I’m interested to know how you put this into practice in your life. Please share your experiences in the comments section so we can learn together.
Nice approach to finding creators. Definitely all about your mindset.
Thanks, Troy. It’s like so many things. Once you recognize something, you see it everywhere. I’ve found this to be true with creators. There are so many talented people doing amazing work. We just need to develop the habit of recognizing them.