Creating in Safety
Part 2 in a series of posts on Power Dynamics in Leadership
(Read the Introduction to this series here)
When I was early in my management career, some people used to talk about the difference between managing process people vs. creative people. Categorizing people you work with in just two categories is a gross oversimplification of the uniqueness of human personality and makeup. But this binary distinction did help me to some extent. I fall solidly on the “process” side of that line. In those days, I would have (wrongly) claimed not to have a creative bone in my body. I had a hard time understanding those right-brained “creatives”, a harder time communicating effectively with them, and no clue how to manage them.
My management style played havoc with the work process for those dubbed “creatives”. Around the same time, I started to realize that this was causing issues at home as well with my extremely creative wife. One of the things I do well is troubleshooting. It feeds off my Working Genius of Discernment. I tend to see clearly early in the process the ways that something can or will go wrong. It’s a helpful gift, of course, but one I discovered should not be used early in the creative process. I was the noisy gong that interrupted the focus of artisans who were in the midst of creating.
In trying to be helpful and point out potential problems, I was unintentionally making an environment that choked back creativity and innovation. I had to learn to lean back and stay out of the way of a team that was workshopping or creating until my input was needed later in the timeline.
Creating and creativity are ingrained in the human nature. When God made people in His own image, He created a reflection of His creative nature in each one of us. The first time we see God in the Old Testament that’s exactly what He’s doing: creating. “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1.1)
God’s first interaction with the universe we live in was to create it. There was nothing: no time, no space, no creatures, no planets or stars. God spoke all those things into existence. We’re told in the New Testament that Jesus is present as God’s Word in creation. Hebrews 1 refers to Jesus in that context as “the Word of His power.” I’m not going to dive down into theological analysis here, but it’s a fascinating study if you want to do a deep dive on Jesus as the Word of creation.
Can you imagine being able to speak things into existence? When we refer to God as omnipotent, or all-powerful, this is the kind of thing we’re referring to. As we look at power under control during this series God remains our example. He has more power than we can even imagine and uses it gently, kindly, and sprinkled with mercy. And He uses it for the sake of His creations, human beings in particular.
Elohim is the creator. He created humans to partner in creation with Him. We reflect His image when we write songs and books, create physical objects of beauty like sculptures and paintings, and when we commit acts of kindness that fit into the beautiful story of His providence. You create beauty when you lead others with kindness and clarity, when you bring order to a complex and chaotic problem. You, as a leader, are a creator and you serve other creators, those image bearers that God has placed under your care.
If you have authority and responsibility over a team that creates anything (from a budget, to an app, to a graphic novel) you have to find the right groove for that team. A shared vocabulary for communicating when you are in a brainstorming phase vs. when it is time to execute can be invaluable. The Working Genius framework does this very well, and that is one reason I recommend it so highly for teams. It is phenomenal at creating space for both inventing new things, discerning what is feasible, and all the nuts and bolts of birthing the vision fruition.
The most basic thing your team needs for optimal creative impact is safety. Good leaders use their power to create a safe environment for the direct reports under their care. When people feel safe, they function better. That’s good for them, and good for your team’s performance. Your team needs to be able to know that it’s OK to tell you when you’re in the way. “James, I know we’ve got a deadline. Give us a couple of days here and leave us alone to work through this and we’ll check in if we need something.” Can your team be that blunt with you? And even better: have you learned to see when your presence is making more tension than the work itself?
See, that’s the key about power that we’re going to come back to frequently here: for those who have it, power is normal. When you’ve got the power in any given situation, you don’t have to think about it. The disparity of power between your and your direct reports might not show on to your radar screen unless you deliberately look for it. Just like when you stand next to someone a foot or two shorter than you, you may not really notice the size disparity because you have no reason to be concerned by it. (Yes, size can be a form of power!) Yet you can intimidate the person next to you without doing anything hostile simply because of your greater mass and altitude.
Every conversation, every meeting, every interaction with someone who reports to you is affected by the power imbalance. Your direct reports, whether consciously or not, know that you have control over their reviews, their pay, their tools, their working environment, etc. That control, or power, is a fact of every interaction.
So it’s up to you to use power carefully. Matthew describes Jesus healing on the Sabbath as a fulfillment of Isaiah 42:
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
Jesus’ healing power brought forth justice. Isaiah describes this pursuit of justice in language of gentleness. It’s easy to break a bruised reed. It takes only inaction for a barely burning wick to gutter out. Jesus exercises His power, the same power that spoke the universe into existence, by gently loving in moments of need.
You won’t lose your power because you wield it carefully and gently. Your authority isn’t diminished because you show mercy and care and create safety. Your use of power to bring justice and safety to your team is an echo of your Creator God, Elohim.
Once you’ve created a safe environment for creativity, you can continue to help your team by providing these two things:
Tools and resources, including space (mental, physical and chronological)
A balance of freedom and constraints. Think of a blank canvas as an example of both. The canvas doesn’t have unlimited size but it’s clear and ready to go. Talk with your team about how to create that freedom within constraints of budget, schedule, and the project as a whole.
You will need to constantly reinforce safety through using your power to protect your team from various forms of disruption. As a leader, you stand between your direct reports and the rest of the organization. You boldly proclaim their successes and you, the leader, take the pain of any failure. That’s what your power is for: caring for those you’re working for.