What I Learned About Leading Creatives That Still Shapes My Work

I might not manage a designer team anymore, but the lessons I took from that chapter stay with me every time I lead a project. Managing creatives taught me that the hardest part isn’t process, it’s people.

One of the most important lessons was that critique is not the same as criticism. When you frame feedback as “Here’s what’s working, here’s where it could go further,” you protect confidence while pushing the work. That mindset still shapes how I review designs with clients today.

Another lesson was about pacing. Creative teams need room to breathe. Packing every hour with deadlines and meetings produced more stress than good work. I learned that clarity plus space was the real productivity tool. Even as an independent, I build that into timelines I set with clients.

And the biggest takeaway, kindness compounds. When people feel respected, they take more risks, they listen better, and they deliver work that has more heart in it. That’s as true in a one-on-one client relationship as it is in a 20 person design team.

If you want your design process, whether internal or client-facing, to be grounded in empathy without losing rigor, I’d be glad to share more. Contact me.