An Ode to the Overwhelmed • 20/365 •

I got this in my e-inbox the other day from Dyana Valentine. It's by Samantha Bennett. I don't know why I find it remarkable that I'm not alone in the world, that there are people who go through the same thing day after day, but I do. When it comes to our struggles, we all feel like the only one in the world feeling our own special pain. I don't know if it's comforting that thousands of someone elses are living my life, or if it's scary because overwhelm has become an epidemic. 

Last October I painted a monster and titled it "Overwhelm" and at some time, somewhere, someone I've never met wrote an ode to me:

An Ode to the Overwhelmed

And as you stand there
Late again
Because you forgot to allow time to park
And the elevator was slow
And you left 10 minutes late to begin with

With your shoes that pinch
And your pants that are a little too small
Since you started eating white bread again

And as you paw through your bag
Looking for the suite number
That you're not sure you wrote down to begin with

Let us now praise you

You, the untidy
You, the careless
You, the easily distracted by sparkly things

The money you spend on late fees alone
Could feed a family in Africa - Which reminds you that you meant to send in the kids' Unicef money and
Forgot.

And that despite your best efforts
You rarely eat a square meal
You almost never get enough sleep
And exercise seems like a word that magazines have developed
Just to make you feel bad about yourself

But you are good and brave

You, flying by the seat of your pants
Making it work
Putting out fires
Saying your prayers
And dancing your dance of now and later and maybe and
I'll-have-to-call-you-back-on-that-could-you-send-me-an-email-to-remind-me-to-call-you-back-on-that?

As innocent as each morning's sunrise
You are a fount of good intentions
Your good humor is as graceful as a baby giraffe
Even if that joke you were trying to make to the hotel clerk fell flat
And your toast at the wedding came out sounding a little...funny

But you have gifts that no one knows about
You have the strength to bend in the wind
You have the joyful spirit that loves a good belly laugh
You have the wisdom to understand that everything will all come out all right in the end and
You have the faith to light a candle rather than curse the darkness

That is, if you could find the book of matches from that romantic restaurant that you went to for your anniversary but since you didn't have a reservation they made you wait at the bar for half an hour during which you had two apple-tinis and the rest of the night is a bit of a blur
So much for the overpriced lingerie

You are beautiful

You are beautiful

Frazzled and overworked and underpaid

You are the one who forgot your wallet
And forgot your receipt for the dry cleaners
And forgot your keys which you just set down five seconds ago, so where could they possibly have gone?

But you never forget to say, "I love you"
And you never forget to give a big smile to that nice parking guy
And you never fail to show endless patience when the
Too-tightly wrapped and overly-conscientious start to offer their
Oh-so-helpful suggestions about how you might feel better if you would just learn to alphabetize your spice rack

You are beautiful

So, wear the lingerie on Monday for no reason
And why not just refuse to participate in the bake sale this year?
And give yourself a compliment for something you did well today
Because you are the most beautiful person I've ever known

© 2009 Samantha Bennett
www.TheOrganizedArtistCompany.com

Put us on a box, not in one

If you were to go grab a five-foot-high pile of books on management, odds are you wouldn't find much about managing a team of creatives. They're a different breed. They drive a different car, as different as they can find. They don't walk down the same road, they cut new paths. It's not that they're unpredictable, it's just that by the very nature of the word "creative," they don't fit into one standard.

Take job titles and descriptions for example. What is the standard description for Creative Director or Art Director? I have my own idea and I'm sure you have yours, but the truth is it varies based on the company, team, client and project. The way our industry is evolving, the titles themselves are also being re[created].

"What's your title?" a friend asked me last night, telling me how he had waited five days to print his business cards because he kept changing his title. He left it at "designer" - which is more of a statement than it might seem. I laughed because I haven't made my Little Black Mask business cards yet. I can't settle on a title, either! The current one is "Chief Creative," which I opted for over "Chief Creative Crusader." I'm not settled though. I know a "Chief Creative Altruist" and really like that, but won't steal it. Besides, if I did take it (which I jokingly told him I might), I wouldn't feel like it was mine and I would constantly be telling people, "Oh thank you, yeah, I got that from Andrew in Ft. Lauderdale, know him?"

Can you see where this is going? Creatives are individualists. Don't box them in, there is no box. Managing and motivating a team of creatives can be challenging at best. Then creatives often are promoted to management, leading to creatives managing creatives, which can be even worse! It's actually simple, though. To get the most from a creative team, just keep them happy. It's not that hard if you get to what moves them.

Titles can be important, but instead of a standard new-title promotion without a raise, maybe just let your team make their own titles up.  Money is important, certainly and please, pay people what they're worth – but if money was a creative's chief motivation, they'd be stock brokers or sales people or something that is more directly connected to the almighty dollar. A creative's main motivation is to create. To innovate, to make something new and wonderful, and to be recognized for it.

The best way to motivate your creative team is to facilitate them doing what they do best, and then give the recognition and respect so they want to do more. If you feel a temptation to take all the credit for what your team has done, maybe because you came up with the initial idea or you make more money and need to justify that, resist it! If you don't need the team, if it's all you, then do the work yourself. Play quarterback without your team, go ahead. When you come down off that mountain and realize you do need them, that you chose them for their strengths, take a moment to lift them up and let them shine. Do it every day and do it publicly.

As a leader, take credit in being able to keep everything cohesive and on-brand, take credit for knowing what a great team you've got, be proud of how well you all work together, how everyone's input is important, be the star quarterback and take credit for a lot of things... but give more than you take. It doesn't cost anything, and the value is immense.