“I think a lot of the issues in the industry stem from ‘bad managers’”

Creative Career Conundrums is a weekly advice column from If You Could Jobs. Each week their selected panel of professionals from the creative industry answers your burning career questions to help you navigate the creative journey.

This week’s question:

I’m a creative strategist at an exciting, growing creative agency. I love taking briefs, picking them apart and then puzzling things out, mostly independently. Before I knew it, project after project, I rose up the ranks. Now, I’ve been thrust into a managerial position I did not ask for. I think they call it an “accidental manager”. I understand the importance to nurture and mentor emerging talent. However, I’m finding that it's getting in the way of my work. My juniors are great kids – but I just like getting on with solving briefs alone.

I’ve brought this to the higher ups, but they insist that I need to a manager to progress. I know it’s not a good fit for me, and I don’t think it’s fair for the talent below me. I haven’t been trained, and I don’t have intention of being a manager. Is there a way for me to slip out of this responsibility?

Katie Cadwell, co-founder of branding studio Lucky Dip and The NDA Podcast:

I don’t believe that senior creatives need to segway into management. Honestly, I think a lot of the issues in the industry stem from ‘bad managers’. They tend to be people like yourself that have reached the top of their craft and found themselves thrust into a job role they didn’t apply for. And more importantly, aren’t equipped to handle. It’s brilliant you recognise that you can’t serve the team in the way they deserve.

It’s unfair that your progression is linked with management. It diminishes the desire to continue honing your craft and insinuates you have no room left to grow as a creative. We covered this topic in an early episode of The NDA Podcast and found some agencies trying to solve this problem. JKR were piloting two paths of progression for their teams depending on whether they wanted to become leaders. Allowing creatives room to progress, still receive pay rises, and help sort out who in their studio wants a seat at the leadership table.

As for moving forward, I wonder if there’s someone else in the business that can act as an intermediary between you and the team. You can be involved in briefings and important reviews, but they can manage the day to day feedback. It could be an opportunity for someone else to take a step up.

If there’s really no way around it, there are a few resources I can recommend to improve your management confidence. The Do books are brilliant – Do Lead by Les McKeown has a whole chapter on finding your leadership style. Perhaps you don’t enjoy the ‘traditional’ management approach, but there are so many ways to nurture teams, it’s possible a different style could suit you. D&AD also run a series of courses about leading creative teams, which could be beneficial to try. Even if you complete it and still feel a management position isn’t for you. That might give you some leverage when you approach the conversation again.

If the higher ups still don’t hear what you’re telling them, I’m sure there are plenty of businesses that want someone senior who is as passionate about their work as you.

In answering your creative career conundrums we realise that some issues need expert support, so we’ve collated a list of additional resources that can support you across things that might arise at work.

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