How to Build Trust During the Creative Process
The process of discovering any great solution is messy, even stressful. As creative professionals, it’s our job to include non-creatives, usually our clients, in the sacred rituals of our craft. But unless you are in the trenches of creativity yourself, it’s hard to grasp just how difficult this can be.
To include outsiders in our process, we must let people in our heads. We must be vulnerable, which breeds creativity and expressionism. But we also expose ourselves to criticism, at which point, it’s easy to let things get personal, especially when we fail to sell a concept or idea.
Most creatives take enormous pride in everything they make. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a simple headline or more extensive writing assignment, an ad or a web page, logo, or interior design. Significant time is spent toiling over problems, with several iterations likely tossed aside before finding a solution. This means creatives have a lot invested in the final execution of their product. So it’s natural to want to defend your work, but when others don’t buy in, it’s wise to stop and ask yourself why everyone isn’t on the same page. If you’re honest, it’s usually not because someone didn’t like your execution. You likely failed to communicate its value. Yet that’s the job of any creative. That’s the business of what we do. We not only execute but are tasked with helping non-creatives understand the value of our work.
There is no better way to achieve this goal than to include stakeholders—our critics—in our process. When we welcome others in, everyone is likely to have a clearer understanding of the problem and the final solution. They will grasp the effort involved in its development. And when all parties feel a sense of ownership, it likely will lead to support and encouragement rather than criticism.
When you fulfill a vision and deliver results as a team, you build trust within that team. Clients and partners respect the process. Then, the next time you find yourself up against a similar challenge, it can feel a lot less frustrating than before because of the established trust.