“Make sure you’re being transparent and open”

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:

Our micro studio had to make tough cuts over the past year, leaving us with a much smaller team. As one of the last seniors left, I feel the weight of every decision, and the pressure to make things work is overwhelming. I care about my team deeply, but the stress of keeping the business afloat means I’ve been losing sleep, and it’s really catching up with me. Am I even cut out for this?

How do I handle the pressure of leading a struggling creative team at this tricky time?

Alex Bec, CEO of It’s Nice That, Creative Lives in Progress and If You Could Jobs:

Thanks so much for writing in, and sharing so honestly what’s going on for you. That takes real courage and self-awareness, so more power to you for that.

I’m sure founders and directors all over the industry are reading this and relating to your situation more than you appreciate. Whenever everything’s feeling tricky I always assume everyone else is flying, when in reality it’s tough out there for everyone right now. So let’s start by taking a breath and acknowledging that you’re trying to operate in one of the hardest economic times for small businesses – ever.

But let’s get practical; how do you handle the pressure when things are overwhelming. Having run our businesses for nearly 18 years through good times and bad, I hope I’ve got some little nuggets that worked for me, that may also work for you.

My biggest tip would be to share more of the mental load – it sounds like you’re taking on more than your fair share of the responsibility. You may be the owner, so yes the buck will always stop at you – but you are not responsible for everyone. Remind yourself that you are employing adults, who are responsible for themselves, and (especially at the scale of your business) should also be taking some responsibility for the success of the business.

Make sure you’re being transparent and open enough about the economic realities and helping your team understand where they can make the biggest difference. The worst thing you could do is infantilise your team and not include them in finding the solutions. They can probably handle more than you think, so give them the chance to step up, and share the responsibility with you.

Secondly, try and get some perspective. My mum always told me “nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems.” Although creative work is obviously important, we aren’t doctors saving lives every day; so take some solace in that. Your work is valuable, but not as valuable as your health, your family, loved ones or your sanity. So however bad it may look to you, keep talking to others, keep getting perspective and reflect on any of the good that's happening too.

In the meantime, build some micro-habits that might help you manage the days a little better. Remember what inspires you – do it. Listen to your favourite album. Watch your favourite film. Find 15 minutes to have a walk outside away from your computer. You need to find little windows of rest, or joy, rather than waiting for a prolonged period of time off. You can greatly change your psyche without loads of time off. Steal some moments for you. Best of luck.

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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