We moved our main design studios last year, and we’re still unboxing. I know, after fifteen years in our previous space, we’d just accumulated a lot. This afternoon, I found myself in a room surrounded by more than a hundred awards—recognition my team has earned over the past 25 years in competitions across the country and around the world. It was overwhelming in the best way. Two of my closest team members were with me, taking it all in. For a moment, we stood quietly, the air charged with something I couldn’t quite name—maybe pride, maybe reflection, maybe just the question of what we’re going to do with all these pieces.
I started to wonder: What is all this for? Beyond the trophies and plaques, what does it really represent?
Are these milestones just reminders of what we’ve done, or do they stand for something more—something that keeps us moving forward?
Creative Services
Agency client services come with a lot of ups and downs. One day you’re riding high on an amazing breakthrough design concept. The next you’re navigating alignment challenges, budget constraints, or a schedule so unrealistic it feels like the deadline is breathing down your neck. That is what makes it real. These moments can bring you back to real world.
And in my world—where creativity must meet client expectations—leaders aren’t just the people with the titles. They’re the team members who step up to guide, solve, and keep the vision intact under pressure. They’re the ones who make things happen.
You may be thinking—Am I good at this? Or How can I inspire others when I’m the one looking for inspiration and guidance with this? The answers may be right in front of you. But they can be hard to see when the days move fast, the pressure keeps building, and the noise of urgent demands drowns out what truly matters.
Anchor Purpose to Impact
Leaders in fast-moving creative environments draw energy from knowing their work matters. Naturally not every day can be a great day. And when is hard I make it a point to connect what we do to the difference it creates—whether that’s reshaping how a global brand communicates or designing a user experience that makes life easier for someone on the other side of the screen. Maybe to someone who is using a screen reader or assistive device to access what we build.
When a project kicks off, I try to walk the team through the bigger story: Who will benefit? How will it change their experience? Why is it important right now?
That context turns deadlines from pressure points into reasons to deliver. A reason that gives us the spark to push through when its hard.
Lead With Energy, Not Just Direction
In a creative agency, energy is everything. Goals and instructions aren’t enough—you have to show up with curiosity, optimism, and the willingness to roll up your sleeves. That energy spreads. When the clock is ticking, I’ll often find my self late-night working sessions, or connecting weekends with work days—not to direct, but to be part of the something bigger then me.
Sometimes it’s my contribution to the work, other times it’s just my presence that helps keep things moving. Often reminding of structure. And sometimes we all surprise ourselves with results—results that are far bigger than the direct compensation or the scope outlined in a contract. They’re the kind of outcomes that build trust, shift how a client sees their brand, or open doors we didn’t even know existed when we started.
Present Challenges Worth Solving
People step up when the challenge in front of them is worth the effort. We try to frame problems as creative puzzles rather than the roadblocks.
• How can this design adapt across three completely different user scenarios?
• What would it take to launch in half the time without losing quality?
• What if we fail, what would make it win again?
When leaders are trusted to find the answers without being boxed in, they own the solution—and often find better ones than I could have ever imagined. Often happens within a small talk, unstructured.
Amplify Strengths in Real Time
Recognition works best when it’s immediate. If a developer spots an issue before launch or a designer lands a visual concept that captures the brand perfectly, we try to call it out right there, often in front of the entire team. That acknowledgment reinforces their value and inspires everyone else to aim higher. Small wins sometimes mean much more than an award from a prestigious competition.
Keep the Connection Human
Creative work can get swallowed up by deliverables, timelines, revisions, and the simple day-to-day grind. But keeping space for the human side makes all the difference. We talk about the “why” as much as the “what.” We share when a client’s audience reacts positively, or when a project creates ripple effects none of us saw coming. These moments remind everyone their work has a life beyond the next milestone.
Challenge the Thinking
Sometimes inspiration comes from asking the right question.
- If the budget doubled, what would we do differently?
- If there were no budget at all, how would we still make it work?
- What would our audience say if they were in this meeting?
Questions like these push leaders out of autopilot and into fresh perspectives. They bring back real-world problems in the context. They inspire you in hard moments.
The Takeaway
Inspiring leaders in a creative environment isn’t about polished speeches or quick fixes. It’s the day-to-day actions—connecting work to impact, showing up with energy, presenting meaningful challenges, recognizing wins, receiving compliments as well as critique, keeping it human, and pushing thinking further.
I feed on that energy. It’s why I show up, and why I keep pushing beyond what I think I can do.
I stayed a little longer today, standing in that room with awards covering every desk we could find. When they left, I chose a few I knew would matter to them and placed them in their new offices—a small reminder of how much they mean to this collective and of their contributions to the projects we’ve worked so hard on.