🌱 Building a Culture Where Creativity Can Take Root

Before you worry about winning awards, launching a new product, or impressing the CEO, ask yourself: Is the soil any good?

You can plant the most brilliant idea in the world—but if the culture around it is toxic, rigid, or shallow, it’s not going anywhere. Creativity isn’t just about talent. It’s about the environment. And in my experience leading creative teams across agencies and in-house, the difference between teams that survive and teams that thrive always comes down to one thing: culture.

IMAGE PROMPT: Underground, a lightbulb is germinating like a seed—its glass body partially buried, glowing faintly, sprouting organic roots and a curling green stem that breaks the soil surface. The roots weave through a dark, richly composted soil filled with visual artifacts of inspiration: fragmented classical paintings, open sketchbooks, paintbrushes with colorful bristles, pencils, film reels, and vintage cameras. WORKFLOW: ChatGPT for Prompt refinement and initial concept, MIDJOURNEY for refinement, PHOTOSHOP for generative fill for 16×9 format.

Soil = Trust, Respect, and Psychological Safety

In a healthy garden, the soil holds everything together. It nourishes the roots, supports the structure, and stores the good stuff. On a creative team, that means:

• Trust between team members

• Respect from leadership

• Space to experiment, fail, and try again without fear

This starts with leadership. Effective leadership respects that creatives need the license to explore widely. This goes in the face of efficiency and looming deadlines. But when leadership can build in time and understanding that not every idea is going to land– but eventually it will.

Leaders can also create teams that will thrive in collaboration. Consider the egos and working styles of your team. This may take time to assess, but ideally, you want a versatile team that works like a relay team.

And finally, your job as a leader is to create space in the timeline for your team to perform. It’s rare that a brainstorm yields the final solution. It is a good starting place, but most creatives need focus time to experiment, ideate, and explore.

It’s not always possible to have the trifecta of trust, respect and space. Sometimes, Creative Directors report up the command of other leaders who do not have the level of respect for creatives. Your job is to defend. Pushback on briefs and deadlines that don’t allow for space to explore. Have the hard conversations with team members who aren’t performing.

What Bad Soil Looks Like

• Ideas get shut down before they can grow

• Credit is hoarded, not shared

• The loudest voice wins—not the best idea

• People work in survival mode, not creative flow

I’ve walked into teams like this. Sometimes, I inherited them. Sometimes I had to unlearn my own habits that were complicit in it. But I’ve also seen the transformation when you put in the work to rebuild the soil.

What Good Soil Looks Like

• A junior designer speaks up and the whole room listens

• Creative reviews are collaborative, not combative

• Deadlines are respected—but so are boundaries

• The team shares laughter, ideas, and snacks

In my leadership style, I always start here: build trust, set expectations, and stay consistent. When creatives know they’re seen, heard, and protected, they stop holding back. And that’s when the magic happens.

How to Cultivate Better Soil

• Start every project with a shared purpose, not just tasks

• Model vulnerability and curiosity as a leader

• Praise effort and progress—not just the polished final product

• Call out toxic behavior early and directly

Creativity Grows Where It Feels Safe

Want breakthrough ideas? Want a brand that makes people feel something? Want a team that sticks around, gets better together, and makes you look good in the boardroom?

Then start with the soil.