Being the guardian of a brand requires being vocal. Every company has a lot riding on creative decisions. Executives have the knowledge and strong opinions required to keep the company financially stable, and they require their creative staff to be equally as knowledgeable and vocal about creative decisions.

Every creative person does the company a favor by speaking up when a creative misstep is about to happen. So it goes that creative staffer must risk a sweaty conversation with the boss in order to keep the brand intact. For a few seconds, it can feel like you’re putting your job on the line. But being able to give frank feedback is a skill prized by higher-ups.

Giving and receiving feedback is an art form – a balanced dance of listening and speaking. Not everyone is good at it, and no one is good at it all the time. But that’s the point, and the saving grace: no one is perfect, and all opinions are just opinions. I like to remind myself that everyone is just making it up and no one is a guru, especially me. It takes a humble nature to receive feedback about artwork, and you have to know how to receive feedback if you want to give it.

THE ARTIST’S DILEMMA

What does it take to listen? To receive creative opinions well? Many artists fail to separate themselves from their work. When an unfavorable opinion is voiced about the work, the artist hears it about himself, and can perceive it as an attack. After all, many well-thought decisions could have been behind the work, and now it’s getting panned. The translation could be, “you don’t make good choices.” Boy, that can be tough to hear.

It’s funny how easily a logo, a piece of collateral, a web page, can appear like my very own child. It’s a part of me. I often validate my personal worth through my designs. But in order to serve the project, to serve the brand and finally the company’s bottom line, I must send my child into battle, and be okay with it getting slaughtered. That’s because it’s not a child, and, ultimately, it’s not “mine.”

With every moment of feedback I must remember to put a boundary between myself and my artwork. It’s not something I do once and then I’m done. It’s a mental hold. By doing so I’m serving the project, and putting my ego in its rightful place.
Let your creative work go… Are you holding to an opinion because it serves the project, or because you want to be right? I think, more than anyone, a creative mind is naturally prepared to let go, but it needs to train itself a bit in the beginning to do so.

THE ROLE OF LOVE

Imagine the boss says, “I really like the way you used blue. I’d love to see more blue.” That’s valuable feedback, and could be the start of a really important creative discussion, especially if you disagree. The huge determinant point, though, is your personal opinion of your boss. Okay, this may sound funny, but in order to give an receive feedback artfully, you gotta bring a big ball of love to the creative table. If you don’t love your boss for what he or she brings, you’re not going to engage in a creative discussion. You’re going to resent the boss, and reluctantly go along with what you think is a bad suggestion. This kills brands.

Most designers won’t bother to engage in a disagreement, and it’s because they don’t value the creative opinion of someone who, in their opinion, “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Endowing another with your love and respect is an internal mental, energetic exercise that must be practiced. What helps is endowing the project with love, and endowing yourself with love, too. Just blanket the whole thing with a lot of love: the process, the disagreement, the discussion, the results (whatever they may be). Love every moment of the process, and you can let the creative elements truly be the pawns on the battlefield. The way to do this is allow your personal feelings to get involved in the creative process.

BRAND GUARDIAN

Have you noticed how the heart symbol often shows up on the depiction of a “good” knight? A knight without a heart is a poor guardian – selfish, dangerous, unpredictable. What the heart adds is a sense of loyalty, a spacious regard that includes others. To be a brand guardian, you must increase the love you’re willing to feel.

Many creatives keep their hearts closed off – to protect their feelings, and to keep from pissing others off. If I don’t consciously increase my capacity for love, I fall back into a gollum-like view of the world. I call this persona “Igor.” Igor is the one who engages in self-sacrifice out of spite, who does what he’s told and makes no waves. Igor is the ultimate servant, and he has no heart. I would never trust Igor to defend the brand. He doesn’t speak up, and he doesn’t value feedback. This is me when I forget to allow my feelings to play a part in the creative process.

INCREASING THE CAPACITY FOR FEELINGS

I’ll share a few simple ways I increase my capacity to feel. I find it funny how physical they are… you’d think perhaps that it’s just all mental, but that’s not the case. When you begin to feel in areas where you haven’t been allowing yourself to feel, you may tear up, get all mushy, or even feel joyful when you’re talking to others. It’s those feelings that, whether they know it or not, executives count on from their creatives.

1. Tap (or pound) on your chest. A few friendly knocks to the center of your chest, right in front of your heart, wakes up that area. For years, I didn’t like anyone touching that part of me. It was one of the most uncomfortable feelings of attack I could feel without actually getting hurt. Now I find that tapping there quickly opens up my chest, and my capacity to feel feelings in my chest instantly increases. I needed a friend to tap on my chest a whole lot at first, so I could get over the awkward feelings. Now I can give myself a few taps and feel a big opening.

2. Spread open your arms and chest. Doing what looks like a soaring eagle pose stretches the chest area, and gets some flow there. It’s unfortunate that the common pose of a creative is the opposite: hunched over the laptop, mouse, or drawing board, arms tucked in and head bowed down. Bringing some opposite position – chest open, arms spread, back arched – prepares you for those harsh moments of sharing the work and letting it get destroyed.

3. Eye contact. Looking at someone directly may not come naturally. I often notice my eyes darting around, only resting on another’s gaze for milliseconds at a time. However, prolonged eye contact (and I’m talking 5 seconds… 10 seconds…) is an exercise in true collaboration.

Those are some exercises to bring feelings to the forefront. In a broader view, these three actions – including feelings, mutual respect, and disidentifying from the work – allow me to be a strong brand guardian. I can speak up when necessary, and I can infuse the work with suggestions from others, making the collaboration all the more satisfying for everyone.