An article at fastcompany.com offered the following six tips.
Create creative conditions
Creative people do not need to be kept clad in cotton wool but they must feel they enjoy the respect and professional support of their superiors.
Know the job
Creative leaders recognise whether their team is heading in the right direction and they can make necessary adjustments as required. Thus they enjoy the confidence of their team members.
Allow time for creativity
Good work requires time and space. To bring out the best in their team, creative leaders should not require staff attend frequent meetings. Further, an open-plan office may be distracting, while home office limits opportunities for spontaneous discussion with colleagues. Taking these factors into account, creative leaders are able to find a satisfactory balance.
Delineate dreams
It would be a mistake to assume creative people need total freedom; on the contrary, they actually prefer to receive guidance, provided that both goals and instructions are clear and feedback is constructive.
Support diversity
Intuitively human beings tend to favour like-minded people. Creative leaders, however, actively seek people who can offer alternative perspectives. Nor is this limited to the traditional areas of race and gender; different life experiences and skill sets are also to be welcomed.
Manage more than the team
To be successful, a manager needs to go beyond the team itself and know how to sell projects to both the organisation as a whole and potential investors. Remember that even the best ideas will not sell themselves.
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