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The Creative Leadership Maturity Model
June 16, 2024 Brand Leadership Business Growth Career Growth Design Leadership Leadership Management Strategy
Guest Speaker
Adam Morgan, Senior Director of Brand and Creative at Splunk

Adam Morgan is an Executive Brand and Creative Leader named to AdWeek’s “Creative 100” — the top inspiring creative minds in marketing, media, and culture in the world. He’s the author of the book, Sorry Spock, Emotions Drive Business, which proves the value of creativity and design with hard science. He’s a keynote speaker at conferences and events on the topics of creative leadership and content creation.

Currently, Adam is the Senior Director of Brand and Creative at Splunk — leading brand strategy and campaigns as well as all creative content and design systems. You can learn more about his book and speaking topics at adamWmorgan.com.

Make creativity part of every decision — especially the business ones

Adam Morgan spends this episode of Real Creative Leadership breaking down his five-level creative leadership maturity model, a system designed to help creative leaders at every stage of their career find new ways to engage with their work and spark creative innovation in every aspect of their business. With decades of experience, Adam explores why creative leaders should be helping lead organizations in more than just their own department, and how a fresh perspective can transform not only design and copy, but budgets and company mission statements, too.

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Adam Morgan
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REAL CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

Season: 5

Episode: 4

Episode Title: The Creative Leadership Maturity Model — with Adam Morgan

Guest Title:
Adam Morgan, Senior Director of Brand and Creative at Splunk

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Adam Morgan
When you’re training yourself in your own leadership skills, it’s no longer just about marketing, and the marketing skills that you need to understand. Now it’s about moving your vision beyond that into, into bigger strategies. 

Welcome to Real Creative Leadership, a video podcast produced by The Stoke Group and hosted by me, Adam Morgan. Today’s topic is the creative leadership maturity model. So this is something that basically was just a brainchild that I came up with. I don’t know how long it’s been — a year ago — as I was looking at a lot of these trends and practices and best practices and things for leadership, for creative leadership. I started to notice that there really is a trend of how we used to go from one step, to the next, to the next. And there’s a growth model there. So we put it all into this nice little handy dandy chart called the creative leadership maturity model. And I’m going to go through it in better detail right now.

I know we mentioned it on a couple of past episodes; I believe even one last year where we went into it in a little bit of detail, but I want to spend some time on this and why I feel like it’s a great tool in many respects, not only for you as — and me as an individual, of like, looking at it and saying, “All right, as I’m here at the beginning of the year, planning out my career and thinking about goals and thinking about where I want to go with my life, like, there, it’s a good guide for me, at least to see. ‘Where do I need to take that next step? What are some of the gaps? What are some of the things that I’m not focused on and where can I start putting some energy into a way they can help me get better as a creative leader?” And number two, it’s not just for individual growth, but also for team growth. 

For those who have listened to any of the sessions on, “How do I become a creative director?” or “How do I take that next step in my creative career?”, this is a really useful tool in looking at your team and understanding where they are on the maturity model path, because then you can start to look for opportunities for them or moments where you can guide and help, you know, give a little bit of — a little bit of a mentorship in how to become a better creative leader, and what are the things they need to focus on? 

So with that said, let’s dig into it. All right. The first thing I want to say about the creative leadership maturity model is — I get a lot of questions and I’ve presented this at conferences and, you know, from the one show to American Ad Federation to whatever else in between. And a lot of, you know, individual businesses have had me come in and share this with their leadership team. And what I want to say, the question I get very often is, “So does this maturity model relate back to a specific job title or a job role?” And the answer is no, it doesn’t mean, like, I’m going to show you the five different stages of maturity for creative leadership. It doesn’t mean that if you want to get to a stage four, you have to have a chief creative officer or a chief, you know, creative director title in front of you. This is really something that anyone at any stage can use, can follow and can contribute to. So you could be an individual contributor or a solopreneur, and you can still make a dent in the world through your creative leadership and pushing businesses in the right way to make it so that creativity is a bigger part of, of the business world.

And I guess it’s probably another big caveat is like, why do we even use this? It’s because that’s the goal, right? That at here, Real Creative Leadership, I’m super passionate about this idea that, you know, creativity — it is often held in the cave and we also often do our own little thing. And there really is a need for us as a group, as an industry, as a community to really push beyond just worrying about our own creativity, our own skills and really making creativity a bigger part of the business world — really making it so that creativity can make a bigger impact on customer experiences. And in the way that we, you know, we as a corporate society focus on experiences and creativity. So I think the only way for this to work is for us to all get a little more mature, for us to all really put in some effort and help drive business strategy and business philosophy and business culture to create more creativity.

So let’s just dig into the actual model and then maybe I’ll blab a little bit more about where we can use this in different ways. So let’s get started. The first phase of creative leadership maturity is what I call — it’s all about “The Creative Work.” And to be honest, this is truly really an evidence of many of us getting started or moving along our path and creativity and the things that we care about and how we view creativity and it’s all about where we stop focusing just on just our appreciation of good creative, but we start to look for the patterns. We see how headlines have patterns or design systems have patterns. And we start to find and look for stories and art and video and really look for inspiration. And how can we, you know, replicate that more and make sure that there’s amazing, good work out there. So at this level, it’s all about the focus on the craft, all about the execution and what you’re building up skills around is having a good vision for better work.

So it’s not just a matter of you just like, kind of, you know, pantsing it and winging it and just kind of getting in there and messing around with a creative design tool or trying some new piece of art. It’s really stopping for a moment and saying I want to see how this thing works, pull back the curtain and really understand the elements and the parts and the pieces of great creative work and it really is a category where you’re focusing on yourself a little bit, you’re really thinking through, “Yeah, how do I replicate this great work? How do I do this great stuff? How do I really focus on the craft and really understand it at a better level?” And I remember in my career at this stage of like, you know, I, it was like being a student of the craft where I would read every one show in communication arts I could find. I would think through different campaign ideas. I would think through both in writing and design and in video, what makes something amazing. And I think that that phase really helped me as a creative leader kind of dissect the parts and be able to explain to others and teach others. Here’s how it’s done. And here’s how you do it. So that’s really phase one. And I think a lot of us live at or at least lived in this phase of creative leadership. 

Now let’s move on to phase two, which is what I call “The Creative Team.” And this is where it changes. This is where you no longer are just focused on yourself and your own work, but maybe you’ve taken, maybe, you know, to be honest, this is probably the level of just the classic creative director. Like, if you’ve been a creative director on a piece of business or a client or a, you know, in-house, whatever that may be — this is the level that you’ve reached. And this is where you’re, you know, your focus is all about guiding and inspiring the team. It’s no longer about you and your portfolio. It really is like you take on this mantle of the team and what matters to them. And sometimes I used to call this really the “creative machine” because it’s no longer just necessarily about just the work and the craft, but it’s this, the infrastructure that needs to be in place in order to have a great creative.

So as a creative director, you have to focus on the systems, the tools, the processes, workflow, you know, all those things that you probably didn’t get into the business. That wasn’t — at least those weren’t the reasons why you got in the business. You probably got into the business because you enjoyed creativity and the output.

Now, as a creative leader, you have to build that machine and the ability and the environment to replicate great work. So you have to be fluent in all the different types of creative execution. So you’re past the craft days. You should have learned that more in the creative work phase. And now it’s a matter of like, “How do I guide a team or guide individuals and show them a vision for where this creative department can go or where our team can go?”

And it really is about managing down and creating great work by inspiring others around you to come together to make something awesome. So that really is — there is a big leap from step one to step two. And if you want to learn more about that, I’d encourage you to go back to some of the earlier sessions we’ve had on Real Creative Leadership about, “What does it mean — how do you get to become a creative director?” “What does it take to make that leap from individual contributor to a team leader?”

All right, so now that we’re, we’ve been in that realm of number two, “The Creative Team.” Now let’s move on to the next phase of “Creative Vision.” And even though in this step, it’s not like a lot has changed. Most people who are in the creative vision phase are creative directors who are leading teams, but there’s a slight change on your leadership style as you move into this next phase. Because it’s no longer about focusing on just managing down and managing the work and guiding the work at this point; all of that becomes table stakes. Like, you totally get the craft, you get a vision for greater execution, all those things from, you know, awards to great portfolio pieces. Like, all of that is just table stakes. Like, you’ve got that figured out now. It’s like, “How do I focus on bigger elements of creative leadership and this creative vision?”

What I’ve noticed is really interesting is this is where most creative leaders who are in this phase — I’ve seen them where they’re really good at focusing up their channels to different leadership. For example, they’re really good at having an audience with the CMO or with their client or with the CEO. And it’s really about an upward managing up upward focus where you are really skilled at, you know, new skill sets you bring on are really good at selling. You’re really good at talking to ideas and getting people to understand the vision of this campaign and really good at selling work up and finding a vision for your creativity.

So in the one before was like, you have a good vision for creative department or where the team can go. This is now like, “What’s the vision for creative strategy? Where do we want to take all these ideas and try new things and push the limits of creativity?” And so in this phase, it really is a matter of trying to streamline all those approvals and visibility. And it’s like really taking your, your creative team to the next step. And for me in going through this phase, when I did dabble and get into this, it was like I had to really move beyond, “I’m just a creative director working on my stuff.” And it was really more of like, “How do I think of that vision for my creative team and really influence other stakeholders and people above me?” And the steps I had to take at this level was a lot of reading and a lot of introspection. So instead of focusing on building, you know, more of the execution and creative craft, it was really taking on this mantle of leadership and reading a whole bunch of books on marketing and leadership. And I even went out and got a master’s degree in integrated marketing strategy. And the reason why I think that was so important is because it’s all about at this stage. It’s about speaking khaki. If you’ve been listening to this program or different episodes, we talk about speaking the language of marketing and speaking the language of sales. And that’s really what I feel like. This level is at where you’re moving past the creative and moving more into this brand world. And you have to really understand branding and marketing and be able to speak to all of those angles in order to sell up, in order to build the environment, in order to build an opportunity for creative work to succeed.

So that’s what this creative vision step is all about. How do I learn all of those details? And I think it’s really important to focus on that you have to kind of take ownership of your own leadership at this phase. You know, a lot of times in level one and two, you’re just kind of in the trenches doing the thing. And to get to a level three, I really feel like you’ve got to step out. And read a lot, study a lot, get a degree, go listen to podcasts, do whatever it is. You know, when I talk a lot about “read to lead,” and this is, like, the critical phase of reading to leading. So if you want to be a great creative leader with good creative vision, you’ve got to have that because if you take on a new role or a new team, and you’re really trying to drive a big vision for that team, it’s only going to happen if you’ve built all of that structure in your mind and that mindset and you understand, “What are the things that are going to matter to the CEO or the CMO? What are the things that are going to matter to making sure that my creative vision aligns with the company, the way they make money?” 

So anyhow, I think it’s a really, really important step and it takes a lot of learning and reading on your own. And far too often, I feel like many of us in this field, we just want to go to the cool design websites or, you know, check out people’s portfolios, whatever it is, and, and we don’t take the time to build that leadership muscle that’s critical in order to lead a team beyond just the execution of good creative. 

Now that we’ve talked about number three, let’s talk about step four, which is what I’m calling “The Creative Company.” And even though in step three and creative vision, it was, you know, there was a lot of talk of, “Oh, but aren’t you kind of creating, you know, a big vision for where the creative can make an impact?” And I think that the nuance of step three and four is really that as I’ve seen people who are, like, in a good creative vision and they sell up and build that environment and the opportunity for their team below to grow. There’s something more when you take on the mantle of not just your creative team and you’re trying to sell up for them, but at step four, you really take on the mantle of the creative company, meaning you’re no longer worried about just what’s in it for my team or what’s in it for, you know, the creative campaigns and marketing. Now you’re thinking what’s in it for my whole company. How do I really, truly believe in creativity to the extent that I want to influence every aspect of this company? So we become a creative company and put creativity as a, you know, as a primary focus in that strategy. And in this step, you know, it’s about inspiring the whole company with creative culture. And I’m talking like, talking to finance or talking to procurement or talking to, you know, product architecture and any other small little department, you know, the Q&A department in with your programmers — like, how do you get everyone in the company to really believe this idea that creativity is going to make a bigger impact on our bottom line? And this is all about creating a company culture, a culture of risk taking where anyone can have good ideas. And it’s not just the creative department that does that. It’s about building trust and really reaching sideways and managing sideways and reaching across the aisle and really talking and helping everyone understand.

I’ll give you an example of where this plays in. It’s no longer just about building a better mousetrap, but it’s about what is the customer experience and there are plenty of other books. I’m not going to belabor this point, but we really are in the era of the customer experience. And if we truly believe that the customer experience is the key to differentiating one company from another, and how we’re going to move forward, then it — this is where this becomes such an important aspect, because we have got to get into the creative company in all aspects and convince them that creativity really is the driver that’s going to help us make better customer experiences. Our creative leaders have such a good way of putting themselves in their customer’s shoes, understanding their pain points, figuring out that journey and really delivering an experience that relates to the customers, right?

So if we all believe that this is where, you know — in my mission, it’s like, how do we get more creative leaders on the boards of directors or in higher levels at the company? How do you convince a whole company to the point where you’re like, “This is really, really important that creativity matters so much that we need to make this a part of every decision,” meaning when we’re deciding about budgets, we’re deciding about company focus or goals or any of those things, are we relating that back to the customer experience? And if we are, how are we using creativity and emotional experiences to help drive those better customer experiences? So if you look back at, like, the nineties, when it was all about total quality management — and you know, I think that’s bled into the last 20 years of business culture, where it’s been about how do we drive more efficiency, right? How do we follow the Toyota car-building model and really make efficient businesses? And I think we’re moving past that era into this creative company world where it’s now less about that. That’s table stakes now — to, like, operate efficiently. Now it’s like, where’s the – let’s take that creative vision and then that creative company and look at ways that we can actually mold a better process within our company, culture, and decision making around experiences. So hopefully that makes sense. 

Another, you know, big tip for me personally in this space is when you’re training yourself in your own leadership skills, it’s no longer just about marketing and the marketing skills that you need to understand. Now it’s about moving your vision beyond that into bigger strategies. It’s like, how are we, how is marketing impacting the company? How is creativity impacting those business goals? So I think that’s a bigger step for us in this creative company world of getting creativity and having it become a part of products we made, the services we offer, the brand we create at, at a larger scale.

All right, now moving on to the final step, which is what I call “Creative Culture,” because in this step, it’s about moving beyond your own company and going into our industry or industry’s culture, business culture as a whole and how can we impact that? And ten times that into having business culture, understand the value of creativity and using more of it in everything that we do. So this is about guiding and inspiring the industry and business leaders. How are we stepping out and making them understand the value of creativity? How are we going to build creative vision into other departments of other companies or become a trusted voice in creativity in business? How are we focused on building creative skills in everyone? Like everyone, “capital-C creativity” is a part of their lives. Like, everyone has capital-C creativity. So, you know, I think of examples of people who are doing this  well, right now, like the book The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. Simon Sinek is a great example of building this bigger industry or creative culture. You know, he’s talking about the ways business has been functioning for the last couple of decades and how we need to look in a different way of making it better and focusing on good business principles. And I’ve seen some companies come around to this. 

Like you think of the example of Patagonia, where they just said, “Oh, our stakeholder is Mother Earth. And so everything we do is in service of that,” versus the old model of like, “We’re just serving our stakeholders” or, sorry, “our stockholders.” So I think there’s a lot here where creativity has a big opportunity to make a positive dent in the business world. And in this stage is like an individual, what can I do around this?

Well, first of all, I think it’s important that you start to look beyond just marketing and creativity and look at business strategy and business ideas. And that’s where I start reading books on just leadership in general, not just creative leadership or finding other, you know, trends and topics that are important to see where the business world is going so that we as creative leaders can then go back and say, “Here’s all this great, you know, information or ways that creativity can impact that,” and then, “How we can make a bigger space for creativity to live in creative culture?” or, sorry, “company culture?” So this one is really all about managing out and across and up and down. It really truly is, like, the ultimate step of creative leadership — good creative leaders speak well beyond just the creative department and creative marketing and branding. They’re really speaking at a level that is trying to touch the hearts of just business in general and people in general. And it’s pretty amazing. 

There we are. Those are the five steps that I see of the creative leadership maturity model. So as you’re moving along in your journey, you know, again, going back to where we talked about in the beginning, what good is this? Why do we need this model? Well, I feel like it’s just a really good tool. And here’s a truth: no one lives at one level all the time. It’s very agile. There’s a lot of constant flow. Sometimes you may be at a four and then you’re back down to a two and then you’re up to a three and maybe there’s a blip. You know, I don’t even know if I’ve ever really lived at five necessarily. I — certainly Real Creative Leadership is an attempt to help with that and inspire all of us to do more and to try more, but you’re really — it’s very variable. Like, you’re moving up and down all the time. So it’s not that it’s like, it’s a check mark that, “Okay, I’ve done four, done. I’m all good.” It’s really a tool used to help me just stop and reflect as I’m looking at my goals or of my next year, or, you know, some of the things I want to accomplish. It’s like, “All right, what —this may be a good, you know, move right now.” It’s just like, as you think about your goals for this next year, where are you at now? Do some self assessment and then look at the next step up. And it’s like, “What can I do now to at least do one thing this year that helps move me into that next level of creative leadership maturity? And how can I help my company or the industry or my team?” — or whatever it is wherever you’re at — “making some goals to help you move up a little bit more.” 

And then also, as we’re doing, you know, there — this is the season for me, at least in first quarter of the year, is usually, like, having reviews with all of your team members and having, you know, rewards check-ins or seeing how people are doing. And this is just an interesting way of like, as you have those meetings with your team and you hear them talk about the things that matter to them and what they care about and what they’re pushing you as a leader to do, it’s a good indicator of where they are on this scale. And you can start to work with them and say, “Okay, let’s have you read this one book, or let’s have you take this one course and help them mature a little bit more in their leadership style.”

So I hope this was helpful. I think it’s really fascinating for me to just to think back on these different levels and where you can go. And to be honest, we’ve used this at Real Creative Leadership as a little bit of a guiding principle in a lot of the topics that we choose for different sessions.So we may look at this — at least when I’ve done the curriculum, I’ve looked at this and said, “Okay, we definitely want to have a few episodes that are all about the work and the craft and helping you build up. We will also have a couple on, all right, what it’s like working with stakeholders or risk, you know, building relationships and moving up the chain. And maybe we’ll have one, you know, it’s a little further outreaching.” 

Like, I remember we had one where we were talking about how can we get into events and get more creative leadership present? And that was definitely more of, like, building the industry and building the creative culture. So as you’re listening in and learning, everyone is at different levels and we’re all at different levels at different times, but hopefully an episode will hit you and help you grow to that next level. It helps me. I know they definitely do. And let’s figure out how, what we need to do to progress and not just progress, but go back to the mission of Real Creative Leadership: how do we get creativity a bigger seat at the table and all of these levels, both in our work and all the way up to the industry?

Well, thanks for sticking around and listening to it. Hopefully this was helpful. Thanks for joining and have a great day. As always, you can find me at adamwmorgan.com. And finally, this show is produced by The Stoke Group, a full service digital agency that specializes in content, marketing, video, and interactive experiences. So if you’re looking for a partner for strategy or content or anything else, visit thestokegroup.com. Thanks again for listening, and we’ll see you next time.