Notes and Observations from The One Club Creative Leaders Retreat

I’ve been soaking in a little sun and a lot of ideas over the last two days here in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I’m here at The One Club’s Creative Leaders Retreat.

I was invited along with my Co-Founder of Coaching for Creativity, Karen Crane. We were here to do “pop-up” coaching over the two days and host a round table where we did our Superpower exercise. (More on this in a later post).

The Creative Leaders Retreat brings together about 140 chief creative officers, ECDs, rising CDs, design leaders, founders, entrepreneurs and academics for two days of discussion, discovery, debates, debriefs and some decompression.

What’s great about this event is that the group and the speakers, all of whom come from agencies, brands, design studios and universities, come together for quite intimate discussion.

There are no stages and “PowerPoint parades.” These are not presentations, these are conversations.

It’s real, raw and authentic.

And so, as The One Club folks say up front, “What happens at the Retreat, stays at the Retreat. (Chapeau, Vegas).

That said, there were so many rich discussions, it would be a shame to keep them all under wraps, so what I can do is simply extract the big themes I heard from the structured sessions and the myriad conversations between them.

Let me start with the observation that the general mood was one of optimism. In spite of the volatile state of the world, the chaotic state of the business, and the looming threat of A.I. taking away all of our jobs, people, for the most part, seemed to be working diligently on trying to make great things or at least make a difference.

So with all that as context, here are the five themes I have extracted from the Retreat.

1\ Ambition without Arrogance

Maybe because this was a group of creative folks, who by their very nature are visionary and eager to problem-solve, the desire to “do some dope sh*t” or create something people talk about and find useful or relevant has not gone away. If anything it felt more urgent. What was missing was the Napoleonic dickishness of a generation ago. These are creative leaders who want to astonish, but not admonish. They are ambitious and thoughtful.

Which leads to theme two.

2\ The Care and Feeding of the Team

There was much discussion on the health and wellness of teammates. These creative leaders are so highly aware of the incredible demands and pressure of a creative business. But unlike generations past who lived by a “Suck it up, Buttercup” philosophy, these current leaders want to use health and wellness as a secret weapon to better work. There was lots of discussion on making sure people were feeling their optimum selves to do their best work.

There was also high awareness of burnout and how to keep it at bay. A reminder, too, that burnout is working too much and too long on projects you aren’t passionate about.

By the way, there was not a lot of bitching and moaning about Work From Home mandates — it was smarter than that. The conversations were really focused on human performance. When is it best to be together and when is it ok to work remotely.

3\ Imposter Syndrome

There was plenty of discussion about this chronic hot topic. The notion of people feeling like they somehow don’t belong in their current jobs, or are not qualified for the jobs they want. One of the speakers, the brilliant and charming Ronald Ng offered up a breakthrough reframing of Imposter Syndrome. He asserted that rather than look at being an “Imposter” as negative, what if you saw it in a positive light? Imposter as novice. And as an “Imposter” you have a beginner’s mind. You are learning. Imposter as student. And once you begin learning for the role, the situation, whatever, this acquisition of knowledge helps slay the “Syndrome.”

4\ Discovery, Experiments, Play (Their Importance and The Lack of Time)

There were a lot of conversations about the power of just trying stuff. Playing with technology. Exploring an idea. Writing some funny things and bouncing it off different people. The challenge is we live in an art and commerce world in which every idea must be right. Must conform to some “best practice.” Must deliver on ROI. Blah, blah, fucking blah.

We all know it’s the unexpected and serendipitous that is where the magic lies.

Leaders both brand-side and agency-side have to figure out how to create time, space, and tolerance for unforeseen brilliance.

5\ Enjoy the Bumpy Ride

Everyone seems to be coming to the realization that if you’re “waiting for things to settle down,” you’ll be waiting in vain.

Uncertainty is the only certainty. Instability will show up consistently. Complexity will continue to challenge creativity.

And yet, many folks were resigned, resilient and resolved to persevere and do their level best to triumph through it all.

As legendary creative leader and longtime One Club board member Brian Collins exhorted in his wonderful presentation, “Fuck it, let’s go!”

Image: Midjourney.