The humans in the system

Emotions. Egos. Brilliance. Biases. Ambitions. Fears. Good days. Bad days.

As long as there are humans in the system there is work to be done, especially when it comes to creative leadership.

It might be quicker than ever to generate ideas and build concepts, but that doesn’t mean they’ll make it all the way down the ‘idea path’ and out into the world.

Along the way, there are humans who can make or break them. Humans that are unpredictable and yet entirely predictable in one sense: they will behave like humans.

Creative leadership, as I’ve come to see it, is the work of navigating the human dynamics in the system so that a good idea can not only survive, but be shaped and sharpened. Avoiding some surprises. Embracing others.

The future may be automated. The tools may be ‘intelligent’.

But there are still humans in the system.