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What Your Group Needs to Survive Each Other is “ Creative Diplomacy ”
By Piers Henwood
Have you ever had an argument about a seemingly insignificant creative decision that ended up feeling like life or death ? Have you felt unequipped to have healthy conversations with collaborators who don ’ t share your opinion ? If you ’ ve ever played in a band , I know you have . Just ask The Beatles , Pink Floyd , and Oasis .
Anyone who pursues creativity in a group setting knows how it feels to struggle with unhealthy communication . Often what ’ s missing is a thoughtful approach to what I call “ creative diplomacy ” – the traits and techniques needed for positive decision-making in creative environments .
Creative diplomacy is a mental orientation that can be deployed to enable groups to make decisions about subjective creative choices . Whether you ’ re in a rock band or a tech start-up , these may be the decisions that make or break your progress . Creative decisions feel personal , and disagreements can become battlefields . It ’ s why the most successful bands in the world break up , and boardrooms break down .
Creative diplomacy begins with a mindful understanding that creative disagreements trigger our most basic fight or flight responses . The intensity around creative arguments shows how deeply our identity gets wrapped up in our creative opinions – they become a projection of our very essence .
You don ’ t like my lyric in the chorus ? You don ’ t like my marketing copy for the release roll out ? My mind and stomach turn like a washing machine , and I want to scream ( fight ) or quit ( flight ).
Within the challenging environment of creative decision-making , I believe collaborators should make a set of six mutual pacts when navigating differences : 1 . Separate your identity from your creative ideas , and do the same for others . A critique of a creative idea is not a critique of the person behind the idea . This is especially difficult to do in the arts , and can require deep introspection over time . 2 . Avoid immediate negative judgments , but also avoid silence . While a quick positive judgment often holds true over time , a negative one frequently doesn ’ t , especially in cases where a creative idea is challenging or unexpected . Within reason , give people ’ s ideas the benefit of the doubt and sit with them for at least one sleep cycle . But also realize that silence is deafening when it comes to creative communication . 3 . Default towards testing creative ideas rather than dismissing them outright . If someone has a strong creative opinion that isn ’ t immediately accepted by the group , whenever possible , test it before dismissing . Mock up a quick draft of the idea if it ’ s visual or sonic so that participants can discuss it in reality rather than debate it in theory . 4 . Avoid interruption and listen respectfully . Silencing someone on a creative subject is damaging and never forgotten , especially if done from a position of power within the group dynamic . 5 . Create a conceptual framework where stakeholders have a finite number of “ passion points ” to spend on disagreements within a given project or process . This system can add helpful structure to the open-ended “ pick your battles ” teaching . For example , one person ’ s passionate opinion may be enough to overrule two people ’ s mildly held difference , but putting limitations on passion points gives people a finite sense of when and how to “ spend ” their opinions . Credit to Neil Osborne of 54-40 who espouses this concept with bands he ’ s producing , including former projects of mine . 6 . Learn your own creative biases and those of your collaborators . Build empathy for different ways of looking at the creative process and decisions :
• Creative risk tolerance – acknowledge that people have different degrees of willingness to experiment and potentially fail in creative arenas .
• Creative patience – acknowledge that people have different tolerances for pursuing open-ended explorations versus pushing for decisions and completion .
• Propensity towards predictability – creative work still requires predictability to be emotionally effective ( e . g . a predictable chorus , a predictable marketing hook ) but acknowledge that people have different relationships to the spectrum of predictability and surprise ; both are essential ingredients .
• Market orientation – acknowledge that people have differing biases towards pursuing creativity for its own sake versus situating creative choices within current market conditions .
• Sensory bias – acknowledge that people interpret the world differently based on sense perception . For example , in music some gravitate to melody over rhythm , and vice versa . Recognize all are valid .
Thinking about creative diplomacy reminds us that the most important outcome for musicians , bands , and indeed any creative is simply to make decisions and move projects forward to completion . A band is like a start-up with thousands of decisions to be made .
If you aren ’ t making effective decisions about creative matters , you might just be lacking the tools and orientation to deal with the intense emotions around the creative process . Don ’ t let the boardroom turn into a battlefield , and don ’ t let the studio turn into a soap opera .
Since founding Amelia Artists in 2002 , Piers Henwood has co-managed the careers of Tegan and Sara ( 2002-2020 ), Bedouin Soundclash , Luca Fogale , The Librarian , Buck 65 ( 2005-2015 ), and The Funk Hunters ( 2014-2019 ). In collaboration with his artists and label partners , Piers ’ work has resulted in over 1.5 million albums sold in the pre-streaming era , hundreds of millions of track streams , seven Gold certifications , 12 Juno Award nominations with four wins , a Grammy nomination , an Academy Award nomination , and a New York Times Best Seller . In 2018 he co-founded Amelia Recordings , an early-stage record label , to help a new generation of artists develop creative and career momentum . With his former band , Jets Overhead , Piers performed at major festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo , toured the world , and received a Juno nomination . He continues to write and record with experimental electronic band Astrocolor . Follow on Twitter & Instagram @ piershenwood . www . piershenwood . com .
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 31