www.service-design-network.org/sdgc/2018#SDGC18 @SDGC2018 @SDNetwork
Creative leadership:
The qualities that foster awesome creative teams
Lina Nilsson | Designit

Designers are so
passionate about the
work they do, but are
not always prepared
for the leadership role
that they find
themselves in.

I wanted
to help

4
40+
Designit & Wipro
10+
Nationalities

5
02
Demonstrate Expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failures
07
Embrace diversity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team
01 Efficient communication
Qualities
10
Qualities

Creative
leadership as
a service
6
02
Demonstrate Expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failures
07
Embrace diversity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team
01 Efficient communication
Vision Qualities
10
Qualities

Thought
leaders have
spoken about
this before
Good leaders must first become good
servants
Robert K. Greenleaf, was the founder of the
modern Servant leadership movement
The responsibility of leadership is not to come
up with all the ideas but to create an
environment in which great ideas can thrive.”
Simon Sinek
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask
what you can do for your country
John F.Kennedy 1961

Creative
leadership as
a service
02
Demonstrate expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failures
07
Embrace diversity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team
01
Efficient communication
Vision Qualities

9

02
Demonstrate Expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failures
07
Embrace diversity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team
01
Efficient communicationThe foundation
To get followers
To create the optimal
environment for
innovation
To drive
productivity

The
foundation
01 Efficient communication

Quality 01
Efficient communication
to enable change
Persuasion
skills
Build relationships
with stakeholders
Proactive
communicator
Behaviour tips

The
foundation
01 Efficient communication

To get
followers
02
Demonstrate expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude

Quality 02
Demonstrate expertise
to build trust
Behaviour tips
Understand the
creative process
Show work
examples
Fight for the
process

Quality 03
Be visionary
to inspire your followers
Behaviour tips
Have points of
view
Stay on to of trends
and share
inspiration
Set directions

Quality 04
Have a positive attitude to
see opportunities in what
we do
Behaviour tips
Be positive because it
is contagious
Reframe to find the
positive angle
Be authentic

To get
followers
02
Demonstrate expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude

To create the optimal
environment for
innovation
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failure
07
Embrace diversity

Quality 05
Set clear expectations to
create autonomy
Set clear roles and
let them take
ownership
Lead by exampleSet clear goals
and constraints
Behaviour tips

Quality 06
Embrace failure
to enable experimentation
& push boundaries
Share mistakes and
what you learnt
Share and build on
each others ideas
Pick your battles
Behaviour tips

Quality 07
Embrace diversity
to create something better
together
Diversify the team Facilitate collaboration
Behaviour tips

To create the optimal
environment for
innovation
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failure
07
Embrace diversity

To drive
productivity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team

Quality 08
Be humble
to build relationships with
your team
Be an active listenerDemonstrate
respect
Have a learner
mindset
Behaviour tips

Quality 09
Support your team
to do their work
Zoom in and out Stay calm and
remove obstacles
Check-in
Behaviour tips

Quality 10
Coach your team
to create a well functioning
team and enable growth
Learn to give
constructive
feedback
Recognise effort
and push
boundaries
Emotional
intelligence
Behaviour tips

To drive
productivity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team

Creative
leadership as
a service
29Vision Qualities
02
Demonstrate Expertise
03
Be visionary
04
Have a positive attitude
05
Set clear expectations
06
Embrace failures
07
Embrace diversity
08
Be humble
09
Support your team
10
Coach your team
01
Efficient communication

Even famous
leaders were
not perfect
Ramon Henson, Instructor, Management & Global Business KAIHAN KRIPPENDORFF, FAST COMPA NY Wouter Boon, Defining creativity
“I have not failed. I’ve just
found 10,000 ways that
won’t work.” Thomas
Edison

Most leaders are
made, not born.

www.service-design-network.org/sdgc/2018#SDGC18 @SDGC2018 @SDNetwork
Lina Nilsson
Senior Service Designer
Linkedin - linanilssondesign
Lina Nilsson
Senior service Designer
Designit