Why Leading Creatives Is So Hard (and So Worth It)
What Makes Them Challenging, Why the Church Needs Them, and How to Shepherd Them Well.
Every creative leader has felt it.
Every senior pastor has said it at some point.
“They’re brilliant… but hard to lead.”
You’ve probably said it yourself… even if you are a creative… because you work with other “creatives” and you find them hard to work with sometimes, too. Right?
We sit on panels at creative conferences, have coffee with Senior Pastors, and conduct consulting and coaching sessions with Creative directors, and there is one question that remains evergreen…
"Why are Creatives so are hard to pastor and manage."
"They’re moody, unpredictable, and don’t fit the mold."But what if the very traits that make creatives challenging are also what make them essential to the life of the church and the world?
Why creatives get a bad rap (and why that’s not the whole story)…
Creatives are often misunderstood because they don’t always thrive in rigid systems.
They:
question the status quo,
feel things deeply,
can seem unpredictable or
hard to “pin down.”
All this may be true, but not for the reasons many people think. Why? Because creative personalities consistently score high in openness, curiosity, and emotional depth, and they’re driven by a desire to make meaning, not just meet expectations.
Books like Rembrandt in the Wind, which we’ve mentioned before, remind us that while the creative journey may be messy, it is also marked by both brilliance and brokenness.
The world sometimes labels this as “difficult,” but it’s really the raw material for beauty, innovation, and spiritual insight. And it is worth the wrestle to wrangle a more sustainable way to engage the creatives in the life of the church or community you are a part of.
What Drives Creatives?
One other book, Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention, shows that creatives are wired for:
imagination,
risk-taking,
and emotional honesty.
They see the world through a different lens, one that’s attuned to possibility, paradox, and the deeper questions of life.
This drive can make them:
sensitive to criticism,
prone to self-doubt,
and sometimes misunderstood by leaders who value predictability over possibility.
(To be honest with you, I write this because I feel this all the time. There have even been moments of this today for me!)
I dare to say, though, it’s this very wiring that brings color, depth, and prophetic edge to our worship, teaching, and community life.
If you’ve ever wrestled with how to truly lead creatives, to bring out their best without burning them out, then what comes next might help.
It’s not a formula, but it is a guide that you can return to again and again. And the cheat sheet may be the helping hand you’ve been looking for.