Creatives Managing Creatives?

From Fast Company, by Danielle Sacks

Dany Lennon places the hottest leaders in advertising. Here, she talks about what she looks for in candidates for creative jobs - and why you should be watching the same movies as your 8 year-old.

Who she is: Dany Lennon, president, the Creative Register Inc.

Who she's placed: Paul Silburn, executive creative director, Fallon North America; Dan Morales, creative director, TAXI NY; Kevin Roddy, executive creative director, BBH

"Creatives managing creatives sounds like a nightmare. What kind of leaders are best at managing creative folks?

The most rewarding trait a leader can have, as far as I'm concerned, is the ability to hire people who are better than himself. It takes a huge person to be able to come to terms with that. I can usually get a good sense of this by asking a candidate what sort of structure he would devise for his creative department. I'm suspicious of people who are more fixated on hierarchies than the purest creative potential of the people who work for them.

I also believe leaders will achieve far more for themselves if they care about their staffs. I'm drawn to those who are generous - in terms of time, not money - who will allocate plenty of hours to their employees, versus just to the clients who pay the bills.

Is the ad industry looking for a different type of creative person today than it was a few years ago?

Two years ago, clients would still call me and say, 'I'm looking for a copywriter,' or 'I'm looking for an art director.' Today, people are saying, 'We want creatives, period.' I just got a call yesterday from an agency looking for an executive creative director, and they don't care if the candidate has a background as a copywriter, art director, or designer. They want a visionary - someone who can see not only what's happening now but what's possible in the next 15 to 20 years. Someone who understands what's beyond the 30-second commercial. Someone who understands participative media and that TV and the Internet are going to be the same thing."

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