5 Tips for How to Grow Creatively at an In-House Position

Roberto Blake

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One of the questions I’m often asked by creative professionals, especially in-house designers, and productions artists, is how they can avoid becoming stagnant or burning out creatively. Many feel limited in their in-house roles when it comes to creativity, even if they love the job itself and the work culture. This question was asked to me directly at a recent photography conference by an in-house designer. She specifically wanted to know: how she could challenge herself and continue to grow creatively without leaving a job and company she loved?

It’s a question many of you as readers may have asked from time to time.

Your creativity may not be stifled by your boss or management, but rather by the nature of being accountable to other people. When you have a strong sense of responsibility and fear of letting others down, you become risk adverse, and in many ways that can hold you back creatively.

Remembering what it was like to be an in-house creative, but also having many colleagues that are currently working jobs they love while still stretching their creative muscles, gave me some perspective on this.

5 Tips for How to Grow Creatively at an In-house Position

1. Give Yourself Permission to Grow

It feels hard to give yourself permission to explore and take chances when there are real stakes involved and when it will impact other people. This level of empathy is not a weakness, but it can be a restriction if you don’t work around it.

My suggestion to the young lady who asked this question was that she should make an investment in her creativity. A real commitment to creative exploration and experimentation on her own time. If you think of your creativity as a muscle, then this becomes fascinating.

I asked her about how much time she spent outside of work, doing personal creative projects. Not freelancer work, but work purely for herself. Not surprisingly, she replied that she wasn’t doing anything creative outside of office hours.

My advice was that she experiment on her own time, learn and grow and take a risk with personal work, then apply those lessons and that growth to her work in-house, once she polished and refined new skills, styles, or techniques. She could stretch and become more creative, while also not feeling anxious about letting people who rely on her down.

2. Start By Getting Uncomfortable…

Comfortable is “kryptonite” for creativity. Period.

When you start a new fitness routine, it is initially uncomfortable or painful, but after a long enough invest of time in the regiment, you get comfortable. If you don’t try something more challenging, in the form of more repetitions or taking on challenges that require more effort and stamina, you stop growing. If you think of your creativity in the same way, then getting “good” at something and fast at it, means it’s time to work harder and challenge yourself.

As far as a practical execution, that means dedicating several hours each week to experimenting and doing things you may not be good at, and experimenting with techniques and styles you’ve never explored before. Initially, you’re going to be uncomfortable because the results will probably not be anywhere near what you could produce if you did something that is already part of your workflow.

3. Stretch Your Creative Muscles, Like an Athlete

Many creatives resist this and create an artificial ceiling for their creativity because they are afraid of becoming a Jack/Jill of all Trades and master of none. This is a narrative that (in my opinion) needs to die.

If you look at professional athletes who are a 90/100 at their sport of choice, it doesn’t mean that when they pick up another athletic hobby that they somehow become a 70/100 at their best sport. It’s the same with creatives. Challenging yourself by exploring photography or hand lettering if you are a designer, is likely to help you grow and improve, while also increasing your value professionally.

4. Creativity Demands a Little Chaos

Your creative mind needs to stretch and requires you to introduce a manageable amount of chaos for it to feel alive again. There is also a very gratifying aspect to growth and excelling at something new.

The key here is making this practical within the scope of your job role. To eliminate your anxiety, you feel about trying something new; you don’t do it that moment on a deadline project. By experimenting outside of the office and slowly integrating what you learn into your work little by little and only where and when appropriate you are not forced to compromise.

You now have the opportunity to do work on your terms, but also to see your highest levels of creativity reflected in the work you do day in and day out. Give yourself the permission to create freely, then apply those lessons and your new found confidence to your job, and you’ll find you take more pride and ownership in what you’ve created.

5. Your Job Isn’t Always the Problem

Many creatives who struggle with growth, frame their job or employer as the source of their stagnation. The reality is that we all have to take responsibility for our own growth. If your job or employer isn’t offering you opportunities to explore your creativity, it is possible that you haven’t asked for them, or shown how allowing you more creative flexibility will benefit the company.

If you can align your needs and desires creatively with your job role and the objectives of your supervisors, then you will find that it’s not a particularly hard sell. Most people are not in the business of being boring and don’t want their brand thought of in those terms.

What is Holding You Back Creatively?

I always love hearing the stories of other creatives and being a sounding board or offering some support. Feel free to let me know what you’re struggling with creatively at the moment in the comment section.