Creating In A Negative EnvironmentAccidental Creative

Productivity

Creating In A Negative Environment

By Todd Henry

NO!

I received an e-mail this week from an AC community member asking about how to deal with a negative environment in the workplace. This seems to be emerging as a top concern for creative pros as expectations continue to rise with increasing emphasis on getting more done with fewer resources. This is especially a concern for agency creatives, as they see many of their clients consolidating their creative work in one or two places and forcing many specialty houses to fold or cut costs in an effort to survive.

With all of this swirling about, it can be difficult to “keep your head” and stay motivated in your work. Here are a few thoughts about keeping your creative edge in a…less…than…ideal…environment:

1. Make certain that you are seeking clear expectations from your supervisor. Know your deadlines, the strategy, the client’s strategy, how your work fits into all of it. Get metrics and document conversations. This is not paranoia, it is seeking clarity, which is the first thing to go in an emotionally-charged environment.

2. Find space for yourself. Have time on the calendar in your day – and a place to go – to catch a breath and get away from the craziness. Make it consistent and something you can look forward to. Even fifteen minutes of solitude can be a huge relief and can help you re-calibrate for the rest of your day.

3. Refuse to engage in negative office talk. When the talk turns south, politely excuse yourself or attempt to re-direct the conversation. Maybe you cannot change the environment, but you CAN choose not to let it affect your attitude.

4. Be jealously protective of your “unnecessary creating” time. If you’ve not done so, put regular time on the calendar – outside of your work day – to create for yourself. If the only creating you’re doing is “create-on-demand”, you will soon find yourself feeling exploited, used and unvalued.

5. Keep an eye on the big picture. When we’re immersed in a negative environment it can seem as if the world is ending. In reality, this is only the latest pit-stop in your work life. Keep one eye on your work-at-hand, but don’t forget to keep one eye on the big picture, your vocation, and what you’re really up to in this world. Your life is much bigger than your work.

These are a few thoughts that I have around this. Are there specific tips you can offer our community members about how to stay “untainted” and energized in a negative environment?

About Todd Henry

Todd is the founder of Accidental Creative, the author of The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice, and an in-demand speaker and consultant for creative teams. Connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.

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Comments

Peg

I recently left a company because of the negativity. My choice, but after a year, the only route to take.
I find that making time for myself, either doing my own creative, listening to music, or exercising helps relieve stress and allows me to feel I am doing something positive. Being surrounded by negativity saps creative energy, and is not productive in any way. Seek positive people, do things that you find uplifting, and treat yourself to something fun or relaxing at least once a week.
What you think about – you bring about!
http://www.accidentalcreative.com Todd Henry

@Peg, I think that’s also a good point – making sure to surround yourself (intentionally) with life-giving people outside of the work environment. So often we’re unintentional about who we let occupy our time.
Lucas Rodenbush

I am very familiar with the dynamics about which this article speaks. I have spent the last year and a half creating a robust ‘web 2.0′ site from scratch using functions I have developed over 5 years. I have partners. One partner in particular never seems to realize the intensity of what it is I do and just how much work I have done. I have worked the longest out of anyone in the company… I set up the site structure and nearly everything in it to this date. It is very easy for people to start accusing and pointing fingers when they haven’t the slightest as to what is happening under the hood. All that non-programming people see is the surface and the functionality. Unfortunately, when dealing in the world of start-ups, people want immediate results because they want to start selling. I would say that I am faced with a negative work environment almost all the time; it’s just in my partner’s nature to point fingers. I don’t know from where this psychology comes, but it is very frustrating and makes working extremely difficult. I come at things from a creative angle; I want space and I want time and I don’t want to be pressured. The problem for me here is that this entire site has been catapulted forward without a realistic timeline and proper beta testing and our business is now on the front lines without everything done and there is a bunch of wheel spinning. It never seems like it is going to end. I see the end of phase 1 in sight, but I know that once I get there, I will encounter more demands. I have been very close to just stepping away. I have at many times said, “you don’t like this? You do it!” The best advice I can give to counter this counter-productive behavior is to let your demanding counterpart realize how valuable you are through actions of distancing, and if necessary, suspend production until you are given the space you deserve. I understand that I am speaking on a more personal level, as we haven’t created a development team yet and I am THE GUY, but I think this tactic can expand to larger scenarios. I hope others find this to be insightful.
Rachel

Todd made some excellent points above, and the only thing I would add (having recently survived 5 years in a VERY toxic atmosphere) is keep your options open … and that includes leaving.
I stayed there a good 2 years longer than I should have, mainly because I got wrapped up in limiting beliefs: “I’ll never find anything,” “I’ll be bored in a corporate environment,” “The market sucks for freelancers,” “I’ll never make this kind of money anywhere else,” etc.
But I discovered that once I opened up to the possibility of moving on, it was like an instant breath of fresh air. Even if you decide to stay right where you are, simply recognizing that you’re not stuck there can be quite empowering.
So do a little creative daydreaming about what your perfect situation would be, do a little research on the web (at home, of course!) and maybe try some (discreet) networking. You might be surprised at the results.
Good luck!
Bec

Having just left a toxic work environment myself – the swift remedy is to leave that environment. I actually knew that I would be more valuable to companiy I was work for competotors – and It turned out I was right. Infact I now I am a freelancing consulatant for small – medium businesses who have been let down by big design firms over promising and under delivering. Within 2 weeks of my leaving it seemed that every company that was in the same industry I currently left has job openings – I apporoached them all offering my services on as freelance and the readily accepted my offers. Life has taught me at the end of the day that people really can suck! are really inconsiderate and clearly not disiplined enough as children (Thanks Mum and Dad – for those harsh groundings) – I now pick and choose who I want to deal with – infact I interview my future clients to see if I really want to take on that job – not the other way round! Lifes way too short….at the end of the day only God can judge you and by then I will be way too old to care ; )
Goodluck…. and in Australia it’s OK to say “F#@K You All” sometimes
LLH

Operating in a VERY large corporation makes it impossible to escape some amount of negativity on a routine basis. As a countermeasure, I shrink and expand creative space to selectively include only those whose brows are not furrowed and whose mouths are not poised to emit the “O” vowell sound. Sometimes, that makes for a rather lonely day; but, it keeps me sane and my eyes looking up and around instead of cast defeatedly down.
anna

I agree with the person who said that sometimes just mentally opening yourself to the idea of leaving is refreshing. Here are some thoughts I have: a)make sure you’re not adding to the toxic level of the workplace- are you negative, gossip, uncommunicative? b) have a creative life outside of work and be able to freelance if necessary c)Save money and get a financial game plan. People sometimes stay at dead end jobs b/c they have to, not because they love what they do d) be honest with your manager about deadlines, projects and the amount of time you need. Many managers are clueless about what their colleagues actually do on a daily basis and are looking for information. e) if your manager or boss IS the main problem, figure out if if it’s his/her personality which you have a problem with or their actual work style. YOu can deal with work style issues but you just have to accept personalities.
hope that was helpful to someone. The main thing when you are in a toxic work environment is to do what you have to do but not feel spiritually defeated by it- so tough. Meditate!
Norma

I work with a horsemanship program that teaches how to work with “negative” behaviors in horses – but it also works great with people. You have to be SUPER creative and make a game out of dealing with this negative person. Surprise them by doing the opposite of what they expect – I also use this concept in script writing with my characters – I write a scene and then rewrite it giving the characters the opposite intent.
Also think about what is REALLY at the source of this person’s negativity – most likely it’s fear or dominance. Fear can LOOK like dominance, so watch carefully. I dealt with many network executives who would give script notes based on fear – I finally learned that I didn’t necessarily need to listen to their NOTE, I simply needed to listen to THEM and help them feel acknowledged and safe. Dominant-style executives often gave stupid notes, so again, I didn’t listen to the note itself but looked at what might be causing them to react to the script – and often made some of my best revisions because of it.
It’s easy to say, “Just quit, go hang out with positive people,” but how many of us can afford to do that? I say, “Get CREATIVE with your people skills. Think like a horse.”
http://www.rosetedingphotography.com Rose Teding

Creating in a negative work enviroment goes against the laws of creativity. Hmm are there laws of creativity? Did you write that yet Todd? I have just gotten out of a negative work environment by luck. You said it yourself, fill your barrels.. and that’s all a person can do until they find another place to work. These are the things that I would suggest:1) recognize your potential in this negative environment and realize that it is inevitably a place where your creativity cannot thrive2) fill your barrels, fulfill the needs of your client, give them 100% of your best work always3) when you walk out of that environment after a work, do meditation and yoga so that your mind can retract back to a positive, creative, freeflowing state4) find a happy place mentally and physically to create without any reservation or influence of negativity5) eat well, stay on your toes and don’t over alcohol yourself6) if you are positively sure, your negative environment will not change, start networking with people, groups who can may have influence on your career7) whatever you do, don’t vent about it, negativity attracts more negativity8) Really evaluate where the negativity is coming from.. is it the environment or is it created in your mind? Sometimes we create things and it manifests itself into a reality which only you believe.9) A person may work in a negative workspace, with a great paycheck… so, really, you must change the way you think and accommodate your environment. Not all environments needing your creativity will be positive.10) If you are a full time employee, you can talk to your higher ups and express how you feel about the work environment. You both can work together to come up with solutions. If you are a contractor, you have the choice to work in any environment that you want.Creating in a negative environment is baaddd!!! Creating something beautiful requires flow, great processes.. input without disregard. If a person has to worry around negativity and for long periods of time, this would eventually ruin the creative spirit.You know Todd, I worked in negative environments for years. Why I stayed? I liked the people and the pay check. I dedicated 11 years to a company that laid me off. Hmm… My recommendation for creatives, keep moving.. hop around!! There’s a lot of work out there. Don’t stagnate yourself and become a slave to negative corporate environments. I did. And here I am like a tipped over bucket with water all around me!Have a wonderful day…