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Ty KiiselManager Of Social OutreachAtTask |
In Mary Shelly’s classic 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," scientist Victor Frankenstein assembles from the human detritus of the graveyard, the hospital, and the slaughterhouse the inanimate form of a man. In the 1931 movie adaptation of the novel, Frankenstein raises the monster’s form to an open window in the ceiling of his laboratory amid the flashing of lightening and the crashing of thunder. When the creature’s hand begins to move, animated for the first time, Frankenstein maniacally exclaims, “It’s alive! It’s alive!”
Bringing work to life for the creative teams within most marketing organizations doesn’t require the same histrionics, but it does require that people at all levels have the tools they need to better understand and organize their work.
Where To Start?
Keeping the marketing department busy is never an issue. The real trick for marketing leaders is keeping people focused on the initiatives that matter most and provide the most value to the organization.
In an article on CNNMoney.com, Julian Birkinshaw wrote, “At its core, much of management simply comes down to making sure the right people are working on the right projects at the right time.” As you might suspect, we’re talking about prioritizing work. You might also be thinking, “That’s nothing new. We’re prioritizing work all the time.” The question is, how often do you really get to focus on your top priorities?
Marketing professionals are often providing internal services to other departments within the organization. And like IT departments and human resource groups that also provide shared services, you regularly experience the realization that every internal client considers his request for services the most important one in the organization. Unfortunately, if someone needs a brochure or swag for an upcoming customer event, he often directly approaches one of the graphic designers or copywriters to fulfill the request. Although that particular internal client might get what he needs at that time, he is unwittingly hampering the ability of your team to consistently deliver to the organization, while also frustrating individual team members who are constantly getting pulled away from what they’re “supposed” to be doing as they are swept away in a constant stream of ad-hoc requests.
When individuals on the creative team become project and relationship managers, they are distracted from their primary roles; they struggle to manage priorities and balance the need to meet objectives established by the boss, as well as the needs of their internal clients. This is not only frustrating to marketing leaders, who realize that the squeaky wheels in their organizations are really directing the team, but team members become frustrated, too.
This is your domain. The first step to “bringing work to life” for your team requires making sure they always know what they should be working on now, what’s next, and where everything fits. Although we will never be able to totally eliminate all the random requests marketing teams seem to get inundated with, it’s important to create a place where everyone can collect, prioritize, and manage all of their work so they can collaborative on the projects that matter most. It might not be rocket science, but when team members clearly understand what they should be working on now and what they should be working on next, they can focus, be more productive, and actually be more creative.
I once worked with an incredibly talented copywriter who would become so focused on the project at hand that he’d often lose sight of what was next on his plate. Simple as it sounds, if your team can answer the questions, “What am I working on now and what’s next?” you’re well on the way to making work live in your marketing organization—and for the individuals on your team.
What’s more, as important as it is for team members to have the tools they need to better understand and organize their work, marketing leaders also require something that will provide them with insight into what’s going on within the team to make informed decisions and help everyone stay focused.
Next: Visibility into purpose, along with some individual control.
