Sharing the Sandbox: Coping With Control
Written by Deb Dorchak - July 26, 2011 0 Comments
I have a cave. It’s not a real cave. It’s a virtual one. This cave is the one I go to when I’m working on a particularly difficult project. It’s my mental quiet place and a codeword between Wendi and I for “I need some room to think”.
In this cave I have a sandbox. This is where most of the creative process happens. I have all my brightly colored pails and shovels (Photoshop and InDesign), a couple of nifty dump trucks (files and files of images), and a treasure chest filled with bling (my image and documentation libraries).
Putting a project together requires playing with all these pieces until I come up with something worth showing.
Every so often, I come across a client who’s an artist, too. I sometimes get so involved in what I’m doing I forget there are other artists out there—my business partner being one of them.
For the most part, I’m not a control freak. I don’t get off on being in total control 100% of the time. What I enjoy the most is showing people how to learn a new skill and then watching them fly with it.
Except, it seems, when it comes to designing for someone.
It took me a long time to realize this. I had been working for so long as the sole designer, working for people who had no artistic ability, or didn’t want to know anything about what it took to put a website or book together. So, I lived by the rule “I’m the designer, it’s my job to design.”
Now that my job and our business model has taken more of a consultative turn, I woke up one day and realized I had to let others come play in my sandbox! Wendi had begun to coach some very creative people who were artists in their own right and yet they still needed our help to get their websites and products designed.
The Architects and the Engineers
The way I see it, there are two types of artists. Architects are the ones who want to make pretty things. They don’t care so much for how that item will work, they just want it to look good and beautify the world. Engineers still care about aesthetics, but they also take into consideration function.
Many of the people I work with are Architects. These creative folk have a very clear image of what they want their project to look like and would do it themselves if they had the knowledge to do so.
I am an Engineer. Not only do I have to take into consideration the overall look of the project, I have to think five steps ahead and figure out how it will function.
Until I made that realization, I couldn’t figure out why I got so frustrated with some people. Use a pail as a hat? No, no! It’s a PAIL! You fill it with sand, not wear it on your head! And no, I can’t turn my dump truck into a pony.
There were times when I wanted to shoo everyone out of my sandbox so I could just do my job and be done with it.
What’s Your Sandbox Like?
If you run your own business, you could call yourself an expert in your field. If you weren’t, then you wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing. Clients come to you because you know something they don’t.
The day will come when you may have a peer come to you looking for help. If you think about it, where do doctors go when they need a doctor themselves?
In the art world there are all kinds of artists. I know if I needed a film made, I would go to a pro and not try to do it myself. However, when the day does come for us to put our novel on the Big Screen, I’d still want to have some creative input. How do you keep from becoming a control freak?
Awareness. Plain and simple. The need for control stems from a few different things; insecurity, low self-esteem, fear of failure, feelings of inferiority, and the need for self-preservation.
If you’re feeling anxious, like you’re losing control, take a step back and look within. Find the root of what you’re feeling and I guarantee you it’ll be connected to one of the above.
Remember this though: Your clients came to you for a reason. They already see you for the authority that you are. If they didn’t, they would have gone somewhere else. The sandbox is big enough to fit in everyone you want to invite and the more people you have, the more everyone benefits. There’s plenty of sand and there might even be room for a pony or two.
Just don’t let the cats in. Their idea of a sandbox is completely different.
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