My leadership journey

If you don’t yet know me yet, my name’s Jordan. I’m an abstract painter, writer and digital producer. I’m passionate about all aspects of creativity and I incorporate the practice of mindfulness into many of my programmes. I also lead creative teams. Over the last fifteen years I’ve led, coached and developed creative professionals in Sydney, Singapore and Wellington. 

I started my journey into people leadership when I was at university. At the age of 24, I was a mature age student and studying Fine Arts at Sydney University’s College of the Arts. It was a great time in my life. I was exploring creative ideas in the metal working studio in the day time, then going to work and leading teams of wait staff in restaurants at night. I thought my job was just a way to pay the bills, but actually I came to really love leading teams.

In my mid to late 20’s,  I weaved in and out of different types of creative work, and over the next 15 years process, honed my leadership skills – that is; leading myself and leading others. I went from graphic design to design team management, private consulting, corporate communications, project management and content publishing to leading larger teams of creative practitioners. All the while, doing my own art and writing projects on the side.

Integrated creativity

Everything I’ve done in my career to date has ben complimentary. Doing my own creative work means I’ve been able to build muscles in resilience and stamina. After all, good things can take time and learning how to be your own creative champion is crucial as an artist. I also love consulting with clients in the design, marketing and communications space – it’s a way of holding yourself to account and being impeccable with your word. When you work for yourself, there’s no-one else to blame when things go pear-shaped!

I enjoy working as part of a team, too. There’s something lovely about just being able to come together, laugh a lot and enjoy the journey with people you like and admire. That’s the beauty of a great team. Not that every team is perfect, but teams provide the chance to learn about collaboration, challenging yourself and each other, and finding better ways to communicate. And I’ve grown a lot from being part of a bunch of different teams. It’s also helped me to understand the kind of leadership that I respect and respond to, and in turn, informed the kind of leader I have aspired to become.

Looking for the Right Energy

As a leader of creative people, I work to my strengths. I’m a really good listener. I’m empathetic. I like giving people lots of reign to go out and do great work. I’m an up-beat cheerleader. I’ve got an eye for talent but just as important, a feel for good energy and intent. I work with people who bring the energy. And I’m great at helping people to take the next steps in their creative journey, and help them find their own creative voice.

About my new course

When I was younger, I really didn’t know how to get into people leadership. I knew I’d be good at it, but there really wasn’t any explicit pathway for me to take. So, I had to invent a way. And that turned out to be a good thing. And now, I’m excited to help others like you find your own way into creative leadership. Every creative journey is unique – and so your pathway into leadership will also be unique.

If you’re looking to lead creative teams, facilitating creative workshops, or lead, coach and inspire others in some other way, this course is for you! In particular, if you work in graphic design, comms or marcomms – or any other professional creative practice, let’s do this! I can’t wait to start.

Dates

This one-day workshop is running in Wellington on two dates in 2023: Sat 11 March and Sat 9 September. If you can’t make the dates but are still interested, sign up to my courses and workshops email list – I’ll be offering this course online later in the year as well.