Why Leadership Must Evolve for Creativity to Thrive

According to Deloitte’s 2025 Global Human Capital Trends, nearly 73% of organizations recognize the urgent need to reinvent the role of the manager. Yet only 7% report making real progress. Awareness is high; transformation is slow.

Managers shape the daily experience of work more than any policy ever could. They decide whether creativity thrives or suffocates. But many remain trapped in an outdated model of control and efficiency—one that prioritizes output over insight, compliance over curiosity, and short-term delivery over long-term innovation.

The numbers tell the story. Managers spend 40% of their time on daily problems and admin, while only 13% goes to developing their people. The result? Teams are well-managed but under-mentored; efficient but uninspired. For creative professionals, this imbalance translates into friction—process over progress.

To unlock creativity, the role of the manager must evolve from task overseer to talent cultivator. Reinvented managers act as coaches, connectors, and curators of talent. They foster psychological safety, champion experimentation, and use AI and automation to free up time for people development.

Creative teams are uniquely positioned to lead this shift. They already operate at the intersection of imagination and execution. By modeling collaboration, co-creation, and learning-driven success, they can demonstrate what future-ready management looks like—one where growth is measured not just in output, but in engagement, learning, and innovation.

The opportunity is clear: when managers shift even a small portion of their time from tasks to talent, creativity follows. The organizations that act on this will not just adapt to the future of work—they’ll design it.

Source Deloitte, ‘Global Human Capital Trends: Turning Tensions into Triumphs,’ March 2025.

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