Are you a control freak?

We all share tendencies to be controlling.

When you create something from scratch, you expect to receive credit as the author, designer or architect of the project. Copywriters, designers, strategists and developers - all make up a heavenly machine in the background that is often hidden behind a brand.

The Pseudonym Smoke Screen 

It can be a balancing act in some professions not to become disheartened by any lack of credit, but also not to use a brand as a smokescreen. Not having your name on something can sometimes be liberating, removing anxiety but potentially accountability too.

When writing under a different name or a brand it’s important to remain focused on using appropriate tone and content for that identity.

Moreover, not having a by-line doesn’t invalidate your contribution. In journalistic settings, editorial staff who have guidance, input and quality control over pieces, don’t always get named alongside the original creator, but their mark is still there in the work.

Pseudonyms can also be used to positive effect.

Throughout history, women writers published under male pseudonyms in order to boost the sales of their work in times when female writers were disapproved of. The renowned literary Bronte sisters published the novels Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall under the male Pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell respectively. JK Rowling published her first novel after the Harry Potter saga under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. This allowed a well known author to move into a new genre, without the pressure of public awareness, as well as serving as a way to test out the success of her novels without the influence of her recognisable name on the cover and the support of an existing fanbase.

The Balancing Act.

Easing control can be a hard lesson to learn in the workplace. Ensuring that your team is appropriately rewarded and credited for their work, but also ensuring that you can swallow your pride and share that credit as a brand are opposing but essential.

If you have good ideas, they will naturally explode, and you have to learn how to take that in your stride, pop it in your portfolio and celebrate as a team.

Within a business, the product you make or service you provide is usually produced with a team of people. Each person is an essential part of the machine and their role is a crucial part of the process. It’s an inner challenge to let go, pass on a project, and ease up your grip.

Everything is collaborative, even if it feels like a ‘my idea’ moment. 

Control freak or not, we are all sponges and nurtured by our environments and the people around us. You will take influence from those around you. 

Communication and trust are hugely important for managing shared work. We build out our team based on people with the same principles and understanding as us, so trust in the creative value they’re all going to add to the collage.

It sometimes feels unnatural to hand over unfinished work projects. Some of us who come from academic backgrounds find this particularly unnatural. Over time though, you adapt to the benefits of a workflow of collaboration and handing over work at a certain stage.

Many of those who are perceived or believe themselves to be a ‘control freak’ are in fact people pleasers or simply trying too hard to be helpful, which then manifests as a control issue. People pleasers especially have the instinct to say ‘I’ll do that! I can do it all!’, trying to save others time, be supportive or to prove themselves.

However, it’s all about managing your own capacity, and managing professional fomo as well. Even with the luxury of having fingers in a lot of pies and creative input across projects, you can’t get involved in everything, you’ve got to accept that there’s only so many hours in the day.

Control can be Constructive.

One tactic that is sometimes lumped in as ‘Control Freak’ behaviour, but which we should actually all adopt, is the To Do List. A rolling list can be like popping a bookmark into your book at the end of a chapter, so that when you begin to read again you can start fresh at the beginning of the next. It’s difficult to maintain your vision and see it come to life if you’ve got multiple contributors and decision makers, without this kind of organisational helping hand.

In terms of collaboration, you know you’re working in a good team when the people around you boost your success and push you forward, enabling you to read the entire book, instead of stumbling through the pages.

Cohesion is Creative.

Teams often produce their best work together. While everyone has their standalone skills independently, when we work cohesively we are even more powerful and talented, and it’s also more fun! 

For those who has never experienced growing out their team and sharing the workload (and the control), new colleagues can seem daunting, like a big fat sign saying ‘CHANGE APPROACHING’. But truly, it contributes to the fun of the job as well as increasing capacity, diversifying skillset, introducing new opportunities and more.

Our top tip from this debate is to use this process of ‘letting go’ of control as a way to empower you.

When we see ourselves adapting and growing into a new dynamic or way of working, it’s tangible proof that we are stronger than we think.