The Fire Starter and the Brand Steward: An Examination of Successful Leadership Traits for The Advertising-Agency Creative Director

This article seeks to uncover the complexities of the creative director's leadership role in advertising agencies. The authors based their work on data received from six agencies and 43 interviews conducted at those participating agencies. Findings suggest successful creative directors combine expertise in creativity, strategy, and interpersonal communication to motivate and mentor co-workers, oversee brand identities, serve as liaisons between creative people and other agency departments and clients, and shape the creative vision of the agency. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]