With the Olympics in Tokyo having concluded, I can’t help but think about the role of the individual and the team. We saw individual sports, like shot put, dressage, and golf...obvious team sports, such as rugby, soccer, and sculling...mini-team action in tennis doubles and beach volleyball...and the “tweener” sports — the hybrid of individual/ team competitions including gymnastics and track events. What comes through clearly when these athletes tell their stories, though, is that solo performances are best when team support is strong. Great results are collaborative.

Over the arc of my career, my work approach has been similar to an athlete training within a team or with a team behind them. While clients who refer me to colleagues say, “Call Helen” (thank you!), I purposely named my company EnZed Design to umbrella the many creatives who make the project happen. There’s usually a writer, often a web designer, sometimes a photographer, illustrator, or other talent whom I creative direct and/or collaborate with. Then there’s the client and their team, who inform the process and bring their own creativity and ideas to the table. And once things are rolling, the supportive vendors — printers, signage and service providers — come into play. It takes all to make the deliverable actually deliver. 

The trick to making a project successful is developing the strategy with the end goal in mind, placing the right players together, and working closely in real time to make it happen. Most often adjustments are required along the way — like an athlete adapts their game to wind, sun, heat or injury. Generally the margins are not as tight (0.5 inch vs 0.001 second) and there is not always a clear winner or loser; finishing and engagement are the measures of success. 

The most satisfying thing for me about collaboration is at the end of the project, there’s proof of accomplishment with lines blurred as to whose idea was whose. Like the top contenders at the Olympics, we have something to hold up and show the world we did it — a printed piece, a website, a campaign, a logo behind the reception desk. A brand launch is a glory moment and we celebrate it together. The creative process and the people I work with is what makes me want to do it again and again. 

Special congratulations to the USA and New Zealand for record-breaking medal counts in Tokyo. Go teams!