As independent creators, we often try to get people to value us for our job title, but that’s a mistake. The people that value us most, look at us holistically and can’t separate out the multitude of assets we bring to our work.
Reduce yourself to being a writer, or a developer, or a mime and you’re only worth as much as the lowest priced one of those. An instant easy way to exponentially increase your value is to join the team of the person you want to value you.
“I am on your mission” or “This is my mission, are you on it with me?”
When we’re on the same mission as our client, or collaborator, or customer; magic happens. This solidarity changes every single action.
- A teammate asks you for too much money, you talk to them about it, you don’t take it as an affront
- A teammate makes a major mistake, it’s only a mistake, not a deliberate action against everything you believe
- A teammate deserves your time
- A teammate isn’t going to just do one thing for you. They’ll do everything they can for you.
- A teammate is not self-motivated
I’m not advocating pretending to be on someone’s team. The real pursuit is choosing to be around and work with people we believe-in deeply (even clients) and then remind them over and over that we share a mission.
For me, at moments, this can feel like kissing up, but really it is clarifying communication and reminding everyone what’s most important — creating great stuff for great people. Go team!