From Solo to Synergy: Rethinking Leadership in Creative Sustainability Projects
In the eyes of many, creating an independent brand is a triumph of individualism. However, in the practice of sustainable fashion and branding, I have found that true creativity is not only an expression of ‘I’, but also the result of continuous collaboration with others. Based on the development of the brand, I will explore decentralized leadership and collaboration in a freelance context, and reflect on how to build creative partnerships with limited resources.
Before I started the brand, my original plan was for one person to be in charge of everything - from design and material selection to brand visuals and copywriting. While this model maximized stylistic consistency and kept costs down, shortcomings soon emerged: I had a limited grasp of competencies such as supply chain knowledge, photography, PR and publicity, and website production, and was even biased in my brand language output. The real shift came with my first collaboration with an apparel brand, which made me realize that collaboration doesn't mean compromising on style, but rather a process of broadening perspectives and enriching expression.
To manage this collaboration more consciously, I was introduced to theories such as shared leadership and situational leadership. These theories are very useful for freelancers: instead of emphasizing hierarchy, a clear division of roles and flexible decision-making based on the stage of the project can lead to a higher quality of collaboration. For example, in product shoots, I invite photographers to participate in product positioning discussions rather than treating them as mere employees and executives, and in content editing, I try to ask contributors to understand the logic of the brands they work with rather than just giving them template requirements.
This shift in leadership style has also improved my sensitivity and reflectiveness in team communication. Leadership in a creative project is not about controlling others but about the ability to coordinate the vision, manage the pace, and maintain trust over time. Especially in the field of sustainable fashion, the people I work with often have different intellectual backgrounds and values, which requires me to strike a balance between professionalism and inclusiveness in my communication.
Of course, this process has its challenges. For example, in a multi-party collaboration, a lack of clarity on delivery nodes led to delays, which affected the launch of the product. Therefore, leadership is not only about ‘vision setting’, but also about time management and expectation setting.
Looking back at the whole process, I believe that freelancers don't need an ‘organizational structure’, but rather, they need to create a flexible, high-trust collaboration mechanism. Only in such a structure does leadership no longer equate to dominance, but rather to the ability to enable collective creativity.
Reference
Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K.H. (1969). Management of Organizational Behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 12(4). doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.1969.19201155.
Pearce, C.L. and Conger, J.A. (2003). Shared Leadership: Reframing the Hows and Whys of Leadership. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California 91320 United States : SAGE Publications, Inc. doi:https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452229539.
Unsplash (2018). Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash. [online] unsplash.com. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-people-holding-hands-on-top-of-a-tree-DNkoNXQti3c [Accessed 7 Apr. 2025].
