Click Rain creative director leads with empathy, understanding, flexibility
Jan. 30, 2025
This paid piece is sponsored by Click Rain.
Luke McElrath, director of creative at Click Rain, attributes his management style to this simple principle: Give others the freedom to create.
“When individuals feel supported by leadership, when they’re given the space to operate in a way that works for them without added pressure, the ideas will come,” he said.
Click Rain is a Sioux Falls-based digital marketing agency. Using a cross-functional approach, the team works to deliver high-performing websites and digital marketing solutions to a diverse list of clients across various industries.
McElrath started at Click Rain five years ago as a senior designer. Through his love for storytelling and design, he was able to move up the ranks to his role now, where he oversees the creative department: a full-scale team producing video, graphic design and content writing.
As a department head with an introverted personality type, McElrath’s approach to leadership might be more subtle than his extroverted counterparts. But with empathy and understanding, he galvanizes his team from within to explore their creativity and challenges them to be better every day.
Leaders who listen
According to McElrath, quieter, more introverted employees might not always be the expected choice for leadership positions. And as an introvert himself, he didn’t always see himself becoming the director of creative at Click Rain.
“My introversion is the thing that made me think I could never do it,” he said.
However, after leading the creative department for a year, McElrath has gained more insight into what it means to be a leader and has learned to leverage the characteristics of his personality type to benefit the team. One way is to step back and create a space where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.
“Introverts are listeners, and listening is a skill that’s useful in leadership as much as speaking,” McElrath said.
For most introverts, their internal space is their safe space, he added. And because of that, they might not be as eager to speak up in meetings or at company events. However, he said there’s usually more than meets the eye.
“There’s more going on in my team members’ heads than anyone knows. We might not come out of a brainstorm pitching a million ideas, but we go home and sit for a minute, and all of a sudden, the ideas can start coming because we’re in our safe space.”
McElrath champions this practice by communicating his team’s needs with other departments at the agency, ensuring that the creatives are given the time they need to develop solid, fleshed-out ideas.
What fuels a well-oiled machine
Another key factor of his leadership style is giving people the freedom to create. McElrath avoids being the “helicopter parent” for his department, instead making room for his team to think freely, make mistakes and learn.
“I feel if you are an overprotective boss, people get comfortable, and comfort is not always where growth happens.”
Through fostering independence, McElrath believes that every individual on his team can determine a work style that works best for them. That way, they can think within their safe space and churn out creative, thoughtful work.
Along with respecting their space, McElrath also respects his team members’ time. At Click Rain, one core business function is capacity planning. This process involves looking at each individual’s workload for the week and taking from or adding to it depending on how much is on their plate. McElrath said this prevents creatives from taking on too much, consequently draining them. “Let’s give ourselves the space to focus. Let’s try not to do five things at once; let’s do one thing well,” he said.
Creativity and introversion: A common pairing
According to McElrath, “Not every creative person is introverted, but if I had to bet, I would say most of them are.” At Click Rain, an agency that revolves around being people-centered, a flexible work model is key to nurturing imagination and ideas among creatives.
Flexible work can be boiled down to three points: where you work, when you work and how you work. Allowing employees the autonomy to choose where they work, whether at home, in the office or in another location, can be beneficial because where one is most creative is unique to the individual.
Some people are more creative depending on the time of day, whether morning, afternoon or early evening. Keeping that in mind, giving people some leeway when they work during the week also helps support their working style.
Lastly, how an individual works also will be part of their creative process. Some work better sitting next to co-workers at the office, while others work best in the quiet solitude of their homes.
“Creativity comes through freedom, and you need to give it that space,” McElrath said.
Acknowledging that each employee is unique is the cornerstone of Click Rain’s people-centered culture. McElrath thinks this mindset is especially helpful to introverted creatives who thrive in a flexible work environment. If their social battery is drained from being in the office, that may affect the quality of their work. When creative minds are given the space to let their imaginations run wild, they do their best work.
Why Click Rain is different
What sprouted from doodling on his grade school homework, McElrath has turned into a career. His love for creativity and storytelling led him to Click Rain and ultimately to his current role as a director.
“Everybody here is smart. Everybody has something to bring to the table that supports each other,” McElrath said. His team’s success comes from their ability to work together, amplifying the skills of each member toward a common goal. Everyone is trusted and respected in their abilities, so they have the full support of their team on each initiative.
Working somewhere where he truly has felt supported all these years has been a game-changer for McElrath. He aims to run his department with the same level of empathy and support he was met with when he started at Click Rain.
“Through listening, through seeing each other as equals, we can create a culture that is not only sustainable but productive,” he said.
“It is my goal as a department head to make sure my team knows that I’m here, I’m in their corner, and I offer my full support.”
