According to Inc, a creative leadership expert is sounding the alarm on a pervasive problem: collaboration overload. The article, written by Tracy West and originally in Fast Company, argues that hybrid work schedules, a proliferation of digital tools like Slack and Teams, and a cultural belief that “more collaboration is always better” have created a state of constant coordination. This leaves no space for the deep, independent thinking that is the true source of originality, especially as AI handles more production tasks. The pressure is particularly intense for younger creatives who crave autonomy and for service-driven teams where constant responsiveness is expected. The solution proposed isn’t to end collaboration, but to intentionally design a “creative rhythm” that alternates between solo work, purposeful team moments, and restorative rest.
The collaboration trap
Here’s the thing: we all fell for it. The idea that a buzzing Slack channel or a calendar packed with brainstorming sessions meant we were being productive and inclusive. But the article nails a critical shift. When hybrid work took over, we overcompensated. We tried to recreate every watercooler moment digitally, and the tools made it frictionless to do so. So now, you’ve got a creative who might jump from a Zoom critique, to a Figma comment thread, to a Teams chat, to a Miro board—all before lunch. That’s not workflow; it’s fragmentation. And the worst part? We’ve wrapped it all in this virtuous cloak of “teamwork.” When collaboration becomes an identity, you stop questioning it. You just add more.
Why solo time isn’t selfish
This is where the analysis gets really sharp. The article posits that as AI gets better at the *execution* of creative tasks, the unique human value shifts to originality, taste, and discernment. And you can’t crowdsource taste. Those qualities need quiet incubation. They need the freedom to be weird and wrong without an audience. Basically, we’re protecting the wrong thing. We’re so scared of people feeling left out of the loop that we’ve killed the loop’s starting point: a single person with an uninterrupted thought. The call for clear ownership models and dedicated, leader-protected focus time isn’t about coddling creatives; it’s about protecting the asset—the novel idea—that the whole business depends on.
Designing rhythm over default
So what’s the fix? The core idea of a “creative rhythm” is powerful because it’s proactive, not reactive. It’s about designing the workflow *before* the project starts. Protecting deep work means literally blocking it on calendars as sacred. Designing ensemble moments means making them focused and high-stakes—a sharp critique, not a meandering check-in. And maybe most importantly, building in rest. Not just time off, but reset periods *within* the project cycle where the pressure to produce or communicate drops to zero. That’s when subconscious connections happen. The leader’s job shifts from facilitating *all* the communication to curating the *right* communication at the *right* time. It’s a much harder skill.
The tools aren’t the problem, you are
Let’s be honest. We blame Slack. We blame back-to-back meetings. But the article correctly points out that these are just symptoms. The root cause is a lack of intentional, shared habits. If your team hasn’t decided *how* to use these platforms—what belongs in a thread vs. a meeting vs. an email—then of course they’ll become noise machines. This is a leadership and operational failure. It requires setting norms: “No meetings on Wednesdays,” “Figma comments are for X, final approval happens in Y,” “We respond to client messages within 4 hours, not 4 minutes.” Without that structure, the default setting is always “on,” and the creative work always loses. The goal isn’t less collaboration. It’s collaboration that actually serves the work, instead of replacing it.
