Diary of a Leader: Why Project Profitability for Creative Teams Matters Most
- Lindsay Sheldrake
- Jun 9
- 4 min read
Welcome to "Diary of a Leader" - Real Stories, Leadership Lessons, and Personal Growth
Ah, leadership. It’s messy, rewarding, and full of lessons you can only learn by doing.
Welcome to Diary of a Leader—a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to lead high-performing teams and deliver results in project-based businesses.
Whether you’re scaling operations or managing creative chaos, this space is for leaders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and impact.
As a Fractional COO and project leadership expert, I work with project-driven businesses every day that are trying to grow without breaking under the weight of delivery.
If you lead a design firm, creative studio, or project‑driven team, you’ve likely been taught the traditional definition of project success: on time, on budget, and within scope.
It’s clean. Measurable. Familiar.
But here’s the thing—it’s not enough.
Especially when you’re delivering custom work, where expectations shift, clarity evolves, and the client’s perception defines the outcome. That’s why I use a different lens.
Did the client get what they expected, by when they expected it, for what they expected to pay?
But today, I’m going one step further.
Because even that metric can miss what matters most.
Why the Old Metrics Don’t Work for Custom Projects
Traditional project management focuses on the iron triangle: scope, time, and cost. It works—if you’re producing widgets.
But custom work is different. By nature, there’s ambiguity up front. The client is the key stakeholder, and their perception of success shapes whether they’ll ever work with you again.
That alone should shift how we measure success—especially when talking about project profitability for creative teams.
Rethinking Project Success: Focus on Project Profitability for Creative Teams
So here’s the challenge I’m putting forward:
Was the project profitable—and would the client do another one with you?
That’s the real success metric.
This post focuses on profitability. (We’ll unpack referability next time—it’s too important to cover in one post.)
Why project profitability for creative teams?
Because without it, your business won’t scale.
And without visibility into it—during the project—you’re flying blind.
The Leadership Moment: A Gap in Visibility
Over the past few years supporting project-driven companies, I’ve seen the same pattern again and again: leaders can’t answer a basic question during delivery:
Are we on track to deliver this project profitably?
Worse—often, they don’t know until the project is finished. Or even later.
I recently coached a team running fixed‑fee projects with salaried staff—no time tracking, no workbacks, no visibility.
At quarter’s end, they’d divide total costs across estimated billable hours and assign profit retroactively. If a project “felt” painful, maybe it got docked a few percentage points.
That’s guesswork—not leadership.
And it’s completely avoidable.
Where Profitability Falls Apart
Here’s what I see:
That uncertainty creates serious stress—for executives, project leaders, and your entire team. You're reacting instead of leading.
It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
This problem is actually simple to fix:
Now project profitability for creative teams becomes visible. Decisions become informed. Leadership becomes proactive.
You don’t need new systems—you just need visibility into what you’re already doing.
The Leadership Lesson
Project profitability isn’t just a finance metric. It’s a leadership tool.
It tells you whether your team is operating sustainably.
It gives you clarity in the moment—not regret after the fact.
It reduces stress, supports better decisions, and builds scale.
If your project leaders can’t say whether you’re on track to profit—you’re not leading. You’re guessing.
You deserve better.
The Leadership Lesson
People don’t follow perfect leaders. They follow real ones.
Because trust doesn’t come from always being right. It comes from being honest.
It comes from sharing what you’ve learned through adversity.
And it grows when your values show up in how you lead—not just in what you say, but in the space you create for others to be human, too.
Wrapping Up (Because Time is Precious)
Here’s the truth: on time and on budget don’t mean much if the project wasn’t profitable.
And project profitability for creative teams doesn’t need to be a mystery.
Build visibility. Track it in real time. Make it core to how you lead projects.
Because sustainable growth isn’t delivered with finished scopes—it’s delivered with profitable, repeatable success.
Catch you next time, fellow leaders-in-training.
And remember: leadership isn’t about finishing projects—it’s about building businesses that thrive.
Want support building the systems and habits that drive project profitability and team clarity?
Book a free consultation to explore how we can build it together.
Related Reads from Diary of a Leader
Stay tuned for more lessons on project delivery, operational clarity, and leadership in action—because building great teams and delivering exceptional work isn’t about doing it all. It’s about doing what matters, exceptionally well.
