Due Credit Productions: A Job Search and Interview Skills Development Program

The ideas and language in this post belong to Matt Cogswell. They reflect work he did within some of his doctoral classes and operate as talking points for later development and collaboration. 

Due Credit Productions: A Job Search and Interview Skills Development Program

 

Purpose Statement:

            Due Credit Productions provides opportunities for job-seekers to receive necessary skills, work simulation, and related training to succeed in work opportunities.

Mission Statement:

            Due Credit Productions believes that financial and educational barriers can limit the potential of individuals to receive equitable work opportunities. As such, the program offers free educational and training services for our collaborators. We draw upon each other’s strengths to help one another grow as community members.

Human Organization:

            Due Credit Productions is composed of four community pillars: producers, directors, collaborators, and audience members.

Producers

Individuals who serve the program’s operational needs, as defined below:

1.     Funding. Our producers are responsible for fundraising to support the program’s infrastructure and payroll to support directors’ and producers’ pay and other financial needs

2.     Directors Recruitment. Our producers are responsible for recruiting an ensemble of directors who lead 1:1 and small groups in skill development.

3.     Community Outreach. Our producers actively develop and sustain connections in the community, sharing the purpose and mission of Due Credit Productions.

4.     Community Collaboration. Our producers actively develop and sustain relationships with community and business leaders to support our company’s mission to pay it forward.

  Directors

            Our directors provide direct mentoring to our collaborators. They serve as peer coaches to help collaborators grow in their public speaking, business communication, job search skills, and interview skills. Our directors are working professionals in their teachings.

Collaborators

            Our collaborators are the heart of Due Credit Productions. Collaborators receive the benefits of our free training. They work with us for as long as they choose. 

Audience Members

            Our audience members represent the greater community who support our mission statement by connecting our collaborators with work opportunities.

Lack of Hierarchy:

            While Due Credit Productions applies labels to our working environment, the labels are used for organizational description only. For example, producers are no more or less important than directors, collaborators, or audience members. Individuals can move in and out of labels. Producers can function as directors and vice versa at any given time. Collaborators and audience members can become directors and producers. Movement is lateral and flexible. This transitory nature reflects Due Credit Productions’ belief that hierarchy and stable functions result in a sterile environment.

Grounded Location:

            Due Credit Productions operates on a ground-level floor. The floor plan is open. In the middle of the space are open-access technology bays available to all. Several portable chairs and individual tables are available for redesign as needed. More permanent seating furniture is placed throughout the space. In one location are supply shelves for writing utensils, other office supplies, and material for creative projects. Near the front entrance is a puzzle table that can never be clear. It symbolizes the mission of Due Credit Productions. Wall décor constantly changes with the artistic expression of any member of Due Credit Productions. Alongside one side wall is the restroom suite. A community food pantry and kitchen bar rests on the opposite wall. In an enclosed walled space is a clothes closet. Fidget toys are located throughout our shelves, windowsills, tables, and so on. Due Credit Productions prides itself on a constantly changing environment.

Social Media Environment:

            Due Credit Productions functions outside the parameters of its physical building as well. Producers engage with the community, representing the mission of the program and raising brand awareness. Due Credit Productions exists and thrives in the social media space as well. Through an active YouTube channel, Instagram presence, and open-sharing articles housed on our company website, as well as other means, Due Credit Productions will share the stories of its ever-evolving community.

Literature Review

Due Credit Productions functions as a non-hierarchical company in which movement is lateral and flexible. Cummings et al. (2015) emphasized recruiting and retaining the best creative talents. We view all our community pillars (producers, directors, collaborators, and audience members) as equally creative and important to our mission. (See Figure 1.) Cummings et al. (2015) stated, “Multimodal creativity requires a more proactive approach, combining and configuring different modes of thinking and individual capabilities” (p.19). Our shared belief in this model allows our community pillars to move in and out of responsibilities as needs dictate. We also borrow from Google’s ITO (Innovation Time Out) policy, which “encourages employees to spend 80% of their time on core projects and 20% … on “innovation” activities that speak to their personal interests and passions” (Reisman & Hartz, p. 11). Our company thrives on watching people tap into their varied pursuits and offers a collaborative space in which to do that work.

 

Figure 1.

Community Pillars within Due Credit Productions

Producers	Directors	Collaborators	Audience Members
Serve the program’s operational needs such as funding, director recruitment, community outreach, and community collaboration	Facilitate as peer coaches to help collaborators grow in their public speaking skills, job search skills, interview skills, and business communication	Receive the free benefits of our program	Represent the greater community who support our mission by connecting our collaborators with work opportunities

 

Jeong and Shin (2019) offered four high-performance work practices that we instill at Due Credit Productions. These four practices are 1) Job Rotation, 2) On-the-Job Training,

3) Temporary Project Teams, and 4) Coaching-Mentoring. Although we assign labels to the varied roles, no one person necessarily remains in that role for the entirety of their work with us. We prize the concept of job rotation. Our producers may become directors, and collaborators may become directors, for example. The interests and needs of our creators [a catch-all term for anyone who interacts with us] determine which roles we play. Jeong and Shin’s (2019) related concepts of on-the-job training and temporary project teams are reflected in our practice of having creators work alongside one another on developing skills. The professional development of all creators who represent Due Credit Productions is valued. We believe these first three practices demonstrate purposeful and impactful professional development that mirrors what we offer to our collaborators. The coaching-mentoring relationship inherent in these practices influences our work model. Collaborators are assigned to a director who assists them with navigating our programming and ensuring their individual needs are being met. Our directors are matched with producers who ensure that directors have the necessary skills to fulfill their functions. These relationships do not reflect boss-subordinate roles. Everyone is equal and supportive.  

LeaderFactor (n.d.) discussed four stages of psychological safety at work, which influence our working philosophy. These four stages are 1) inclusion, 2) learner safety, 3) contributor safety, and 4) challenger safety. Inclusion refers to a sense of belonging and access within the team. We start with our collaborators, who may not feel included because of their life circumstances. We assure them they belong with us by cultivating the relationships described above. Learner safety adopts a growth mindset and embraces a culture of continuous learning (LeaderFactor, n.d.). Creators at Due Credit Productions all have teaching and other personal development backgrounds and believe in the powers of change and education “at any stage.” We infuse this belief into our work. Our lateral, flexible movement leads to contributor safety in which all creators feel safe and free to contribute ideas to the team. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we aim to instill challenger safety into our workforce. If something is not working for any of our creators, we want to know this information so we can work as a team to challenge the status quo. Shields (2008) suggested the incorporation of weekly scheduled meetings to monitor progress within the company. These meetings need not be long. They are meant simply to facilitate communication and follow-through (creative accountability) and to monitor the projects’ progress (Sheilds, 2008).

Patel (2018) offered two suggestions for accessing creativity that Due Credit Productions instills in its work philosophy: change your environment and take a creative stroll. While we do have a physical location as our company collaboration space, we also meet with our collaborators and audience members outside of the building. The inside of our building frequently changes, from the arrangement of our furniture to the artwork that is displayed throughout our space. In fact, whenever any of us feel stuck, we tend to change something about our space. Robinson & Stern (1998) targeted diverse stimuli as one of the essential elements of organizational creativity. Our creators literally redesign our space to keep the atmosphere fresh with ideas they have. Ownership of the stimuli is essential to creativity (Robinson & Stern, 1998). Further, key locations in our building are painted green because staring at green for 30 seconds has resulted in 25% improvement in creative performance (Nordgren, 2024). We are also fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful natural plants and trees that line the various businesses that thrive around us. We often walk around our local community and feel inspired by the vast examples of creativity around us. We further incorporate movement into our creative space by following the concept of informal Idea Parties (Ozenc & Hagan, 2019). When ideas are sparked either after a creative session or at any random time, our creators are urged to work on a visual display of their ideas. Using our collection of artistic supplies available to all, creators can get out their ideas in visual/written form and post it on wall space dedicated to new ideas! All immediately available creators will be invited to walk to the idea, allowing for natural interaction in the moment.

            Due Credit Productions exists on the internet and in the social media space as well. A few of our creative geniuses have helped us launch a portal influenced by Chris Dunmire’s Creativity Portal (est. 2000).  The soon-to-be launched site, duecreditproductions.com, will feature some of our favorite linked articles and videos from such visionaries as Teresa Amabile, Tim Brown, Daniel H. Pink, Adam Grant, and Linda Hill. While these voices are vital and inspiring, we are most proud of the contributions from some of our producers, directors, and audience members. Nordgren (2011) speaks on story as technology. Stories are one of our greatest tools of communication, allowing us to aspire to greater goals, demonstrate our humanity, and attach meaning and significance to our life events (Nordgren, 2011). As we grow in our service community, the stories of our collaborators – those who receive the direct benefit of our mentoring – will be our priority to feature on the website and across social media platforms. Related to this remote storytelling, our creative geniuses are streamlining methods to interact with individuals in alternative methods for those who cannot access us at our physical location. This flexibility is encouraged for our creators at all levels in order to broaden our capacity to provide our services.

Due Credit Productions as a Creative Environment

            Due Credit Productions operates on a cooperative, non-hierarchical philosophy in which everyone is on equal grounds in serving our mission. We believe that financial and educational barriers can limit the potential of individuals to receive equitable work opportunities. As such, the program offers free educational and training services for our collaborators. We believe that as a young organization we have room to grow as well. We rely on the community and other professionals to support us in our mission. We support each others’ growth, as many of our producers and directors are joining us from related fields. We can identify with the adults who may seek out our services due to that vulnerability in our careers. Due Credit Productions will target individuals wanting a career change, but that will not be a requirement to work with us. Being on equal ground, we solicit and offer feedback to one another in a safe, supportive environment in which mistakes can be made without fear of retribution. Evaluations from peers are utilized for personal growth and for the identification of professional development needs of our creators. Further, our collaborators will be given the opportunity to provide feedback to us on how we are delivering our services to the heart of Due Credit Productions.

Due Credit Productions operates on a ground-level floor. The floor plan is open. In the middle of the space are open-access technology bays available to all. Several portable chairs and individual tables are available for redesign as needed. More permanent seating furniture is placed throughout the space. In one location are supply shelves for writing utensils, other office supplies, and material for creative projects. Near the front entrance is a puzzle table that can never be clear. It symbolizes the mission of Due Credit Productions. Wall décor constantly changes with the artistic expression of any member of Due Credit Productions. Alongside one side wall is the restroom suite. A community food pantry and kitchen bar rests on the opposite wall. In an enclosed walled space is a clothes closet. Fidget toys are located throughout our shelves, windowsills, tables, and so on. Due Credit Productions prides itself on a constantly changing environment.

            We have created our working environment as a beacon for creativity. We are explicit in our beliefs that our collaborative space is a creative space. We are aware of the potential perception of our space as a “space for creatives” and not a legitimate business. We welcome this challenge and will provide our services for those who need us. Our climate is one of unrestrained enthusiasm and belief in the good of people. Our producers and directors, in particular, come from diverse fields to help support our mission and functioning as a business. We rely on individuals with appropriate levels of expertise to maintain not only the physical building and operating costs but also to hold us accountable so we may serve the needs of others.

            In the first phase of establishing Due Credit Productions as a legitimate service provider to others, we are committed to three key objectives. First, we are committed to the skill development of our producers and directors. Second, we will maintain goals to build our community and audience members through collaborative relationships. Third, we will share the successes of our community through creative outreach and engagement.

            As leaders in personal development ourselves, we are committed to learning more about our own skill sets and areas of potential. We aim to be well versed in relevant, current, in-demand job skills. As such, we will reach out to community members (our audience members) to receive training ourselves in skills we wish to instill in others. We will hold ourselves accountable to levels of comfort and skill in any particular domain before offering it to our collaborators. We will present ourselves as learners in this process in our effort to be transparent and build the trust of our collaborators and audience members. We will hold ourselves accountable by openly sharing our own journeys and struggles in solidifying our concept for what Due Credit Productions could be. Inspired by our belief that we need a community to support the greater community, we will develop collaborative relationships with established businesses, politicians, and community activists to build our foundation. We will promote their services to our collaborators in the spirit of non-competitive service to others. Third, as we grow as an organization and program, we will participate in creative outreach and engagement. These techniques have begun to be implemented through our social media channels, but we recognize there is a vast technology field, including virtual reality and artificial intelligence, that we have not yet tapped into. It will be part of our purpose our first year to learn how to leverage that information into a job skills program. To learn more about how we intend to hold ourselves accountable to these ideals, please refer to Figure 2.

 

Figure 2. Accountability Rubric for Creative Objectives for First Year

	Failure	Mediocrity	Excellence
Producer/Director Personal Development	Fewer than five producers/directors engaged in professional development this year	Five to ten producers/directors engaged in professional development twice a year	Ten or more producers/directors engaged in professional development three times or more
Establishment of Collaborative Relationships	Fewer than four new working relationships with community partners	Four to eight new working relationships with community partners	More than eight new working relationships with community partners
Creative Outreach and Engagement of Services	No change in marketing methods from baseline	Two to three new marketing methods that did not increase engagement significantly	Four or more new marketing methods that increased engagement significantly

 

Personal Statement of Producer Matt Cogswell

            The name for our program comes from my concept of a space for artistic folks to congregate and be represented in a collaborative workspace. With a literal few decades of performance experience, I started to foster Due Credit Productions as an independent performance company. The only true representation of that work was a solo show I performed in 2022. I chose to maintain this name for our work skills program for two reasons: 1) The program is geared toward individuals who perhaps have not yet earned their due credit in the workforce. Our work world often discriminates against people without formal education, and it is one of our core beliefs that formal education is not the only method into meaningful employment. 2) I believe that we all need producers and directors in our world to help us manage the often complex nature of being human. Success is dependent on multiple people, and the journey to satisfying work is a production in itself.

            In addition to my decades of theater and film experience as producer, director, actor, and playwright, among other behind-the-scenes work, I bring over 24 years of teaching experience. I started my teaching career with children and adolescents in special education and general education classrooms. My students have been primarily adults for the past 15 years, across various colleges, universities, and adult education programs. My core courses have been two levels of college writing and a public speaking course. It was through my work particularly in leading public speaking classes that I began to formulate the idea of working with faculty members who could benefit from additional training in pedagogy and connection skills. This remains a passion project for me as I work on Due Credit Productions.

            I have received feedback from numerous students over the years that I am an effective leader and possess many qualities of an impactful professor. While I prefer the word facilitator, my students’ testimonies, along with feedback from my artistic career, lead me to have faith in my ability to facilitate this program, with the support and work of my colleagues.

            I do not possess a strong background in business development. This vast area of opportunity is one in which I will continue to grow as I make mistakes along the way. I have much to learn. I accept that I do not know what I do not know, to borrow some vernacular from my doctoral program. I believe I bring in the temperament of someone who is willing to examine himself and seek help when needed. If I am asking our collaborators to trust in this process, I must serve as a role model in that process. My continued education later in my career is a testament to that belief that, although it is often a struggle, I am capable of greater things. I will continue to rely on my team as we figure out how to solve this puzzle, together.  

                                                                         References

Cummings, S., Bilton, C., & Ogilvie, D. (2015). Toward a new understanding of creative dynamics: From one-size-fits-all models to multiple and dynamic forms of creativity. Technology Innovation Management Review, 5(7), 14–24. 

https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview910

Dunmire, C. (2000-2024). Creativity Portal | Chris Dunmire's Positive Playfulness, Writing Prompts, Creativity Coaching | Creativity-Portal.com

Jeong, I., & Shin, S. (2019). High-performance work practices and organizational creativity during organizational change: A collective learning perspective. Journal of Management, 45(3), 909-925. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316685156

LeaderFactor (n.d.) “Cultivating psychological safety at work.” https://www.leaderfactor.com/learn/cultivating-psychological-safety

Nordgren, C. (2011, April). Carl Nordgren on creative populism. [Video.] YouTube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-USj5E8zSk

Nordgren, C. (2024, July 25). Guest Lecturer. Drexel University.

Ozenc, K. and Hagan, M. (2019). “5 rituals that speak creativity at Pinterest, Flipboard, and Amazon.” Fast Company, 4.10. 2019. https://www.fastcompany.com/90331754/5-rituals-that-spark-creativity-at-pinterest-flipboard-and-amazon?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Fast%20Company%20Daily&position=7&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=04102019

Patel, D. (2018). “9 ways to rewire your brain for creativity.” Entrepreneur, November 7, 2018. https://www.entrepreneur.com/living/9-ways-to-rewire-your-brain-for-creativity/322792

Reisman, F., & Hartz, T. (2003). Generating a culture for creativity and innovation. In L. Berger & D. Berger (Eds.), The talent management handbook: Creating organizational excellence by identifying, developing, and promoting your best people (1st Edition). McGraw-Hill.

Robinson, A., & Stern, S. (1998). Corporate creativity: How innovation and improvement actually happen. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Incorporated.

Shields, A. (2008). Creativity in the Workplace. Nonbox Consulting.