Nurturing the Next Generation of Talent

Talent. Everyone in the ad industry says it’s the secret sauce to agency success. But the industry has been suffering a brain drain in recent years. We like to hear what our members think about the hottest issues of the day. Here, Jill Kelly, Chief Communications Officer for Digitas, offers her thoughts on how to nurture young talent.

Jill Kelly, Chief Communications Officer, Digitas
Jill Kelly, Chief Communications Officer, Digitas

 

In order to nurture the standout talents of tomorrow, we must look today at the folks who are managing them. They are the talent caregivers who discover, attract, motivate and grow future talent. What’s truer today than ever is the old adage (paraphrased) about what keeps people at a company: People don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses; they aren’t drawn to jobs by the work, but by the quality of the managers. With expanding employment options and millennial job jumping, the role of today’s manager as a talent magnet and a human centrifugal force that binds a team together or breaks it apart is not to be underestimated.

Sadly, that’s just what we do: underestimate. At the Cannes Festival earlier this summer, I observed three consistent characteristics of an unforgettable (for the right reasons), inspired and inspiring manager.

Ask good questions, motivated by a genuine desire to understand.

I came home recently to find my six-year-old son, Clyde, drawing circles on his butt with a red marker. When I asked him: “Why are you drawing on your butt?”, he responded in that isn’t-it-so-obvious-mom way: “I didn’t have any paper.”

I asked my son a shallow question. It was more of an accusation disguised as a question, with a response that disarmed me immediately. A good manager will ask his/her employees good, toothy questions that surface what motivates them, worries them, excites them, etc. From that understanding comes empathy and an individual talent management style that brings out the best in an employee.

As an industry we pride ourselves on understanding consumers. Let’s turn that mirror inwards, starting with good questions.

Be open to and champion other people’s ideas.

Sam Ball, creative director of M&C Saatchi said: “Great ideas aren’t in you. They are around you.” They are inside the diverse experiences of your team. Your 76-year-old grandmother. Your six-year-old son. And don’t just be open to the ideas of others, champion them. An idea’s survival is squarely dependent on the guardian who will fight for it. Be the Idea Guardian for your people. They will never forget how your commitment to their idea made them feel—proud, protected and valued.

Be disruptive.

How many times have we heard leadership talk about taking risks, embracing change, welcoming disruptors? And of those, how many of them are disruptors themselves; sticking out their necks and exposing their own skin to the heat and challenges of a disruptive idea?

My guess is that it’s practiced far less than it is preached. During a breakfast at the Cannes Festival, Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO of Airbnb, shared an intriguing idea of having a Razzies award to remind us to stop making bad ads. The audience response: applause, not just because of the idea, but because inherent in the idea was an industry leader (and manager) taking a stand for creative standards. Be the behavior you preach.

As for me, the next time my son wants to draw, perhaps the better question will be: What will you create today?”