Adland, like so much of corporate America, is a place where egotists go to gain control.
Many of us have worked for royal pains in the ass, and some of us have been the royal pain. This is why I appreciate Rob Reilly’s recent confession and recommend this talk for all people who manage creative teams.
The global creative chairman for McCann Worldgroup calls himself a “recovered asshole” in this Ad Age podcast. That takes courage.
Near the end of the podcast, Reilly discusses his years at Crispin, Porter & Bogusky, and the time when his boss, then-CEO Andrew Keller, mandated he take a year’s worth of coaching to learn how to be more respectful of others.
“What’s the problem, are we out of champagne? We just won interactive agency of the year,” Reilly remembers saying.
Ego Isn’t Rocket Fuel, It’s Kindling
Out of check egos, defensive posturing, and lack of self-awareness are themes that appear regularly in these pages, because these behaviors are an undue burden on the business, operationally and from a PR perspective.
Ad agencies are not playpens and creativity isn’t a toy.
Reilly says the problem is you often don’t know when you’re being an asshole (or you make excuses for yourself), and that he would not have the McCann job he has today if he hadn’t corrected his course. He also highly recommends coaching, a.k.a. professional development, and he encourages agencies to invest in it, especially for senior leaders.
Reilly describes Keller’s impact on him, and how Keller reminded him that you might be the greatest creative force in the world, but as soon as you yell at someone, that’s all anyone remembers.
Reilly wisely suggests that the challenge for creative directors is to be hard on the work and an inspiration for the team all at the same time.
via: Ad Age
