In the age of the studio system, actors were contracted
employees of movie studios. The head of
the studio decided in which movies the actors would be featured. There was essentially no such thing as a
“star.” If you were an actor and you
disagreed with the studio head, you were wrong.
If you were a writer and you had a story, you pitched it to the studio
head. If you were a producer you waited
with fingers crossed for a call from the studio head. And if you were a director (which was the
equivalent of an animal trainer) you had absolutely no say in what projects you
worked on.
The studio head was the quintessential Transparent Leader.
Fast forward to the United Artist+ years and you see a system where stars
dictated what pictures they would do; when they would work; and with whom they
would work. The poor studio head now relegated to nothing more than the head
accountant of the corporation.
So here’s what. I, as you know, am not in Hollywood, but
that’s where I get my mail. It’s
post-dated with a 4 cent stamp and gives me all the direction I need.
In an age where leadership is bequeathed on those simply
because they are liked by the largest agency client, I am looking to bring back
the concept of the pre star-system of Transparent Leadership.
Here are the three reasons why I think the modern ad agency
can benefit from the Hollywood style Transparent Leader:
1. Agency culture will be clearly defined
A TL will decide which culture is the one that works best
for the shared vision of the agency. But she will do this through a
crowd-sourced based methodology that secures buy in before the manifesto is
launched (Think DreamWorks SKG).
2. Conflicts will be solved fairly
Conflicts are the cost of doing business. The art is in
knowing how to quickly resolve them. Transparent Leadership implies there is a
set of guiding principles. Resolving conflicts based on which point of view is most
in line with those principles, stops conflict resolution from seeming more like
a popularity contest.
3. Creative will be more focused
At the peak of Transparent Leadership in Hollywood, you
could tell which studio made a movie, simply by watching a preview. Why? Because the studio leaders decided they
were only going to make a certain genre of movie, because that was a space they
could own. Too many agencies try to find
a space they can “share”. If you are willing to tell your UK-sourced ECD that “we
don’t do things like that around here.” You will quickly find yourself with a
creative team with a unified vision.
Ask yourself how amazing it would be just to address those
three things. Well, it starts with putting in place leaders who are willing to
crowd source; lead on principle and blaze a trail. Got one of those?
And…fade to black.
