Fearless Creative Leadership

What triggers you? Kate Rouch is the Chief Marketing Officer at Coinbase. October was Mental Health Month. But the truth is, every month should be. And when you’re the leader, every month is. Leadership, at its best, is a selfless act. A desire to help others reach a future that is better than the present. Many, many things can get in the way. Most of them we know about before we start. A few others show up along the way. But the one that we all carry with us, often unrecognized or worse, ignored, is our mental health. We focus on the challenges and outcomes, the trials and the tasks, believing what we’ve been told, that anything is possible. If you want it badly enough, and work for it hard enough, you can will that future into existence, so the story goes. Except the story leaves out a crucial part - our neurobiology. The completely, utterly, entirely unique programming that makes us who we are. Why does that music make you cry? Why do these words make you angry? Why does that response scare you, intrigue you, excite you? What is making you afraid? The programming might come from this lifetime. A father that left, a sister that died, a dog that never left your side. Or, as the evidence increasingly suggests, it might have been passed down to you from generations before, hard-wired into your DNA before birth, created by events you did not experience and pain you did not know firsthand. And yet, we drive ourselves forward, determined to succeed, carrying baggage and burdens that would stun a herd of bison. Ignoring the fact that our programming controls us, causing our body to react and our mind to contract. During those few moments when we are triggered, we are out of control of our feelings. That’s not a lack of discipline or determination. It’s biology. So, try this instead. Acknowledge your feelings. Find comfort in the absolute truth that you are not broken or inadequate or alone. Find confidence in the knowledge that with the right help, we have the ability to rewire our brains, if we want to. So start to pay attention to what you feel and when. It’s the beginning of the journey that matters most. Self discovery. And from there, all things are possible.

What triggers you? Kate Rouch is the Chief Marketing Officer at Coinbase. October was Mental Health Month. But the truth is, every month should be. And when you’re the leader, every month is. Leadership, at its best, is a selfless act. A desire to help others reach a future that is better than the present. Many, many things can get in the way. Most of them we know about before we start. A few others show up along the way. But the one that we all carry with us, often unrecognized or worse, ignored, is our mental health. We focus on the challenges and outcomes, the trials and the tasks, believing what we’ve been told, that anything is possible. If you want it badly enough, and work for it hard enough, you can will that future into existence, so the story goes. Except the story leaves out a crucial part - our neurobiology. The completely, utterly, entirely unique programming that makes us who we are. Why does that music make you cry? Why do these words make you angry? Why does that response scare you, intrigue you, excite you? What is making you afraid? The programming might come from this lifetime. A father that left, a sister that died, a dog that never left your side. Or, as the evidence increasingly suggests, it might have been passed down to you from generations before, hard-wired into your DNA before birth, created by events you did not experience and pain you did not know firsthand. And yet, we drive ourselves forward, determined to succeed, carrying baggage and burdens that would stun a herd of bison. Ignoring the fact that our programming controls us, causing our body to react and our mind to contract. During those few moments when we are triggered, we are out of control of our feelings. That’s not a lack of discipline or determination. It’s biology. So, try this instead. Acknowledge your feelings. Find comfort in the absolute truth that you are not broken or inadequate or alone. Find confidence in the knowledge that with the right help, we have the ability to rewire our brains, if we want to. So start to pay attention to what you feel and when. It’s the beginning of the journey that matters most. Self discovery. And from there, all things are possible.

This week, we’re re-airing a conversation I had with Tiffany Rolfe early in 2022. In the eighteen months since we published this episode, the world has grown even more complicated and uncertain. And the line between work and home even more blurred.  Tiffany has added the responsibilities of Global Chair of R/GA to her Global Chief Creative Officer role.   What we need from our leaders is increasing all the time. As Tiffany asks, “How do you make sure you’re taking care of yourself in all this too?” Here’s Tiffany Rolfe - re-loaded. Where does work end and life begin? Tiffany Rolfe is the Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, a job she took on in the early stages of the pandemic as part of a new leadership team. Two years ago, the Ad Age A List recognized R/GA as the Comeback Agency of the Year. This year, they are now ranked second among all agencies. Tiffany’s email signature reads, Mom and Global Chief Creative Officer. I speak for myself when I say that before we all withdrew into our homes in early 2020, I was aware only conceptually of how women who are parents juggle that with their careers. But two years of working via Zoom has given many of us insights into people’s lives that were previously unimaginable for their candor and vulnerability. This conversation is a living example of the challenges and gifts that have emerged from the last two years. The line between work and home has been blurred beyond any reasonable hope of recognition. No matter how powerful a microscope you apply, it is almost impossible to see the separation any more between leader and human being. The destruction of this separation can be liberating if you’re willing to create your own definition of the work-life balance. If you’re not, it will be very hard as you try in vain to keep up with a dangerously out of date view of where work ends and life begins. The day is not only for work. The day is for living. What that means is entirely for you to decide.

Edited highlights of our full conversation. This week, we’re re-airing a conversation I had with Tiffany Rolfe early in 2022. In the eighteen months since we published this episode, the world has grown even more complicated and uncertain. And the line between work and home even more blurred.  Tiffany has added the responsibilities of Global Chair of R/GA to her Global Chief Creative Officer role.   What we need from our leaders is increasing all the time. As Tiffany asks, “How do you make sure you’re taking care of yourself in all this too?” Here’s Tiffany Rolfe - re-loaded. Where does work end and life begin? Tiffany Rolfe is the Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, a job she took on in the early stages of the pandemic as part of a new leadership team. Two years ago, the Ad Age A List recognized R/GA as the Comeback Agency of the Year. This year, they are now ranked second among all agencies. Tiffany’s email signature reads, Mom and Global Chief Creative Officer. I speak for myself when I say that before we all withdrew into our homes in early 2020, I was aware only conceptually of how women who are parents juggle that with their careers. But two years of working via Zoom has given many of us insights into people’s lives that were previously unimaginable for their candor and vulnerability. This conversation is a living example of the challenges and gifts that have emerged from the last two years. The line between work and home has been blurred beyond any reasonable hope of recognition. No matter how powerful a microscope you apply, it is almost impossible to see the separation any more between leader and human being. The destruction of this separation can be liberating if you’re willing to create your own definition of the work-life balance. If you’re not, it will be very hard as you try in vain to keep up with a dangerously out of date view of where work ends and life begins. The day is not only for work. The day is for living. What that means is entirely for you to decide.

What do you know about who you want to be? Rick Brim is the Global Chief Creative Officer at adam&eveDDB. Rick was on the podcast four and half years ago in early 2019. I called that episode, “The ‘I Don’t Know’ Leader”, to highlight Rick’s point that it’s okay for leaders not to know the answer every time. I suspect, if you asked him today, he’d feel the same way. As would I. Leaders are not supposed to have all the answers. But Rick has been changed by the last four years. The leadership journey is personal. And complicated, because it involves other people. And sometimes it’s overwhelming, because all the gaps in your leadership are filled with emotion. And a lot of that is the emotion that comes in the middle-of-the-night darkness that keeps us all awake. The last four years have brought most of us a hosepipe full of emotions. And every day the news adds more angst and anxiety and uncertainty to that drink. For some people, the answer is to meet that with a determination to focus on the task in front of them. To get back to work and to deliver results, come what may. That comes, inevitably and eventually, with a heavy price - for them and the people around them. But for others, the last four years and the maelstrom we live in today have given them the chance to learn about themselves. What matters and what else they are capable of. They have discovered, to use Rick’s words, a clearer perspective of the person they want to be. They know that. And that, I promise you from the bottom of my heart, is the beginning of everything. What do you know about who you want to be? What questions are you asking of yourself and about yourself?

Edited highlights of our full conversation. What do you know about who you want to be? Rick Brim is the Global Chief Creative Officer at adam&eveDDB. Rick was on the podcast four and half years ago in early 2019. I called that episode, “The ‘I Don’t Know’ Leader”, to highlight Rick’s point that it’s okay for leaders not to know the answer every time. I suspect, if you asked him today, he’d feel the same way. As would I. Leaders are not supposed to have all the answers. But Rick has been changed by the last four years. The leadership journey is personal. And complicated, because it involves other people. And sometimes it’s overwhelming, because all the gaps in your leadership are filled with emotion. And a lot of that is the emotion that comes in the middle-of-the-night darkness that keeps us all awake. The last four years have brought most of us a hosepipe full of emotions. And every day the news adds more angst and anxiety and uncertainty to that drink. For some people, the answer is to meet that with a determination to focus on the task in front of them. To get back to work and to deliver results, come what may. That comes, inevitably and eventually, with a heavy price - for them and the people around them. But for others, the last four years and the maelstrom we live in today have given them the chance to learn about themselves. What matters and what else they are capable of. They have discovered, to use Rick’s words, a clearer perspective of the person they want to be. They know that. And that, I promise you from the bottom of my heart, is the beginning of everything. What do you know about who you want to be? What questions are you asking of yourself and about yourself?

What do you know about who you want to be? Rick Brim is the Global Chief Creative Officer at adam&eveDDB. Rick was on the podcast four and half years ago in early 2019. I called that episode, “The ‘I Don’t Know’ Leader”, to highlight Rick’s point that it’s okay for leaders not to know the answer every time. I suspect, if you asked him today, he’d feel the same way. As would I. Leaders are not supposed to have all the answers. But Rick has been changed by the last four years. The leadership journey is personal. And complicated, because it involves other people. And sometimes it’s overwhelming, because all the gaps in your leadership are filled with emotion. And a lot of that is the emotion that comes in the middle-of-the-night darkness that keeps us all awake. The last four years have brought most of us a hosepipe full of emotions. And every day the news adds more angst and anxiety and uncertainty to that drink. For some people, the answer is to meet that with a determination to focus on the task in front of them. To get back to work and to deliver results, come what may. That comes, inevitably and eventually, with a heavy price - for them and the people around them. But for others, the last four years and the maelstrom we live in today have given them the chance to learn about themselves. What matters and what else they are capable of. They have discovered, to use Rick’s words, a clearer perspective of the person they want to be. They know that. And that, I promise you from the bottom of my heart, is the beginning of everything. What do you know about who you want to be? What questions are you asking of yourself and about yourself?

What makes great happen? Robert Brunner was the Director of Industrial Design for Apple, a Partner at Pentagram and the Chief Designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, before becoming the Founder of Ammunition. They describe themselves as a design studio dedicated to bringing products and services that matter to market. He was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Design is the art and science of knowing what to start and when to stop. In that respect, it’s very much like leadership. There are best practices but no absolute rules. Imagining and re-imagining what’s possible is where it gets its fuel. Leadership is a position of staggering opportunity. And yet, I’m constantly reminded of how few people fully appreciate the potential of the position they hold. How restricted they seem in their imagination of what is possible. I’ve come to realize that this is not caused by a lack of ambition or interest. It is caused by a lack of awareness and understanding. Understanding of the power of leadership. Awareness of their own potential. And their impact. I’m fortunate to work in industries and with companies that are populated, almost exclusively with kind and thoughtful people. They don’t all, always act that way, but when they don’t it tends to be from insecurity or self doubt or personal trauma. These things can hold all of us back. I speak from deep experience. Both of others, and of myself. When you step into a leadership position, you have the power to change the world. Perhaps a small corner of it. Perhaps more than that. It is the part of your life in which you can make the biggest difference in the life of others and learn more about yourself than at any other time. Do not let that go by without self exploration. What do you want to do with this opportunity? What do you want to make of it and with it? What would great look like? And, crucially, what is stopping you from achieving all that? What do you think and feel about yourself that is going to get in the way. Imagine your future. Design it. Then go and lead it. I promise you one thing. You’re already better than you know.

Edited highlights of our full conversation. What makes great happen? Robert Brunner was the Director of Industrial Design for Apple, a Partner at Pentagram and the Chief Designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, before becoming the Founder of Ammunition. They describe themselves as a design studio dedicated to bringing products and services that matter to market. He was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Design is the art and science of knowing what to start and when to stop. In that respect, it’s very much like leadership. There are best practices but no absolute rules. Imagining and re-imagining what’s possible is where it gets its fuel. Leadership is a position of staggering opportunity. And yet, I’m constantly reminded of how few people fully appreciate the potential of the position they hold. How restricted they seem in their imagination of what is possible. I’ve come to realize that this is not caused by a lack of ambition or interest. It is caused by a lack of awareness and understanding. Understanding of the power of leadership. Awareness of their own potential. And their impact. I’m fortunate to work in industries and with companies that are populated, almost exclusively with kind and thoughtful people. They don’t all, always act that way, but when they don’t it tends to be from insecurity or self doubt or personal trauma. These things can hold all of us back. I speak from deep experience. Both of others, and of myself. When you step into a leadership position, you have the power to change the world. Perhaps a small corner of it. Perhaps more than that. It is the part of your life in which you can make the biggest difference in the life of others and learn more about yourself than at any other time. Do not let that go by without self exploration. What do you want to do with this opportunity? What do you want to make of it and with it? What would great look like? And, crucially, what is stopping you from achieving all that? What do you think and feel about yourself that is going to get in the way. Imagine your future. Design it. Then go and lead it. I promise you one thing. You’re already better than you know.

Edited highlights of our full conversation. What makes great happen? Robert Brunner was the Director of Industrial Design for Apple, a Partner at Pentagram and the Chief Designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, before becoming the Founder of Ammunition. They describe themselves as a design studio dedicated to bringing products and services that matter to market. He was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” and his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Design is the art and science of knowing what to start and when to stop. In that respect, it’s very much like leadership. There are best practices but no absolute rules. Imagining and re-imagining what’s possible is where it gets its fuel. Leadership is a position of staggering opportunity. And yet, I’m constantly reminded of how few people fully appreciate the potential of the position they hold. How restricted they seem in their imagination of what is possible. I’ve come to realize that this is not caused by a lack of ambition or interest. It is caused by a lack of awareness and understanding. Understanding of the power of leadership. Awareness of their own potential. And their impact. I’m fortunate to work in industries and with companies that are populated, almost exclusively with kind and thoughtful people. They don’t all, always act that way, but when they don’t it tends to be from insecurity or self doubt or personal trauma. These things can hold all of us back. I speak from deep experience. Both of others, and of myself. When you step into a leadership position, you have the power to change the world. Perhaps a small corner of it. Perhaps more than that. It is the part of your life in which you can make the biggest difference in the life of others and learn more about yourself than at any other time. Do not let that go by without self exploration. What do you want to do with this opportunity? What do you want to make of it and with it? What would great look like? And, crucially, what is stopping you from achieving all that? What do you think and feel about yourself that is going to get in the way. Imagine your future. Design it. Then go and lead it. I promise you one thing. You’re already better than you know.