The recent BBC documentary, Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success provided a compelling insight into the methods of one of the greatest leaders in sport. Many of the lessons imparted by Ferguson are applicable to the business and agency world, not least his brilliant insights into mentoring and coaching.
We need to do more to encourage mentoring of our talent. Agency life is undoubtedly varied and occasionally even exhilarating. For all the rewards, it’s also extremely demanding.
We’re constantly striving for improvement, gearing our businesses and those of our clients for growth. However, too often our own wellbeing and skills development falls by the wayside as we push harder to deliver better results.
This has become increasingly apparent since the downturn at the start of this decade. As businesses made cutbacks, time pressures became more pronounced. People in agencies continued to rise up the ladder, but lacked the luxury of being able to think and plan beyond three months.
Consequently, time has become an even greater commodity in the jobs we do. It’s become essential that we make quick-fire decisions and prioritise the things that matter in order to increase work rates and provide that all-important extra hour a day.
This is where a mentor can prove themselves invaluable, providing an arm around the shoulder, or a kick up the backside, where needed.
But let’s be clear: mentoring doesn’t just involve seeking out your line manager. Instead, you need to ask some tough questions of yourself, as it can be very difficult to find the right coach for your needs. The question you should start with is: do you need a coach/mentor? If the answer is yes, it’s then worth asking:
- What is the difference?
- How long will I need support?
- Would I benefit from a mentor inside or outside the sector?
- In terms of value, how much will it cost?
Importantly, you’ll need to work out the KPIs: a clear sense of what the benefits to yourself and the business will be.
As we consider these questions, it’s essential that we work to dispel the idea that asking for support in the form of a mentor is a sign of weakness. Historically, the idea has persisted that coaching and mentoring is for wimps. This is a typically naive, masculine attitude that needs to be reviewed in favour of embracing assistance and advice. We’re adept at providing day-in-day-out support to our clients, so why not be more open to seeking help in our own development and wellbeing?
This is where employer and industry schemes are important. Take the Marketing Agencies Association’s Future Leaders Academy (FLA). As new candidates embark on the course this autumn, it seems a good time to consider that among the key aspects of the training is the coaching and mentoring that’s provided on an ongoing basis by senior industry people. They offer support that will live beyond the life of the course. It’s a great way for agency talent to “try before they buy” in terms of considering mentoring support throughout the rest of their career.
The success of the FLA is a real step forward in building awareness in the industry of the importance of personal development and wellbeing. However, I’m surprised by the lack of other obvious go-to places that provide help for marketing professionals who are in the process of considering this.
In this respect, marketing professionals are very poorly serviced. Ferguson’s new book on leadership and numerous other examples from the sports world emphasise this. There remains a long way to go before mentoring truly moves the dial on industry and agency growth.
Jamie Matthews is chief executive at Initials
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