The media landscape is changing and as traders we need to evolve with it with the peers around us.
Its an important time for us to learn from everyone including juniors as everyone knows something, which you can pick up new things or learn something new. Its about getting inspired from your peers (juniors to execs) to grow as a leader and don’t be embarrassed about it.
I am passionate about all thing’s media, but today’s world is becoming increasingly complex. As you know, you don’t need a crystal ball to see the main platforms influencing the way we engage with our audiences are a mix of all things social, virtual, AI/bots, data & analytics, live video streaming and more. How can we sift out what is most important because as a Group Trading Director my purpose is to be a “Master Negotiator” and be a good leader to my investment team. I believe I’ve been delivering on my purpose, but in the ever-growing ecosystem of digital a big spanner has been thrown into my well-tuned cogs. It makes things interesting.
Let’ be real digital media is going to become the media. This point was touched upon recently by Futurologist Adam Zuckerman who gave a talk about current and future trends of the industry. The problem is I am familiar with traditional media, it is like a second language to me and I’ve used it for over 12 years but much like traditional media it is time for me to ‘adapt or die’.
The ‘adapt’ approach to means not being afraid to up skill in digital and keep up with emerging trends. Our co-ords and execs do this day-to-day and we shouldn’t be afraid to jump in the boat with them. Many senior people will see that as fear, but I believe it should be passionately embraced. As my brother, Peter Bosilkovski (VMLY&R CEO ANZ), mentioned in a book interview (The world we see – leadership lessons from Australian iconic change makers) “if you are passionate it will inspire you and get you through the inevitable challenges that you are sure to face. Passion crushes fear and builds confidence” and therefore its time to adapt with no fear – bring on the future I say.
As a Group Trading Director, you’ll expected to know everything as you lead a team, but learning is now complex. It means stepping outside your comfort zone as you learn from people all around you regardless of level but some people in similar positions will see this as fear. We had Alex Pacey (PHD Chief Planning Officer) talk about his career to the agency recently and mentioned that it’s impossible to learn everything in today’s world. It’s about knowing enough in certain fields outside your expertise to talk about with colleagues and clients.
The world of media is constantly evolving everyday which is why I love the industry and what I do – It makes coming into work every day interesting and worth it. We’ve seen print and outdoor media also incorporate digital into their platforms (we are currently testing IAS with our outdoor digital campaigns which is a tool used for online accountability) and smart TV’s produced will continue to grow in people’s households, opening up new avenues for targeting.
We can’t wait for the next generation, the new joiners, to come in and learn how to be the good leaders we need. It must start with us and lead by example as I do with my team. And we all know, how hard it is. We can change the way we see ourselves at work. And if we’re lucky, we can change the way our team learns and performs.
Investment is a journey. It’s a train ride, and you’re a passenger on the train, and there are passengers with you. Certain passengers get on this train, and some stay with you, some leave at different stops, new ones may enter. Along the way you learn from the new passengers and maybe create something new on your travels that creates a moment.
