Bossing It: Chris Shadrick on Finding His Feet

Chris Shadrick is experienced CSO at Board Level, facilitating growth for agencies and brands through a deeper understanding of human behaviour. His specialisms cover digital innovation, brand experience, social commerce and comms planning to help brands stay ahead and remain relevant. He has partnered with some amazing brands to achieve this, such as Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, BP, Pokemon, Tesco, Avis, Victorinox, F1 and Heineken. Chris is currently a Board Director and Partner at global marketing technology and creative agency, Collective.

LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?

Chris> A couple of agencies back I was at a company where I was thrown into a leadership role. There was no one else in the strategy team but me, and it was clear there was a need to create a strategy and planning team. Very quicky. This meant working on the hoof and in the blind without a huge amount of guidance from my manager. 

It was truly a case of finding my feet on the job. In the beginning mistakes were made and it was a huge learning curve. It became a time in my career where I got to understand people better, what's really important to them and most importantly I gained an emotional intelligence through the experience. When you are thrust into a leadership position you need to have a willingness to learn as you go. 

You need to adapt to the way different people work, for example some people are methodical and others binary, being in a leadership position means understanding and supporting what people need, and it took me a couple of years to fine tune that. 

It also took its toll on me at first, as you second guess yourself, you worry you’re not doing a good enough job, worry people don't respect you as a leader. People need to be vulnerable enough to approach people in leadership positions with concerns, and you have doubts whether people will feel comfortable doing this. So you have to bring your real self to work, so people trust you enough to show you their vulnerable side. 

LBB> How did you figure out what kind of leader you wanted to be – or what kind of leader you didn’t want to be?

Chris> I actually learned this during the pandemic. I did an online MBA by Seth Godin - called the altMBA, it's an intensive four week program. It's all about levelling up, bulldozing over the usual business jargon, it's more about trying to be a better leader, where you can challenge each other and be vulnerable. It led me to the realisation that emotional intelligence is what I was lacking most. 

You put yourself in a position that makes you feel vulnerable, and you feel like a totally different person. I really got to understand that as a leader you may not have all the answers and that's ok. 

LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?

Chris> The ride at Collective, and the joining the board. This suddenly means there is an entirely different level of commitment required from you. 

You have to understand that the impact you have is greater than you realise. And you need to be more aware that you have an impact on making someone’s day, with the ability to make it worse or better, and board members can often be seen as something alien (they’re not).  

LBB> Did you know you always wanted to take on a leadership role? If so how did you work towards it and if not, when did you start realising that you had it in you?

Chris> I always felt from early on that this is where I wanted to be, even if at the start of my career I didn't really know what that meant. But I knew I always wanted to have an active role in running a company. Some people are happy to take a senior role without the leadership element, but I have always liked the idea of bringing people on a journey, and being able to influence change.

In the past I always looked to my leaders to learn from them and teach myself how to do it better, and If your goal is to be a CEO or MD you have to bring those learnings with you. Ultimately if you work for someone you don't respect, you leave the boss, not the company. 

LBB> When it comes to 'leadership' as a skill, how much do you think is a natural part of the personality, how much can be taught and learned?

Chris> You can learn the basics of how you deal with situations, and you can gain it through experience, but I think there is a large amount you are born with. Call it instinct or a personality trait, and it comes down to that feeling of wanting to be a leader or not. People also need to realise if it’s not something you don’t have naturally it doesn't mean you're not a success. 

LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?

Chris> It can be challenging when dealing with someone who is resisting change or resisting constructive feedback, as they may take it personally. It is never meant like that, but you have to be conscious of the way you deliver this and make sure you talk on the same level. 

It's about being as constructive as possible, and trying to find other ways to communicate, whether that be finding somewhere to talk where they can open up more or adopting other leadership styles. You have to have the ability to be flexible.

LBB> Have you ever felt like you've failed whilst in charge? How did you address the issue and what did you learn from it?

Chris> Everyone is human, and I will admit to not being perfect, I can sometimes get frustrated, or not give someone the time they need, simply because we are so busy. 

I have been guilty of this in the past, and then that person has really struggled and called it out to me. This makes me happy in a way, because they feel like I am approachable and I am always open to feedback to become a better leader. These are really important conversations to have. 

Now I am aware of what can hinder my team's development. I try (where possible) not to cancel weekly one to ones, even if just a quick check in, but to also understand their wellbeing. These are the conversations you need to have in person or on a video call, a Slack conversation is not a proper conversation. I’ve learnt it’s crucial to make the time, and you can’t just assume someone is ok.

LBB> In terms of leadership and openness, what’s your approach there? Do you think it’s important to be as transparent as possible in the service of being authentic? Or is there a value in being careful and considered?

Chris> I don’t think they are mutually exclusive, and my style is to be very transparent. If someone in the team is not performing as they should be, I will be open with this and suggest constructive ways to support them. I’m always open with commercials and agency performance and want to make sure people feel comfortable to be open to telling me how they feel too. 

Saying this, it’s vital to not overwhelm and worry people, especially when we have a lot of younger people working in the business now. They appreciate the fact that we are trying to understand how they feel and work with them on what we can be doing better. They really want full input on the culture and running of the business so we have to be flexible, but it’s still essential to tell them what they need to know and not overload them with too much information.

LBB> As you developed your leadership skills did you have a mentor, if so who were/are they and what have you learned? And on the flip side, do you mentor any aspiring leaders and how do you approach that relationship?

Chris> In terms of having mentors, my current one is Ian, our chairman. He ran Havas and other agencies over the years. He’s the one that reminds me that the impact I have is much bigger than I realise. 

Also within my own team I'm trying to generate the next generation of leaders, so they can build teams around them and establish their own leadership styles with time. 

LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?

Chris> The pandemic was a testament to that, the decision was to protect people and look after them and not throw them to wolves. But as of now it's about keeping people updated and in the loop so they feel like they are part of something. 

We’ve established a new culture team who  are responsible for establishing initiates under our three P’s - people, planet and profit. They get to pitch cultural and social ideas and business performance ideas, this allows for a feedback loop, so everyone has an input. 

LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?

Chris> By becoming a B Corp agency this has allowed us to identify where our strengths and weaknesses are, and how we can improve in this area. We’ve also taken this on board in our recruitment as well as in our work, we went through a response marketing exercise, and are holding ourselves accountable for where we are and how we can improve in this space. 

LBB> How important is your company culture to the success of your business? And how have you managed to keep it alive with increases in remote and hybrid working patterns?

Chris> The Kin team protects the culture of the agency, and sits at the core of everything we do. We ensure we have established dedicated training budgets, as well as brought in a volunteering service where people can do it together or by themselves. it all ladders really nicely into being a B Corp and ties into our values. 

We are also trying to find more reasons to get people to come into the office and interact more, through talks, workshops etc, although we all like going to the pub this can’t be the only time we get together. 

LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?

Chris> The Seth Godin altMBA has really helped, as I am not a huge fan of reading leadership books, I prefer to have real conversations with other leaders and connect with groups of people who challenge me and have their own opinions.