Bossing It: Going on Your Gut Instinct with Leo King

Multi-award-winning editor, and Stitch co-founder, Leo King talks to us about the highs and lows of leadership, and how his experiences have shaped his approach to running one of the industry’s most successful edit houses. Since founding Stitch, Leo has picked up Clio, Ciclope and Creative Circle wins, with the company also seeing multiple successes at Cannes and the British Arrows. Under his tenure, Stitch has grown to a roster of fourteen editors, becoming one of the most prominent edit houses in the country.

LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?

Leo> Like many other people my first experience of leadership came in school. As a self-professed rugby prodigy, I captained my year eight team, and I got bit with the leadership bug from there!

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?

Leo> Honestly a lot of my leadership style comes from gut instinct. I feel like I’ve always had leadership tendencies, in both my professional and personal life. As such, I’ve been able to develop a clear sense of what I feel is right and wrong. It’s that moral compass that I often find myself coming back to when making decisions. I’ve also taken lessons from the people I’ve worked with throughout my career. 

I’ve been lucky enough to work with directors on award-winning work, picking up wins at everything from the Clio’s to the D&AD’s. Collaborating with this level of director has allowed me to learn how they run their projects. The most important of these I believe is considering the opinions of those around me. I’ve never wanted to be dictatorial in my approach, so listening to others, and being humble enough to accept when they are right, is a key part of my leadership style. 

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

Leo> The biggest single moment that taught me what leadership meant was starting Stitch. Despite being on the management board at my previous company, having our own business, and being responsible for those that work here, was a totally different experience. As an editor you do have some preparation as you often have an assistant, who you must manage and develop alongside your own career. I think this put me in good stead, and it's those lessons that have been the basis for my leadership style, from the first day of Stitch to its current position as one of the leading offline edit houses in the UK.

LBB> Do any projects stand out as ones where you have had to demonstrate leadership?

Leo> Absolutely, the project I cut with Nick Ball, ‘Simi’, sticks in the memory. As an editor, I have to weave a story. Often, what was pictured during filming doesn't translate as expected in the editing room. This is where is an editor becomes invaluable, offering creative solutions that enhance the film's narrative and emotional impact. 

In this film we had to tell the whole history and lifetime of the protagonist in only three minutes, while having a filmic quality and flow to the story. What quickly became apparent was the spot needed layers of meaning and rhythm that were not apparent during filming. This is where I had to seize initiative, taking the lead on the creative direction of the piece. ‘Simi’ has an interesting tone, in that it is funny in places, but tragic in others. My role was to bring these differences to the fore, as the smallest change in timing can change everything. My contribution therefore had to go beyond technical skill; it was artistic direction that helped shape the soul of the film.

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

Leo> I’ve always felt that a large part of leadership is based on your personality, but it’s absolutely a learned skill too. Leadership for me is about knowledge and experience, and how to use those skills to develop people. As I progressed in my career, I felt much more adept at leading, simply because I had confidence in my own experience. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some major projects, such as last year’s for Beats by Dre ad, which featured major talent from across the football world. This spot included existing archive footage, which is always hard as there is almost an endless supply. The archive also needs to balance against the filmed footage to give one seamless film, so I had to take the lead on both sourcing and deciding what was the right fit for the project. The ad also needed to reshoot some of the archive footage, meaning I had a prominent role in shaping the shoot itself. It’s consistently delivering in these situations that gives me a wealth of experience to rely on.

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

Leo> I think an area any leader feels challenging is making decisions that affect people’s lives. It’s never comfortable to make decisions that you know will make someone unhappy. However, I’m lucky at Stitch that I have my business partner Tim, our MD Angela and others who can share the responsibility and do whatever we can to avoid those situations arising.

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

Leo> My approach to leadership has meant I have often put a lot of emphasis on being open and transparent as possible with my team. Stitch has always been a collaborative company, and we are proud of how regularly we check in with our staff. Be that regular meetings with the editors or production team, we try to show our colleagues that their opinions matter and are key to the running of the company.

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?

Leo> I personally learnt a lot from assisting Steve Gandolfi during my time at Cut + Run. For him, clients and directors were absolutely the most important part of the business, and his mantra of going above and beyond for them always is something that has really stuck with me. It’s something we pride ourselves on at Stitch, and it’s that approach that has allowed us to consistently win award-winning work for myself and the company. 

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

Leo> Obviously, the entire industry recently went through a very difficult time during covid. For us, the key to navigating that period lay in the transparent approach we discussed earlier. We made sure to keep all our colleagues updated on our plans for the business and what that meant to them. We also tried to keep things light, with regular remote socials and time off to help the team stay as one unit. I think in these difficult moments, it’s key to have an open door that people feel able to step in should they need it.

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

Leo> First off, I will say that as an industry, I think this is an area we all need to spend much more time considering. At Stitch, diversity and inclusion is absolutely a priority. We’ve developed our hiring practices to make sure we have significantly increased the diversity of our workforce. We also have our Yarns short-film competition, which gives up and coming directors from all backgrounds the chance to launch their career in the industry. However, it would be naïve to suggest that there’s no further work to do, so E, D&I is something we’re committed to developing further year on year.

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?

Leo> Our culture has had a massive part to play in the success we’ve had at Stitch. A happy workplace means happy work, and I don’t believe you can get the best out of your business without investing in your staff. At Stitch, it’s very important that we can give everybody autonomy and flexibility over their work. They can WFH, and while we encourage an office culture too, we know work-life balance is essential to keeping people happy. This trust, combined with a social atmosphere and regular events, has really helped us to get the most out of our team.