Bossing It: Start Before You Are Ready with Rita Šteimane
Rita Steimane is CEO of animation studio Panic. Prior to the Panic era, Rita’s background was in advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Adell as head of digital and digital agency Cube as project director. Early on in her professional life she joined Panic, and the rest was history. She has a master’s degree in business communication sciences and has finished Harvard Business School's online half-year CORe program to acquire the needed knowledge in financial accounting and economics for managers.
Rita is also a speaker on the topics of animation, storytelling, animated commercials and production. She has participated in the conferences like OFFF Barcelona, LOGIN, Riga Comm and many more.
LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?
Rita> As it often happens with independent creative studios - be it design, graphic, live action or animation studio in our case - the studio usually is created by people of craft. The leadership role is taken on as a sub-product of creating your own studio.
The same happened with me at our studio. When I was offered to become a partner, a co-owner of the studio, I also was taking on the role of CEO.
Transitioning into entrepreneurship in itself is a big leap, but becoming a CEO comes with its own set of skills I needed to master quickly. I understood the importance and weight of this role. However, coming from the project management background, where my duties always made up of caring for the project teams and taking the full responsibility of the project, it felt like a natural upgrade for me.
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?
Rita> I believe 100% that people don't leave companies, they leave their bosses. And I had plenty of bosses and company cultures over the years to show me the way. For me the determination was “being human”. Empathy can go a long way.
The production industry is for hard working people. It's tough. You are always between deadlines, reviews, deliveries. Even more - producers are managing creative and client's expectations. Our creative standards are high and we are demanding of what we produce from a craft perspective.
As a leader I wanted to be a guide, a partner for our team. Maybe it sounds utopic and unrealistic. Because Panic is a striving and fast growing animation studio and to get to our set milestones we have very high standards to meet and ambitious goals to reach. It asks for a demanding leadership.
But I believe in the strength of the team in a positive environment - we strive when we are giving encouraging reinforcement, clearly communicate a strong sense of united mission we are working toward and have empathy and understanding for each other.
But don't take it as a sign of weakness from the leadership. If it's combined with the right management tools, approaches and knowledge from the industry, this human approach can go a long way.
LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?
Rita> Motherhood and everything surrounding maternity leave.
Being highly involved in the everyday business operations, preparing for my maternity leave meant not only to prepare the company for my absence, but also create a long-lasting ecosystem that would be able to stand on its own and operate for years after my maternity leave.
I wasn't worried for my teammates being on their own. Not at all. We have the most dedicated and hard-working professionals working on our team. However this showed me the importance of leadership in the company even if you have the best team. Everyone needs someone who is keeping the ship tight and gives the overall direction.
Although it was challenging to refocus the company at first to a different responsibility model, it became one of the best things for Panic. We developed a new leadership structure for the company, which allowed it to expand even further beyond. We found a structure that allowed my responsibilities to be divided between a bigger management team, which meant the company wasn't relying on one person's capabilities. That is an important milestone which allows further expansion.
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?
Rita> If I look back, my professional journey would make a pretty cheesy romcom movie. The one you wouldn't ever believe could happen to a human being in the real world.
It starts with my childhood. Hah. I always had a feeling that I was meant for something big. Leadership characteristics have been in my family, and I was raised to believe that I could accomplish whatever I put my mind to.
A few years forward, still in high school. I remember the day so clearly when I realised I wanted to work in the advertising industry. I didn’t know much of it, but the decision came to me on the spot and I never doubted it. Advertisement was my favourite section of television. At least from what my parents were watching. From that moment on, I was focused on making it happen.
I’ve made conscious choices early on in my career. I’ve never worked in McDonalds or behind the counter. Instead I was working on my CV right away. Joining NGO, summer internships and marketing teams to gain experience before I graduated from the university.
I’ve followed the mantra - start before you are ready. Every position I took - I wasn’t qualified for it from my experience or based on my CV. I was lucky to be given those opportunities, and I appreciated them by putting my best in them! Especially entering the job market at the 2008 economic crisis. It taught me to seize the opportunity, be a quick learner, prove yourself quickly and make most out of it.
It seems that this approach worked out for me :) And I'm very grateful for every decision maker in my life who believed in me and gave me the chance. Being now in the leadership position and being responsible for new hires, I often look back to these pivotal moments in my career and think of the potential in people I'm talking to. Having potential and a leadership ready to work with you to unleash it - these are the most valuable work relationships.
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?
Rita> As with most professional positions, natural talent and traits is just a part of it. It’s like diving when you don’t know how to swim. First you need to learn the technique.
The same as with any other position - in leadership there are tools, methods, instruments on how to manage situations, people and companies. If you have the tools, then the naturally given traits will help you in being better at it. But if you don’t invest in learning - natural talent most probably won't help in dealing with all kind of situations leader's come across.
When I took on CEO position, I immediately looked for resources on what I needed to learn. I managed to get great mentors, as well as combined it with Harvard Business School Online on topics of Economics for Managers, Finance and Business Analytics. There are different realms that you as a leader need to cover, and it's important to invest time to get the knowledge and skills needed.
LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?
Rita> I believe that there is a reason and a need for different types of people on the management teams to reach the goals. Not every person is the right fit to solve particular situations.
It took me some time to realise that being a CEO of the company doesn't mean that it is my sole responsibility to solve every obstacle the company faces, as I might not be the right person to do that. Now that we have expanded and got to the point where we have a management team I truly see how much better some tasks are fit for other types of personalities and skill sets, and I'm grateful to have the team whose power lies in different realms.
It was difficult at first to give these responsibilities to others after such a long time being the only one taking care of most of the management duties. But having a baby on my way definitely set a good and healthy deadline for all of this and no possibility to do it otherwise.
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?
Rita> Constantly. Name me a leader who hasn’t.
When I first took on the CEO position I was struck by how people after months or years reflect on some words that I said. Only then I truly realised how much weight every word we as leaders say has. And we need to approach it with the highest responsibility.
Also, the ever-present feeling of imposter syndrome doesn't help. Together these two - feeling responsible and imposter syndrome - made me much more cautious of when and how to address team and teammates, and how important it is to have proper and regular feedback sessions.
One on one contact is priceless to catch any misunderstandings and prevent unpleasant surprises later on. And in the remote work environment with overflowing number of tasks it's easy to forget about the human contact and to take a social check-in instead of operational, work related topics on the agenda. But again and again these monthly one on ones prove to be important part of not losing sight of being human, having our own lives, feelings, emotions and struggles, and to understand what is happening outside of projects or work tasks.
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?
Rita> Transparency and authenticity are one of the main values at Panic. For fast growing companies with ambitious goals and with a compact internal team I believe it is important to have transparency in where we are going, how we are doing and what struggles individually, as well as a company we are having.
This allows everyone to know where their contributions are going toward or might be needed in the future. Also, what we need to solve together. It makes the team stronger, the goal clear and the mission more powerful.
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?
Rita> I'm very grateful for the mentors that I have had. Every mentor has taught me a different way to look at the situations and came in the right time of my own leadership journey. I've got mentors, who are fellow entrepreneurs running successful multi-million dollar companies with exceptional profit from other industries. Their unique mindset as entrepreneurs has been just a luxury for me to observe, and it definitely has impacted my mindset.
I've got mentors who are business consultants with a much more hands-on approach to help me analyse complicated situations and find possible solutions. Some have been a great prep teams for particular negotiations or just a daily struggles, and I often come back to the approaches or matrix from what we discussed with them. It definitely has helped me to expand my horizons and learn new approaches while solving particular challenges.
One of the most important periods during which mentorship helped me the most, was when I just became a CEO. If you are taking on your first leadership position, there will be a transition period to adjust not only the way you work, but also your overall mindset as a leader. Discussions with mentors have helped me to understand the importance of the mindset transition as the most important part of this journey, and helped to navigate the need of a stable, trusted leader while I myself was just getting used to this role.
LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?
Rita> Being hands-on on all daily business operations and new business development, I've seen other fellow animation studios struggling with the economic situation for the last couple of years, which has helped me lead the team in confidence through being transparent
Hearing how we are doing from quarter to quarter, and how we are approaching every challenge is calming for the team. It's known that unknowing - lacking information on what the situation really is - can create fear and uncertainty of your future.
Sharing responsibility or giving control in the situation. Dividing roles and possibility for everyone to land a hand in navigating the climate, can also be calming for the team. Taking part. Taking control.
Working toward the big picture. Circumstances change and we need to be flexible on how to navigate the world today and now. However, knowing what's the big picture for the company - our strategy and mission - and working toward that in the long run also keeps everyone assured that our company is preparing for the future, and we see it bright and beautiful.
LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?
Rita> We are proud of having a female co-owner of the studio and having women in leadership. It's important for us to have inclusion and diversity on our team.
The creative industry, and especially the production industry, often is heavily male, and we have women in every position: creative directors, illustrators, animators, art directors.
Even more, we work with talent all around the world. From South Africa, Brazil, Canada and Netherlands to people from Ukraine who's geopolitical situation is impacting all of the industries. For creative people it might be even more limiting right now to do the work within the borders of their country. Which is why we are proud and honoured to have illustrators and animators also from that region.
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?
Rita> Every company has a culture, and taking care of ours is important to us. Though, coming from the advertising industry which by itself is already often known as sarcastic, we at Panic have no patience for “motivational, positivity-induced” bullshit. We try to cut the corporate layers as much as possible.
Strangely, remote work happened pretty naturally to us. We already had some small rituals in place of having weekly check-in and check-out talks, and having teams over at slack. Our office jokes transformed into gifs on project chats. We included more of an online “social gatherings” but just as long as it still was fun and working.
I believe the most important thing is to feel out what is working for your team and what's not. In a company of 15 you can still do it. Don't push anyone to participate or answer the check-in question if they don't want to. There will always be someone who is willing to talk. As a leader, fill in the blanks if needed or lead the conversation to a different flow. So much of the leadership is reading the room and acting on it. Not just pushing your agenda through without the context.
LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?
Rita> I'm grateful to see how the production industry has come together and has become a strong community. Consultants like Rev Think have brought together animation, live action, audio studios from all around the globe together before the pandemic, and through these last couple of years it's grown into a very strong community. You can ask anything or follow what's on the minds of other studio owners, and feel better about your struggles or thoughts.
During the pandemic we had weekly calls discussing worries and how to prepare for the uncertainty. Coming together in a hardship can be very soothing and empowering. Even hearing that leaders have the same worries as you do can help a lot.
I've already talked about mentors, but I truly appreciate how they helped me navigate the transition into the leadership position and change of mindset. The experience of other leaders and business professionals is worth listening to.
