Bossing It: Why Leadership Is Part of Personality with Antonella Perillo

Antonella Perillo has been working as an entrepreneur in the entertainment industry at 360 degrees for several years. She has travelled the world far and wide managing actors/musicians/performers and artists. She worked for Simply Red and over the years she has held various roles in the film and advertising industry, as artist management - talent scout - rep agent- production consultant - producer. 

Lately is working as talent curator and exc.producer for Film Directors, having extensive experience in international productions in various countries such as  eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East, USA, South America and many other beautiful countries.

Since 2018 is a founder and managing director at Nouri films an international service production company based in Barcelona with offices in Lisbon/Mallorca/Barcelona/Italy.

LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?  

Antonella> I started working for myself at a very young age, then at 25 I found myself managing the lives of others, without wanting to, I married a member of a pop musical group in the mid-'80s, very famous in those years (Simply Red) I was asked to coordinate their Italian trip by organising their stay with all the necessary tasks, from opening the bank account to medical visits, purchasing a car to organising the move from the UK to Italy. I was their landmark in Italy. It was a very fun time.  

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?  

Antonella> Working for people who gave orders was my reality for some jobs done at a young age, looking closely at the few bosses I had with the mentality of giving orders expecting obedience regardless I decided that I would be master of myself at any cost and sacrifice.  

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

Antonella> There is not just one, they are quite different, in various situations.  

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?  

Antonella> It may seem strange but even as a child, I was clear that I would not work on behalf of others and that I did not want bosses who gave orders to be  followed, rather than tasks to be shared. I saw myself as an independent woman.  

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?   

Antonella> “Leadership” is part of personality, you are born with the propensity to be a leader, then of course you can improve by learning some skills or competencies that help but an integral part is the Empathy that you have by nature,

Human beings are born with the predisposition, the aptitude to be empathetic. Empathy is part of us, it is inherent in our DNA even if we often don't realise it. 

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

Antonella> Always taking responsibility and putting your face to it is certainly challenging, knowing that you are always on the front line and that it is you who exposes yourself and who will personally pay for all the choices made, both for better and for worse.

The management of staff, on the other hand, of not disappointing them but also of making them understand that they are part of a team, but not everyone knows how to work in a team, and I have had to manage people who put their own interests first of all, with a disproportionate ego, bringing inferiority complexes, personal problems and conflicts into the work group, forgetting our company manifesto which is the spirit of our company, they don't know how to be in a team, it becomes unpleasant to manage these situations.

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?  

Antonella> Yes, of course there have been times that I have felt wrong or that I have made wrong decisions but I am also a person who is self-critical and every evening I think back to my day, to the events and whether I have done well or badly, I like to fall asleep in peace with I have a clear conscience, so I know how to apologise and change course if the situation requires it.  

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?  

Antonella> I consider myself an authentic person and it is also the anthem of our Company. It is a value for me, of course but diplomacy is also needed.  

LBB> As you developed your leadership skills did you have a mentor, if so who were/are they and what have you learned?  

Antonella> In the past I had the opportunity to meet many famous people and saw the behind the scenes and the damage that fame can do, and there I understood that there are no models to follow. We are all strong and fragile at the same time, some more or less.

I don't have any particular role models, I like reading about the lives of others in the biographies of historical figures in all fields, it helps me better understand life in general, how they achieved success or achieved things in life.

My mother is a good example of a hard worker, honest and tireless, never giving up. Instead, by observing my partner both in life and at work, I learned the importance of relationships, I admire his diplomacy and his inexhaustible vitality. 

LBB> And on the flip side, do you mentor any aspiring leaders and how do you approach that relationship?  

Antonella> I try to always be myself, authentic, I'm not one to give up, if I fall I get back up and I believe a lot in people's abilities, I always try to instil in them the conviction to always believe in themselves. That they are worth it and to count on this .  

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

Antonella> I like to quote a writing by Pablo Neruda:  

“Because love, while life presses us, is simply a wave high above the waves".

I replace the word "love" with "Difficulty". In the end everything passes… good times and bad times. if the problem arises there is also its resolution. I have always anticipated trends and sensed what will come, I am an intuitive person, I follow instinct, something that has been lost with modern living. It is nothing other than being connected to oneself.

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

Antonella> As already mentioned above, practicing empathy. Diversity in all its forms and genders is a cultural and social enrichment. It is said that "every head is a small world" so the cultural mix is an added value, it does not take away but enriches.  

In our company we all have different backgrounds with different experiences and each one bonds well with the other, our differences are the glue that   keeps us together and to grow in the workplace.

The credit for the success of our projects never goes to a single individual but is the result of the work of the entire team and is rewarded as such.  

LBB> How important is your company culture to the success of your business?  

Antonella> As already said above, we consider ourselves authentic, and this is our corporate anthem. 

LBB> And how have you managed to keep it alive with increases in remote and hybrid working patterns?  

Antonella> We offer production services and these are based on trust and human relationships, so they can hardly be replaced by hybrid machines or delegate everything remotely.

Of course, progress takes over and brings great changes but there are things that cannot be replaced and the human factor is still a priority in our sector, it’s a person to person job.  

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

Antonella> Certainly the sense of organisation, adapting it to the work I do, I have moved several times to other countries traveling to different parts of the world where I have completely reorganised my life by adapting to other rhythms, cultures and ways of living, this opens your mind and makes you aware that if you have done it once you can do it a thousand more and it gives you incredible inner strength.