Trailblazing in the advertising world | Shanice Mears

At 26, Shanice is a trailblazer in her industry. Growing up in Birmingham and having studied Dance Performance, she landed in the advertising world and was spotted by her then CEO (Dan Saxby) as having great potential. She was driving initiatives around inclusion and hasn’t stopped since. Shanice and Dan decided to set up a new agency together—The Elephant Room—to embody the inclusivity they want to see in their industry. This is even more relevant today, with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Shanice is strong in her criticism of perceived advances in diversity, especially in advertising. Since launching The Elephant Room, Shanice has set the bar high and they have worked for big brands including Converse, Uber and the Prince’s Trust.

What you will hear from Shanice is a deep sense of faith in the talent around her and her desire to enable opportunity like she once experienced. She believes in community and facilitating others’ growth even if that means taking risks.

Ciaron describes himself and the business as resilient, self-indulgent and opportunistic. He’s cultivated a lively start-up culture built around autonomous teams who drive a variety of ventures. Hence the company name, Genie Ventures.

He protects his people and shoulders the big issues to support the inevitable volatility of the tech world—but he doesn’t find that shouldering it is a burden. That pails into insignificance compared to the death of his older sister when he was 25.

He wants to see his employees taking responsibility for their learning, being proactive. Indeed, they teach each other at Genie Ventures through their own academy.

His company has a lean and fun approach. They pick up new ideas, evaluate them and if they’re viable, run with them. This means that the environment is empowering, facilitated by agile methods and a proactive, ‘start-up’ mentality.

It sounds like a lot of fun and Ciaron couldn’t be more down to earth as a leader!

As a Partner at PwC, Andy is about as straight-talking as they come. He knows that people often come to work expecting to be ‘right’—but he doesn’t want people to be right, he wants them to be real, to be human and to let us see their uniqueness instead of any front they are portraying. It’s clear that Andy is open, knowing that he himself is often wrong, and he knows the power of this ‘don’t know’ stance. He quickly builds trust by being very candid. He wants his people to reach for a ‘north-star’ ambitious goal but he also expects certain principles to be abided by and will be honest with colleagues if not. He wants his people to let him in.

The result is that people warm to him, they feel his good intention and they open up. This is a lot to carry but something he does willingly to facilitate the truly inclusive culture he expects. Up in your face, yet compassionate, Andy gives us a masterclass on connecting and handling the difficult at work.

Helen Gillett might be a leader but she’s also a genuine team player. You will find her leading on strategy but you also might find her stacking the dishwasher while chatting to a new member of staff! She believes leaders need to connect by foregoing any kind of superiority: employees should be supported beyond their work lives, with leaders displaying a vulnerability about their own challenges too.

Helen is passionate about inclusion and belonging using all voices in the business to advocate for change. However, she recognises that as a leader she was complacent about race and equity in the workplace. She now commits to taking bolder action and being a true ally. She is empathetic, kind and has high expectations of others. Expect someone who isn't afraid to lean in, confront her own challenges and lead for the greater good.

Tom knows that the kind of clients and projects they take on makes his marketing agency’s life hard. He isn’t interested in them feeding the latest fad. Instead, his agency named, ‘Nice and Serious’, provides a platform for organisations with a genuine intention for making a difference. He likes to ask ‘Is this work good for the planet?’. They only service this cause-based work, be it a charity or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project for a corporate. Their market is niche and unpredictable.

Perhaps, what makes Nice and Serious so special as an agency is the democratic power employees have in the decision-making around client projects and what work they take on. They use a system called ‘The Moral Compass’ to empower employees to decide what work is ‘responsible enough’. This process (co-created by the staff) is essential to employees' commitment to Nice and Serious. Hear more about this and Tom’s dedication to responsible work with a collective feel.

Daniel isn’t joking when he talks about scaling impact to the size of a planet. He’s spent the last two years thinking about Satalia’s purpose and crafting the best possible values for humanity. He’s studied religious texts as well as great philosophers to inform his leadership. He’s developed a company that has no managers and no KPIs. He describes Satalia as a ‘swarm-like’ organisation.

You might think this sounds like chaos. Well, no, not according to Daniel.

He leads by enabling people, facilitating the company to be agile in a changing environment and developing a culture that preserves employees’ dignity, giving them the right balance between authority and accountability. He’s completely committed to a continuous journey of improvement.

From humble beginnings growing up on a council estate, straight-talking, down-to-earth June Cory did well at school and turned to advertising sales for her career. She quickly realised her passion for people and has sought to improve her leadership capabilities through high expectations and a kind heart. She employs five apprentices in her small advertising business, MyMustard, whom she nurtures while actively challenging them to do the things that they might perceive as ‘terrifying’.

As a small business owner, she doesn’t ‘hang on’ to employees. She recognises they may want to move onwards and upwards – she encourages their ambition and gets them to buckle up for the ride while they’re with her. Her undeniable belief in others, her grounded attitude and her use of visualisation makes an inspiring person to talk to.

In this episode, entrepreneur and investor, John Hesler talks to us about how his personal and professional life hasn’t always been smooth. He reflects on his own mental health challenges and explains how meditating regularly has supported him. His path has allowed him to give his employees ever increasing freedom which has transformed the growth of his organisations. He also speaks to the power of really listening to enable the people who work for him.