Marketing leadership masterclass with ex WPP President, Karen Blackett CBE

Jon Evans (0:00)

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This is your guide to making fantastic creator advertising that works for your brand. Now to get hold of it, all you have to do is go over to system1group.com and download the report today. All right, without further ado, let's go on with the show.

Karen Blackett (0:40)

As a leader, 99% of what you do is done by other people. So how are you going to ensure that they follow?

Jon Evans (0:46)

Now we're talking all about leadership with someone who knows that very well. She was the previous CEO of WPP in the UK.

Karen Blackett (0:53)

Everyone was taught to just compete against each other. It was literally like Game of Thrones. You're too lazy to call me. Just pick up the phone and call me.

Jon Evans (1:02)

Yeah.

Karen Blackett (1:03)

I can't stand multiple voice notes. I don't do any other business AOB. I have Botti, which is better out than in. If you've pissed me off, tell me. I want to make you look good, and if I make you look good, I'll look good. You're never going to get the best work when you're creating a culture of fear. I just worry about our industry becoming vanilla.

Jon Evans (1:26)

Karen Blackett, welcome to the show.

Karen Blackett (1:27)

I am honored to be here. What a joy.

Jon Evans (1:30)

It's great to have you. Thank you. Now, a little birdie tells me you're working on a podcast of your own at the moment.

Karen Blackett (1:37)

I am indeed myself and my podcast partner, the fabulous Katie Lloyd. We are actually doing a podcast, which is sponsored by British Airways. So it will be available on all BA flights from September, mid-September, end of September, called This Is Leadership. So it's all about leadership. Myself and Katie bonded years ago when she was at BBC News talking about leadership and culture and how important it is. And the things that you need for leadership, we've talked about it almost being like a recipe, that there's things that you learn from the people that you've worked for and leaders that you've been inspired by.

And then there's always your own little ingredient that you add to a recipe that you've inherited. So talking to amazing leaders, and it's not just CEOs, but leaders of different organizations who have essentially created a change. So, and asking them what their recipe for leadership is.

Jon Evans (2:35)

I love the fact Stephen Bartlett's going to get some competition on the next flight.

Karen Blackett (2:38)

You never know.

Jon Evans (2:39)

Yeah, this is great. What an entry, this is amazing. Well done.

Karen Blackett (2:43)

It's been fun.

Jon Evans (2:44)

What surprised you most in your conversations that you've had so far?

Karen Blackett (2:47)

Look, we have had such a privilege to talk to a range of different people who have got so many different backgrounds. And we sort of said about, it's not just about, you know, a fancy job title, that what you learn in business is the same in terms of what you need in life. And we've had some nuggets and pearls of wisdom from people like Andy Rowe, who was the former commissioner for the London Fire Brigade.

He talked about Maslow's hierarchy of need and thinking about that as a leader. And just about what's the basics that people need before you ask them to do something else. You know, they need to be fed, they need to be warm, they need to basically feel part of a team. The basics that you need before you end up asking them to do something else. And so many times we don't think of the basics of what the people that work with us need before we ask them to excel at something else. So that was really interesting to just boil it down to Maslow's Hierarchy of Need through to Dame Julia Hoggett, who I have learned things from her, just something as simple as color coding your diary to look at the different things that you're doing, color code your diary. I now color code my diary in terms of speaking engagements, consultancy work that I'm doing, stuff which is family or personal stuff that I'm doing, so just color code in your diary so you can see in your day how it's panning out, something really simple like that.