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Nicola Bell
Nicola Bell  Nicky joined Saatchi & Saatchi in February of this year as the CEO of the New Zealand agency. She was born in New Zealand and lived here until she was 10 years old when her parents migrated to Australia (but she never stopped supporting the All Blacks or eating marmite). Nicky has spent the last 10 years in New York working for Ogilvy & Mather as a WW managing director and a member of the board. Prior to that, she spent eight years at O&M in Sydney. She is a strategic agency leader with extensive experience in brand transformation, integrated communications and global networks. She relishes working with underleveraged brands to find and nurture big ideas that help them emerge, or re-emerge, as relevant again. She believes that when a brand declares its point of view, it will be rewarded with a place in people’s hearts – clearly the most potent place to reside. Nicky and her husband Cameron have three-year-old twin girls. What was your first significant business experience and what did you learn from it? I was transferred to New York to run the Dove business in North America. I was not sure whether my skills learned in Australia would translate and I had no idea how ‘New Yorkers’ worked. I realised the only thing I could do was be myself. If you could start your corporate journey again, what key business skill would you make sure you had in hand to ensure your success? To trust my instincts even more. It’s something I’ve grown to rely on and accept as a valid part of leadership. What were some of the challenges you had to overcome on the journey to achieving your personal and corporate goals? I have worked with some quite challenging personality types from pathological liars and serial philanderers to complex and borderline psychotic types. I learned much about myself from how I dealt with and reacted to each of them. What got you through the ‘tough’ times? My husband Cameron and my ‘belligerent optimism’. I guess that’s what attracted me to Saatchi & Saatchi’s spirit of ‘Nothing is Impossible’. It’s impossibly optimistic! I love this business, now more than ever. I always counsel people contemplating a career in advertising that they really must love it. If they don’t, it will be extremely difficult. If they do, they will have a rich and interesting career but it’s not for everyone. Who are the mentors/role models that have inspired you and what important lessons have you learnt from them? Personally: My father and his guidance for balance: eat well, work, get some exercise and have some fun. Neither of us has perfected it of course, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good goal! My mother for her limitless ability to love and care for people – despite the tough start she had. Her perspective gave me invaluable insight into people. Professionally: Shelly Lazarus for her inspiration, intelligence, her EQ, her wonderful sense of humour and her love. My Ogilvy NY ‘family’ (Steve Hayden, Bill Gray, Chris Wall) and Melinda Eskell in Sydney – for being so generous with their wise counsel, support and unwavering belief in me. What do you think are some of the essential characteristics of a successful CEO? Humility, humour (perspective), passion, the ability to rally teams to dream big and create an energising culture in an organisation. In my industry, the best CEOs by far, are the ones that really believe in the unreasonable power of creativity. It’s the last unfair advantage we can wield on behalf of our clients. What do you think holds women back from becoming successful in the corporate environment? For many, I wonder if it’s believing in their abilities and thinking they can’t be themselves. What’s the best thing about being a business leader? Being able to make decisions you believe will make a difference to the company. Seeing people grow and thrive. How do you find the balance between your entrepreneurial spirit and having to be accountable in your corporate role? Creativity in this industry is crucial. Ideas are the lifeblood of what we do, but we are in business as well. Because we are a service business, people sometimes forget that, or expect we don't need to make money. At the end of the day, the strength of the business is always a result of the strength of our ideas. And the stronger our business, the more creative firepower we can bring to bear. What are the most important things you have learnt about succeeding in business? I’ve always subscribed the philosophy that we work on behalf of the brand, not the politics of the client or agency. What were some of the core business/leadership values with which you operate? Have these changed over time? Optimism – this fuels me and my ability to pursue bigger dreams for the team, the brands we work on and the agency. Passion – this drives me to be resilient and determined. Curiosity – always keep learning, especially in this era of the communications business. Humility – listen to others and have the humility to change your mind. You have worked in very ‘competitive’ environments. What have you done to stand out from the crowd to gain positions of greater responsibility? I’ve taken on the biggest challenges, the turnaround jobs, the broken and the non-believers. Just what about your current role keeps you turned on and what have you done to ensure your team is continually motivated? I think I’m one of the luckiest people in our business today. Saatchi & Saatchi is an amazing agency. It has a rich culture and a vibrant team looking towards an exciting new phase of the agency’s life. It’s a time of great change and we have some amazing talent to work with towards that. Advertising people are emotional and passionate. If you can get them past their seemingly cynical shell of self-protection, you just might find the most dedicated believers. We keep each other motivated with the knowledge that we are literally building our agency’s future. What have you learnt about effective leadership and managing people? I firmly believe that ‘Inspire and Empower’ is the approach that works the best in our industry. That’s not to say I won’t take strong action when necessary but I fundamentally believe people are more successful when leadership takes this approach. I have watched many leaders try to operate under the ‘Command and Control’ approach. It makes absolutely no sense in our business. It makes people smaller. They shrink under the weight of feeling as if their opinions don’t matter. They can’t believe in dreams bigger than themselves if they are not allowed a point of view, and they will never commit wholeheartedly. We need to work together to create an environment where we are able to produce the best possible work. What is your strategy when it comes to engaging and managing staff? What can business do to attract higher calibre employees? I believe in helping people realise what they are capable of. I believe in honest and open feedback on performance. Ideally this comes early and often in your career. It can help you understand your true strengths and it can help you correct things you aren’t even aware you’re doing. Being truly honest is not always an easy path but it’s an absolute responsibility a leader has. And, you need to trust your team with the truth about the business and the issues it faces. Only then can you expect them to be fully engaged and give you their honest opinions in return. Finally, I think we need to ensure that people have time and emotional capacity to live a healthy private life, whatever that entails. It’s crucial to keeping our minds creative and inspired. Has being a woman in the corporate environment been an advantage or disadvantage? Quite frankly, we all know that there are times when it is an advantage to be a woman. And there are certainly times when it is not an advantage. I’ve always found that if you get on with the job, and always try to exceed expectations, it soon becomes irrelevant. What do you say to people who think it’s too late for them to get into a corporate career? It really depends on the circumstances and the person. You are now an accomplished public speaker. Did this come naturally, or was it a skill you had to perfect? I wouldn’t say I’m accomplished. It’s never easy but it’s certainly much easier (and enjoyable) if you are speaking about something you believe in. And practice helps too! What is the most unusual request you’ve had in your current role? Nothing of note yet but based on past experience, it’s only a matter of time. How important is it to have a supportive and encouraging partner at home when leading a business? It has made all the difference in the world to me. We have two amazing girls who are everything to us. I don’t think I could have done this without Cameron’s support and encouragement. And to be honest, there are times when Cameron believed in my potential far more than I was willing to believe. I have been very, very lucky in that regard. How do you manage work-life balance? This is not easy and something that’s never ‘done’. But if my husband and children are happy then everything else becomes much easier. Do you have a motto or saying by which you live your life? Well it’s not a motto by which I live my life, but I have to admit that this quote springs to mind more often than not. “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!” – Goethe What’s your definition of financial freedom? Being able to travel has always been the barometer my husband and I set. Paying mortgages, owning cars, etc. have always been secondary. We have always felt very fortunate that we could experience other parts of the world. |