Setting aside the traditional rules and hierarchies of leadership is key to getting the best creative work, according to Laura Jordan Bambach, President and Chief Creative Officer at Grey London.

In a wide-ranging and honest talk, Bambach shared what’s been the driving force of her career. As she explained: “My job is to create the conditions for the people around me to make the best work of their lives.” 

Pointing to the double burden that women and people of colour face in leadership roles, she urged the industry not to use a single person as a ‘proof point’ for the likely success or failure of every single person with the same characteristic. Bambach described the way in which women and people of colour can walk a tightrope in leadership should things go wrong; a fact which makes it vital to build collective creative cultures. “When we fail, we fail for the team,” she explained, adding that accepting the fact you might fail can, in fact, be liberating in itself.

According to Bambach, to make the best work you need to ensure you take everyone along for the ride. “I respect everyone in the team and also listen to everyone in the team,” she added. 

It’s this approach which also brings a sense of joy to the work and, as Bambach explains, means that “as we head into the seas of the creative unknown we all know we have a role to play.”

Get comfortable with the uncomfortable

Bambach also shared the power of bringing your whole self to work. Sharing that before she hit her forties she covered up a lot of who she was in the workplace. She explained: “I didn’t get my arms tattooed, I wore heels and a dress to pitch meetings.” 

It was through talking to her son that she realised she needed to stop neglecting parts of herself and stop masking in the workplace. She urged the audience to do the same, saying that this honest approach enabled her to lose her imposter syndrome.

She explained: “I encourage all of you to lean into the bright light of who you are. Work together and support each other to get uncomfortable."

Urging the audience to allow for failures and not be weighed down by the weight of representation on their shoulders, Bambach underlined the message that leading in the traditional way doesn’t get the best work. Instead, she shared the importance of support and of throwing yourself behind your team to create the best conditions for everyone to thrive.