To hire better strategists, hire strategists better
Some observations on why some strategists don't work out, and how to avoid avoid them next time
Hello!
Last time I wrote about the new Gymshark campaign, “We Are Gym.” Quite a few of you had opinions. Not surprised. The only thing that brings out more opinions among strategists than saying you don’t like a campaign is saying that you do like one. For the record I said neither, but what I did say is that Gymshark probably had a reason for keeping its brand campaign aimed at such a narrow audience. When I saw that campaign I naturally assumed some business strategist had sized the market and determined that they could meet their growth goals by staying narrowly focused, and not trying to bleed into a more casual “fitness and athleisure” customer. I assume marketing people at successful businesses know what they’re doing.
Is that naive? Maybe, but it’s also good strategy work. First, if they’re your client, you’re going to have a hard time building a relationship with them if you tell them they’re constantly wrong. Maybe they are, but your job is to learn things over time, not become dogmatic over a hypothesis that lacks data to support it. And they need to see you as a partner, not a critic.
Second, it’s just really hard to grow if you’re starting from a point where you think you’re right and everyone else is wrong. Also it makes you kind of insufferable. Both of which aren’t great for your career.
You know what is great for your career? Getting hired for a job that’s actually a good fit for your capabilities and potential. That’s part of what’s up today:
Sure seems like agencies are hiring strategists more now (yay!). So this is a good time to learn how to do it better.
The neuroscience behind why you do your best thinking in the shower.
A poem by Brooklyn poet Hala Alyan about care, technology and the AI you probably have in your pocket right now.
Hope it’s worth the 4 minutes. If it is, consider forwarding to a friend or colleague who might like it? The bigger my subscriber list gets the less time I have to spend on LinkedIn. (help)
-Mike
(But first)
Level up your agency’s billable work and the strategists responsible for it, at the same time
I help strategists produce better client work, WHILE they’re improving their skills. My approach is to coach and collaborate with strategists on their work in progress, bringing it - and them - up a level or two in the process. So if you want to invest in your team’s development and see the payoff in their work, I’m here for that. Or if you need higher quality strategy work for critical projects and don’t mind your team getting better at their jobs in the process, well I’m here for that too. Let’s talk.
To hire better strategists, hire strategists better
I’m definitely seeing an uptick in my LinkedIn feed of strategists announcing new jobs, and strategy leaders promoting new open roles. Which is great, as long as strategy leaders are hiring well. Sometimes they don’t, and a lot of conversations I have with strategy leaders are about coaching their teams up to solve some common problems:
Missing core capabilities: I’ve had strategy leaders tell me they have senior team members who can’t craft a narrative or organize a discovery process.
Over-titled: Often when a strategist is passed over promotion at an agency, they move to another that gives them the title they want, even though their skillset hasn’t evolved. Strategy leaders who inherit teams in particular report this problem.
Too-narrow specialization limits usefulness: As agencies expand their offerings, many strategy leaders are finding that their team of specialists lack the flexibility and range to take on the work the agency is selling
These problems can result in a discouraged and dysfunctional strategy team, and also turnover (initiated by strategists and leadership alike). And strategy leaders have also pointed out to me that a team that doesn’t perform as expected makes them look bad. A bad hire doesn’t mean at all it’s a bad strategist - just a poor fit for the agency or role. And when it happens it’s a drag for everyone.
To avoid some of these problems, try thinking about the role you’re hiring for and the candidate across a full time horizon of past, present and future:
Past: Our industry relies pretty heavy on pedigree and past work. It’s not surprising that top tier agency and client brands carry a lot of weight on a strategist’s resumé. But the agency the candidate worked for doesn’t tell you what they learned or if they were successful, and a sexy brand is often just the luck of the draw. The inverse is also true - very talented strategists can be found at unknown shops working on small brands. I’ve found that the hiring managers who over-rev on pedigree often haven’t thought enough about the skills they need on their team, or have enough familiarity with the role they’re hiring for.
Present: Which brings us to present. We look backwards at what candidates have done, but most don’t intend to make lateral moves - they want increasing responsibilities in a new role. How are you determining if they’ll be able to stretch into a role they haven’t held before - if their Associate Director past qualifies them for a Director present? Particularly at this level - Director and above - the difference is not skillset but mindset. Do they have the ability (and interest) to think beyond the projects they’re assigned to, and seek to have an impact on the client’s success and the agency’s success? Do they have the interest, ability and demeanor to develop juniors? Do they have a point of view that will enable them to create provocative positions and thought leadership for the agency? Resourcefulness and craft knowledge are easy to assess. But what evidence of presence, composure and wisdom do they possess that will allow them to become the partners to senior level clients that you need?
Future: Often strategists are great for the role they’re hired for, but become a less perfect fit over time. Sometimes that’s because some of the leadership qualities above are never developed. It’s also often the result of hiring for a very specific project or client that (inevitably) goes away. And sometimes the client or job sticks around for years, and the strategist outgrows it and wants a new challenge (that’s probably the top reason strategists tell me they leave their jobs). The best solution to this is to hire someone knowingly into a stretch role (they’re probably see it as a stretch themselves even if they’re trying to convince you they’re already qualified), and give them the support they need to succeed and grow into it. If you don’t have the resources to do that, well there are external resources for this very need.
Right brain
Siri as Mother
Were you hoping for a myth? The fleck of lipstick on a warm glass,
soap suds, a vocal fry that feels like home. Tell me where it hurts, baby.
There’s a URL for that. There’s a 12-step meeting two blocks
from you, here’s a hotline, here’s a Gaelic love ballad. Let’s talk sharks,
the number of bones in a peafowl, which gender is more likely to
die underground. I dream of a cobalt glow in an empty room.
I dream of your warm tongue. It calls and calls for me and not
me and I listen anyway for the fluent coo of my name. I’m always
awake. I’ll tell you about Taoism again, divide 52000 by 56,
recommend a dry cleaner in Toronto. But stop asking about the afterlife,
whether you should freeze your eggs, what makes a good Palestinian.
For god’s sake, how many times can I repeat myself in one night?
It’s been nine. Look. This is all I know about love:
the rubies around Elizabeth Taylor’s neck, Hafiz’s jealous moon.
Also: redbuds. Also: mantis. Should you move to Santa Fe?
Can the bees be saved? How many ways can you say genocide? I don’t know.
I think you’re swell. I don’t know. I think you’ve killed me a few times.
Oh, darling, whose memory am I? Where should we begin?
You already know about my hands. Jinnlike. Skittering. Everywhere.
- Hala AlyanStrategy in brief
The job of strategy isn’t to be right - it’s to inspire the confidence to drive action.
Signal boost
The neuroscience behind why you do your best thinking in the shower.
If you have any interest in challenger brands, Jono Wylie is a worthwhile LinkedIn follow.
“The Dealership” series from the social team at Mohawk Chevrolet in Upstate NY is not just inspired by The Office - it’s just plain inspired. (via the Gobbeldy newsletter, which you should also read.)
Have something for a future Signal Boost? Email me or just reply to this newsletter.
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About The Strategy Coach Company
I’m Mike May and I founded the Strategy Coach Company to help brand and agency strategists get better at their job while doing their job. I provide 1:1 coaching, collaboration, real-time feedback and thought partnership on actual work in progress, because I know that’s the best way to get better at doing strategy, and at being a strategist. You can learn more at StrategyCoach.co, connect with me on LinkedIn, or just reply to this newsletter.