A panel of speakers took to the recent FESPA conference in Sydney to talk about the needs of the print and visual communications industry and what must be done to thrive in it as they go into the future.
The panel session, consisting of Cactus Imaging co-founder Keith Ferrel, ImageBox Group sales director and FESPA Australia Future Leader 2022 Troy Cavanagh and Starleaton CEO Ben Eaton, was moderated by Imago Leadership managing director Carl Harman.
All speakers had one key message – the industry will face future turbulence but only the prepared and adaptive leaders will thrive.
“Leaders are not paralysed by the tsunami of change that’s coming your way. This room has plenty of those leaders who have a genuine excitement to greet the future. What unites them is they all have a growth mindset,” Harman said.
Harman also pointed out that investing in leadership and culture change will be heard in stories rather than on the bottom line – the team member who decided to stay rather than leave, decisions made differently and business relationships made on a new footing.
“Culture is the invisible line on your balance sheet. This investment will be heard in stories and in moments, if you, as leaders of these people create the white space for those things to be taught,” he mentioned.
Ferrel, who spoke about his long and illustrious career, said good leaders of the future need to be taking in knowledge regardless of how long they’ve been in the industry.
“There isn’t a set formula to become a good or great leader. You need to try and get as much knowledge as you possibly can from within the industry, because as everybody says, it’s forever changing. You’ve got to ask questions, you’ve got to communicate, you’ve got to travel, you’ve got to network,” he said.
“There are plenty of people here that inspire me, and who I learn from every day.”
Ferrel also said a trait of a good leader is someone that can groom their staff.
“And if you are a boss, that doesn’t necessarily make you a good leader. One of the hardest things about leadership is grabbing individuals in your team and taking all their strengths, developing their weaknesses and gelling them into a team.”
According to Eaton, retaining talent in the industry is crucial for a business’ success.
“My advice is that you don’t have to work too hard to find people who are willing to open up. That’s how we’re going to retain the talent. All of us here absolutely love this industry. And certainly don’t underestimate that power of edification, because it’s a really valuable tool in your leadership tool pack,” he said.
Cavanagh agreed, saying that the industry needs to work on a way to attract new people to the industry. He said future leaders need to see the limitless potential of people and combine that with the limitless potential of technology.
“You need to find the diamond in the rough and give these people the most support you can. People are the key to this and giving them a good culture to work in drives passion,” he said.
“The industry is well supported by suppliers and manufacturers, who are passionate about trends like sustainability. These flow on to the producers, which then flows on to the end user.
“So, the print industry is starting to push trends and clients are starting to listen, and that’s a good way forward for us. Put the people and the technology together and you’ve got something very special.”
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