Leadership Lessons with… Neil Young, Associate Director, Digital, firstlight

Leadership Lessons with… Neil Young, Associate Director, Digital, firstlight

For our next Leadership lessons series we interviewed Neil Young, firstlight’s digital lead, drawing on wide-ranging experience across sectors in delivering integrated global and regional campaigns. Neil shares his thoughts on virtual leadership, the importance of employee wellbeing in the workplace, and the skills sets businesses within Digital will be looking for now and in the coming years. 

How is remote/hybrid working affecting your company culture and what can leaders do to sustain culture for remote teams?

I think it gives us the best of both worlds – three days IRL to learn, connect, collaborate and (in my case) drink too many flat whites and stretch my legs on the cycle commute – balanced with a couple of days from home. It’s really important for the agency culture that we maintain that balance, so we encourage people to make it in in-person for at least half the week. We also hold regular all-agency catchups. 

Employee demands are changing beyond salary and benefits. What changes are you seeing and how can leaders meet these evolving employee demands?

It’s always been important for us to support our people beyond salary. We’re custodians of their careers, after all, so we make sure we’re focused on their development and progression as well as remuneration, fostering an environment in which they can thrive.

With an increasing focus on workplace mental health, how have you seen the industry supporting the wellbeing of its employees?

There’s no point in wellness initiatives without some of the basics in place, such as adequate resourcing and ensuring people have a good work-life balance. We do this as best we can. To help ease cost-of-living pressures, we support financial well-being with interim bonus payments and other initiatives, such as Perkbox subscriptions and agency breakfasts. We also provide regular training to support resilience.

What do you think are the key qualities needed from leaders in 2023?

The most effective leaders I’ve met have been innately compassionate but also curious: they’re interested in you. This supports and inspires people to produce their best work.

What skills sets do you think businesses within digital will be looking for now and in the coming years?

With AI developing at exponential speed, adaptability, agility – and a certain willingness to play – will be key. 

There is increasing expectation on companies and CEOS to lead on sustainability practice in line with 2030 Global Goals. What ESG strategies can leaders adopt for sustainable development and purpose?

Perhaps the biggest thing that companies in PR, advertising and marketing can do is refuse to work for fossil fuel or fossil fuel-affiliated companies. A huge amount of damage has been done – but it’s not too late to act with principle. This means looking carefully at supply chains and product impact, not just brand. Beyond this, as communicators we all have a responsibility to understand the climate crisis and how our work can support, or at least not actively impede, the system changes required to meet the greatest challenge civilisation has ever faced. We recently published a report, Re-Thinking Climate Communications, that grappled with this.