Longitude Sound Bytes
Ep 12: Leadership and collaboration | Nigel Levy – by Maddie Turner (Listen)
Nigel Levy, producer, director, writer and story consultant at Leviathan Films, London:
Making a film or TV programme has so many elements, and so many levels of contribution, that the only way of achieving something worthwhile is when everyone collaborates towards a common goal. From the outside I think many of us still like to believe that the ‘real’ reason for a project’s success – especially in show business – is down to a talented individual. In fact, success can only come from everyone working together at the highest level.
One of the things I do when I am putting a team together is make sure I’m the weakest link in the production. This puts pressure on me, but it also means that the end result will always be better than anything I could do on my own. There’s no way I’m as able as other members of the crew who have devoted themselves to a particular role. To lead a collaboration you can’t have a need to be seen as the most talented person in the room. Everyone on the team has to know that you understand how good they are, and how their contribution is vital and can make a huge difference to the end result.
But probably the main skill of someone leading a collaboration is clarity. You have to be incredibly clear about what you want to achieve, and why. The more I think about it, it seems that the essence of collaboration applies to all successful teams. Jurgen Klopp, the manager of the English football team Liverpool who are at this time, European and World Champions as well as Champions of the English league, makes the same points.
His core belief everything is about relationships. Then he then goes on to say the following: “I need experts around me. It’s really very important that you are empathetic, that you try to understand the people around you, and that you give real support to the people around you. Then everybody can act. That’s what leadership is: have strong people around you with a better knowledge in different departments than yourself, don’t act like you know everything, be ready to admit, ‘I have no clue in the moment, give me a couple of minutes and then I will have a clue, probably.”
To Klopp leadership and collaboration are the same thing, and I believe that to be true. It’s hard to give an example from my industry when it’s such a universally important concept, but it’s in those times when a camera person makes a suggestion they know is useful, or it could come from the most junior researcher to the commissioning editor. Ideally the teams need to understand the reason for every decision you have made up to this point, and when it’s their turn they need to be listened to.
Maddie Turner, Longitude fellow, Rice University:
What stood out to me most about Nigel’s comments on collaboration was the idea that the best way to be successful is to surround yourself with experts who are more skilled and knowledgeable, and to be willing to learn from them. During my time in college I have often fallen into the trap of comparing myself to others around me, perceiving the gap in knowledge between us as a shortcoming of mine instead of as a strength of theirs. But as Nigel says, in order to collaborate with a team you have to be okay with not being the smartest person in the room. Instead of feeling insecure about your own skills, it is more productive to acknowledge the unique skills of each person on the team, and make them feel valued and appreciated. I feel like I have always pictured “a leader” as someone who is authoritative, outspoken, and knowledgeable about every aspect of their field. Confidence and authority are important, but in reality, a leader is a collaborator, someone who genuinely cares about the people they work with and is willing to listen to them regardless of their place in the company hierarchy. A true leader values empathy over authority, and can admit that they don’t have all of the answers.
We hope you enjoyed todays segment. Please feel free to share your thoughts over social media and in the comments, or write to us at podcast@longitude.site. We would love to hear from you.
Join us next time for more unique insights on Longitude Sound Bytes.