Name: Andy Getsey

Title: Founder, Managing Partner

Organisation: Theorem Communications Group

Andy has more than 25 years of experience advising enterprise C-suite executives on positioning, branding, and communications. He is currently co-founder of Employera, an employee communications consulting firm and agency, and principal of Getsey | Hannon, a positioning and messaging consulting firm for technology-related companies.

He was previously CEO and co-founder of Atomic PR, the 2010 Technology PR Agency of the Year, and co-developer of ComContext analytics software (both acquired). Before that, he was head of global communications for a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. He started his career as an account planner at Krupp/Taylor FCB using data to guide multi-channel campaigns for large, well-known brands. Andy has an MBA and a BA in Psychology from Cal State University, Fresno.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Andy's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

One of the biggest challenges for me is managing the various and sometimes competing priorities of clients, employees and the business and its stakeholders. At any particular time, individual clients and employees have their short-term interests which are important, and the business has a blend of short and long-term needs and goals that need attention to thrive. It’s not easy, for sure. But over the years, I’ve tried to keep the needs of all three balanced using some combination of balance theory, principle-centered leadership, and plain old doing the right thing.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

In my first few jobs, I was a solo act, first as a copywriter at a small ad agency, then after grad school as a quant planning omnichannel marketing campaigns at a big database marketing firm. From there, I was hired to do a similar thing as part of a team at a global technology company. After a year and a half, my boss suddenly departed and I was appointed head of global communications, reporting to the president, with a staff of 30 people.

The president was an experienced corporate leader, and the rest of the executive team was fantastic. The mentorship I received over the next 3 years were a crash course in leadership, general management, global marketing, and the enterprise corporate environment. At the end of my 5 years at that company, I was offered a job as president of a great, mid-size tech ad agency. I felt ready and I took it.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I get up around 6 am each day, have coffee, then stretch and exercise. After a shower, I eat something light and scan email and Slack for anything urgent that I can handle quickly. I like to use the first couple of hours to do strategic work on long-term projects and goals since that’s when my thinking is usually the clearest and most effective. I try to schedule team and client check-ins toward the middle of the day.

I have lunch with my wife each day, and after finishing team/client check-ins, I try to handle business management and admin work in the late afternoon. I end each day with head’s head-to-key teammates and a scan of priorities and rough scheduling for the next day and beyond, so I can take a break from business thoughts each night.

Though they creep in when they need to. I spend evenings with my wife, touching base with my grown kids, and on a couple of hobbies. I stretch again before turning in.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

I’m reminded from time to time that with difficult, complicated decisions that are your responsibility to make it’s not possible to please everyone. That’s why they’re complicated. The best you can do is choose the “rightest” option available, then communicate honestly about your decision and move forward.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

An employee at the tech ad agency gave me a copy of The Tao Te Ching as a Christmas gift, just before I left to start Atomic PR. It’s 2400 years old, it’s not a business book, and its contradictions feel weird to many of us Westerners.

It consists of just 81 poems, but its wisdom for navigating life (and leadership) is very powerful for those who take the time. I’ve read it a least a dozen times, and I turn to it for advice when I don’t feel clear about what to do. I’ve worked for several leaders in my career, from stern authoritarians to charismatic centers of attention.

One poem in the Tao Te Ching says, and I’m paraphrasing - There are 4 different kinds of leaders: those that are feared, those that are respected, and those that are loved. But the greatest leaders are the ones who are barely noticed. They exert their influence behind the scenes, and through the policies and systems they create. And because of this, their societies thrive and the people can take pride in saying “We did this ourselves”.

I’ve tried to have a light touch and create policies, systems, and cultures that help motivated people and teams succeed on their own - with guidance when needed, but without undue meddling or bureaucracy from senior management.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Actively seek successful experienced mentors and advice from the best leaders, books and seminars they can find.