Bossing It: Making Yourself Vulnerable Is Empowering for Pete Waite

Pete has 15 years experience producing content across multiple platforms. His career started in broadcast television working on the BAFTA winning educating Yorkshire. From there he moved into brand funded and digital content production, producing work for HSBC, ,Vodafone, Continental, BBC and Channel 4.

A great challenge was presented to Pete to set up We Are Socials in house production company “We Are Social Studios”. Building the team from scratch. In 2 years the team were producing 100% of the creative out put from the agency. Winning multiple Drum and Campaign Awards and becoming recognised as campaigns top five digital agencies. Lastly, Pete set up and runs his own production outfit, Ginger Whippet Films that continues to grow and is recognised for delivering exceptional work.

LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?

Pete> Playing my first gig as the singer and guitarist at 15 years old. When I had to learn that making yourself vulnerable is empowering. 

LBB> How did you figure out what kind of leader you wanted to be – or what kind of leader you didn’t want to be?

Pete> On your journey you work for lots of different people. As you can image these leaders come in all different shapes and sizes. The ones I really resonated with, were the ones that were 100% genuine who weren’t making it up and really knew their stuff but were emotionally intelligent and had humility. 

LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?

Pete> The experiences where you really have to put your neck on the line are the ones where you find out about yourself the most. For me this was while I was working at an agency, my job was to set up their internal production company and none of the creative directors or account managers wanted to use the service. To make it work, I took all responsibility if the films weren’t received well by there clients, meaning I had no choice to make it work. 

LBB> Did you know you always wanted to take on a leadership role? If so how did you work towards it and if not, when did you start realising that you had it in you?

Pete> No I didn’t, that time came when I realised to full fill what I wanted in life for myself and my family. I had to take full control and head up my own proposition and this intern involved me becoming a leader. 

LBB> When it comes to 'leadership' as a skill, how much do you think is a natural part of personality, how much can be taught and learned? 

Pete> I think a lot of it comes from your personality and drive initially. Then over time it is definitely taught, these learnings are purely made from your experiences. Working on film sets where the variables (personalities and creative challenges) change so much from job to job, definitely fast tracks that process.

LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?

Pete> The most challenging thing about leadership is being consistent. This is a trait that I think is very hard to achieve but if you want to gain respect from your team and the members around you, it is key. 

LBB> Have you ever felt like you've failed whilst in charge? How did you address the issue and what did you learn from it?

Pete> All the time, I address it by being honest to the people around me and make sure you learn. If you don’t learn then you are probably in the wrong job. 

LBB> In terms of leadership and openness, what’s your approach there? Do you think it’s important to be transparent as possible in the service of being authentic? Or is there a value in being careful and considered?

Pete> My default way is openness. I do think that you need to be strategic with that approach especially when you are client facing and leading a team on a project. So to answer the question I think it is a mixture of the two.

LBB> As you developed your leadership skills did you have a mentor, if so who were/are they and what have you learned? And on the flip side, do you mentor any aspiring leaders and how do you approach that relationship?

Pete> My mentors are split between a group of directors, producers, art directors and a 1st AD, that I have worked with over the years.  I respect and value their opinions on all things. They are my chosen work family if you like. 

LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?

Pete> I like the responsibility, we have all learnt that we need to continuously push to find new clients. Keeping your client base as broad as possible, is what is key to survival and growth.    

LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?

Pete> A few years ago we signed up to a mentor scheme run by friends of ours at No Trace Films. This has everyone in the team and across our trusted freelancers, mentoring people that want to get a start in the industry who are from a BAME background. We have been lucky enough to see some great success stories. 

LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?

Pete> Be Kind and helpful.