Bossing It: Being Your Own Toughest Critic with Lucy McGettigan
A creatively minded, strategic leader with over 15 years’ experience spanning consumer and corporate PR, Lucy runs The Romans UK operations.
She joined in 2017 as associate director and rapidly ascended the ranks.
Prior to joining The Romans, Lucy most recently headed up a large consumer team at creative agency Frank.
She has worked with a number of household name brands in UK and Europe, including Barclays, Lidl, Amazon and Heineken.
In her spare time, Lucy can usually be found planning her next holiday.
LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?
Lucy> A turning point for me was probably during my time at Frank PR. My boss at the time left, and instead of making me report into a new one, it was agreed I could split the team in two in order to let me start my own unit. It turned out to be a great decision on both sides because my unit quickly grew, and led to me reporting directly to the board while still in a middle management position. From that point on I got a ton of experience in commercial planning, client issues management, people management and so on. It was a wild ride at times, but I’m grateful for that opportunity still today.
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?
Lucy> I’m sure everyone gives the same answer to this one, because the answer is so simple. The best experience you can get in learning how not to be a terrible boss, is by dealing directly with a terrible boss. My best advice in that situation is to remember that most awful bosses are dealing with their own insecurities and lack of expertise in certain areas. It’s not you, it’s them.
Likewise, I’ve had plenty of wonderful bosses, who were able to show me what motivational management looks like and the importance of adapting to each team member’s needs. This is something I still work on today. It’s important to know that whoever you have managing you right now is teaching you something.
LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?
Lucy> I’d love to give a really inspiring answer here about a huge error that I made that taught me everything I know about leadership today, but unfortunately, I can’t do that. Not because I haven’t f*cked up from time to time, but because I’ve obviously blanked out those memories. I’ve got nothing.
What I can say is that every pitch, every client or HR issue and operational hurdle has taught me something incredibly valuable. And let's not forget the daily support I get from the wider leadership team at The Romans, who I couldn’t live without. I like to think that a healthy amount of self-awareness (and self-criticism) should mean that every day is a school day when it comes to running your business.
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?
Lucy> With the danger of sounding like a precocious, jumped up twat, yes I always knew I wanted a leadership role. I’m the youngest of four siblings, who are all really successful in their various fields, and I’m not ashamed to say I have always tried to emulate them. They kickstarted my knack for leadership when they allowed me to start bossing them around while I was still in nappies.
As my career continued (thankfully no longer in nappies), I was lucky to have various bosses who trusted me and gave me the freedom to showcase my leadership skills, even in junior roles. Their support and belief in me allowed me to grow and develop as a manager, and meant that I felt confident enough to step into my current leadership role when the opportunity was presented to me. Have to give a huge shout out here to the founder of The Romans, Joe Mackay-Sinclair, who put his trust and faith in me to run his UK business last year.
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?
Lucy> I don’t think there is one personality type that excels as a leader. Having confidence helps a huge amount, just so you can pretend at first that you absolutely know what you are doing. Projecting confidence also helps those around you feel calmer. But being a 'great' leader isn't just about one thing. There are so many qualities that can make someone amazing at being in charge. At the end of the day, it's about trying your best to support the brilliant people you’ve hired in whatever their ambitions are.
LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?
Lucy> I think it can be isolating being in charge, so a wider support network is important, and it’s difficult to keep that fine line between being friends with your team while being their boss. How do you give formal feedback to someone you'd happily grab a drink with after? Hopefully if you’ve managed to build up a level of mutual respect with your team, those types of situations are easier to navigate.
There are also parts to my personality and working process that I am acutely aware of now I am a leader. I am naturally confident and vocal, so am I allowing other people’s voices to be heard? Does everyone feel like their opinions are valued? I’m also a quick decision maker, so am I giving myself time to slow down and really think through the actions I am taking on behalf of our business?
It's all about being self-aware, listening actively, and continuously learning and adapting my leadership style to meet the needs of the team and the business.
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?
Lucy> I am my own toughest critic, so the answer to this one is a resounding yes. If I feel like I'm not operating at my best, I like to think that I’m quick to admit it. One of the things that helped me earlier in my career was fast feedback, so I am all about giving that out to myself and those around me. There’s nothing worse than a manager bringing up something you did wrong three months later. What good does that do?
Being open about what could have been handled better has taught me the importance of keeping the communication lines open. Seeking regular feedback and learning from it is crucial for growth, and would probably be my biggest piece of advice to someone who wants to develop and move up the ranks quickly.
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?
Lucy> You can and should be both. Transparency is key and comes up time and time again from our staff. You’ve hired talented people, who are not idiots, so they will see through it if you try and pull the wool over their eyes. However, I strongly believe that the vibe you give off affects the rest of the agency and absolutely no one needs to see a stressed or miserable leader. Whatever is going on, keep a calm lid on it and a smile on your face.
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?
Lucy> I’ve never had a formal mentor, but can think of a few people who have really impacted my leadership style over the years. Emma Newell and Sarah Firth at Lexis, Carly Hewitt, Alex Grier, Andrew Bloch and Graham Goodkind at Frank and of course my current boss who-is-sat-next-to-me-right-now so I have to mention – Joe Mackay-Sinclair. I also think there is a lot to be said from learning from your peers, so appreciate the constant support and advice I get from the wider Romans senior team.
I don’t currently mentor anyone so my DMs are open!
LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?
Lucy> It’s a challenging time to be running any agency, and in PR specifically redundancies and agency closures are rife. It can be difficult to try and communicate to staff that your focus on driving growth (which can sometimes mean busy days and hectic months) is as much about protecting their jobs as it is about any wider business objectives. At The Romans, we’re constantly trying to be more transparent and finding ways to listen and act upon staff feedback. Luckily, and thanks to the brilliant efforts of our team, we’re seeing year on year growth. But we don’t take that for granted and are constantly trying to find ways to innovate on behalf of our clients.
In terms of dealing with the responsibility, don't be afraid to show a little vulnerability. When you have concerns, or you’re feeling the pressure, seek advice from colleagues, investors, or even friends and family. It's not a sign of weakness; it's a way to make informed decisions and gain different perspectives.
LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?
Lucy> This is an ever-evolving priority at The Romans. We absolutely embrace the solution of diversity and have only ever found our output to improve as the diversity of our staff increases. Currently 32% of our team are black, Asian or mixed heritage and this is a figure we are keen to see grow, particularly at a senior level.
We have a dedicated DE&I team internally, headed up by the wonderful Kandace Williamson, and that team have specific objectives against a number of areas – everything from recruitment to training to people profiling. We have found that a focus on diversity has led directly to a large number of new client wins and creative campaigns that we are incredibly proud of.
We are also a proud supporter of People Like Us, an organisation dedicated to improving diversity in the communications industry. We help with events, funding and media relations as much as we can (along with some of our agency peers.)
LBB> How important is your company culture to the success of your business? And how have you managed to keep it alive with increases in remote and hybrid working patterns?
Lucy> Ah, the C word. This remains a huge focus for us, as we’ve always prided ourselves on having a unique culture that allows people to grow and develop professionally while (hopefully) building friendships for life. As we’ve grown so quickly in the last few years, it’s easy for your culture to change with your headcount. And this isn’t always a bad thing! You can’t operate the same way with 100 people as you did with 10 people.
However, our priority is to remain a people and culture-first agency and we hope that comes through in various ways. From our industry leading 10% pay rise for each staff member in January to keep up with inflation, to our mental health policies and commitment to regular team social events.
Currently, we offer two work-from-home days a week and we think that this balance allows our culture to thrive. In a creative environment, it’s so important to be together to bounce off each other, and more junior members of staff have to learn by osmosis. But Mondays and Fridays at home are vital for all those ASOS returns and haircuts…
LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?
Lucy> I wouldn’t say I use specific resources, but I am always keeping a watchful eye of what other agency leaders I admire are up to – there is plenty of inspiration to be found in our industry. In my early career, I had management training from the wonderful Louise Hedges at Pip Development, and more recently we did a course with Kristen Lisanti who does fantastic transformative work with agency leaders.
