Bossing It: Stefan Bircher on Why Failure Will Always Be The Best Teacher
Stefan was born March 1976 in Switzerland. A baccalaureate in economics and basic studies in journalism in Zurich followed by years of professional skateboarding for Levi's and DC. He started in 2001 in Advertising as a Production Assistant to be promoted to a Junior, later on Senior-Producer before he co-founded Shining Film AG (initially founded as Shining Pictures GmbH) in 2007.
Today Shining has twenty permanent employees and produces both advertising and fiction. Stefan executively produces commercials while taking care of business administrations, especially M&A, HR and Marketing.
Stefan lectures at the SAWI Academy for Marketing and Communication AG as well as at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.
In 2019 he co-founded the social media agency "Andy Was Right AG" (30 permanent employees today) and remains a Member of the board to this day. Stefan is a chosen member professional at ADC Switzerland.
He lives in Zürich with his family.
Before we get started I want to point out that Shining Film AG is led by four equally involved partners, two ladies and two men. All of which have family with kids and all of which are about the same age. Yet we are pretty different when it comes to likes, dislikes, interests and friends.
We lead together because over the last almost two decades we have learned that together, in our group of four, we’re damn good decisionmakers. Two of us started shining 17 years ago, one of us joined some 11 years ago, the last one 8 years ago.
All of the following are my five cents only. I’m pretty sure my partners would agree on most parts but probably not on all of them.
They are just as much the reason LBB was interested in hearing my opinion as I am, so THANK YOU Carrie, Sophie and Leo!
LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?
Stefan> Some friends and I started a Skateboard-Fashion-Brand in 2004. Less silliness allowed from then on. We had to step forward into role model-functions to make things work. Around that time I was promoted to a senior producer status within my former employer and that meant taking responsibility for 6-figure budgets and above.
Both businesses demanded more precision then I was used to. And that was probably my first experience with leadership.
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?
Stefan> By observing my superiors. As much as my closest friends on what made them special to me. It took me a while to figure out I had to adjust to the tonality of the industry in its respective stage of the hierarchy: Precise where precision is due, very human where needed but overall focusing on balancing interests as much as possible.
LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?
Stefan> Failure still is the best teacher. I’ve disagreed with many great minds and talents. The moment I’ve learned to negotiate self confidently in affect yet reflect myself or my position when time is given and step away from a position of pride I consider my most important one with Shining yet.
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?
Stefan> No and I’m still not convinced I am a great leader. But I accept the fact that, along with my partners at Shining I need to be(come) one.
I’ve hated to be a role model to my younger sister and brother as well as to the fans in skateboarding who wanted to get my autograph up to a decisive argument with my parents. Accepting that someone has to take on this role and that I could be one of them has eased my pain.
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?
Stefan> I don’t think I had it in me at all and I’m still struggling here and there, so every step towards being a better leader I’ve taken I had learned the hard way, mostly by making it wrong in the first place.
LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?
Stefan> Whenever I struggle to be empathic enough I try to talk to people I think are closer to the respective subject. I usually confront them with my opinion first to then hear them out. The most challenging it gets to me if time is not given to do so.
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?
Stefan> Yes. My best way to handle it is to “dog honestly” address it straight-forward, ask for empathy in return and let the involved know that I have learned something from it. I’ve learned to say sorry.
LBB> In terms of leadership and openness, what’s your approach there? Do you think it’s important to be as transparent as possible in the service of being authentic? Or is there a value in being careful and considered?
Stefan> I want to protect my team the same way I want to be protected. Hence why I don’t believe that I should know everything and I don’t think my colleagues do. The prerequisite for this is great trust.
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?
Stefan> I did not have a mentor. I always missed that. That’s why I’ve observed my role models even more carefully, to learn from them.
I have had a number of auspicious “padawans” that have become great leaders but I shall not take credit for that for they have all been great personalities and strong characters long before we’ve met.
LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?
Stefan> Our market hasn’t changed all that much within the seventeen years we’re running Shining now. The most dramatic experience in recent years was certainly the pandemic and the uncertainties it caused. Knowing we’ve navigated through it successfully made us even stronger.
LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?
Stefan> In our relatively small team of 15-20 employees we value respect above all. Salaries and power, all equally distributed.
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?
Stefan> It is very important and no, we have not always been able to keep it alive. But not due to remote or hybrid working patterns.
We underestimated the impact of our strategic service portfolio enrichment when we founded the fiction department.
LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?
Stefan> A regular and ongoing exchange with our team as well as with leaders and entrepreneurs from within our market.
