Coaching in the media industry

In media, creativity is at the center of growth and accomplishment.

In this article, we are focusing on top-level executives in the media industry, including video, VOD, TV, music, newspapers, and more. Coaching in the media industry is unique because it calls for a different sort of success and performance metric.

However, it is often difficult to coach to creativity.

Coaching for individuals in the media industry requires a unique vantage point. It involves looking at individual and team opportunities that foster an environment of creativity that leads to innovation. Coaching in the media industry is about creating the atmosphere that boosts innovation, rather than trying to boost the creative skillset itself.

Creating an environment of creativity

In order to build this culture of inspiration and vision, coaches might focus on improving productivity, self-awareness, team building, and communication skills.

Productivity

BusinessLife coaches first look at employees’ capability to perform within the media industry. In order to be creative and innovative, an individual must be productive and capable in his or her role. With more productivity come more lightbulb moments.

Coaches utilize performance-related conversations to enhance growth and performance. This is especially crucial in the media industry, where things move quickly and maintaining high levels of productivity is crucial to keep up with competition.

This focus on productivity in turn promotes individual responsibility. Every person has to be productive in order for the team to succeed.

Self-Awareness

This in turn helps lead individuals to further self-awareness. They can see where they are and aren’t productive, where they excel, and where they need to continue to improve.

Coaching can help improve self-confidence and personal understanding. This self-awareness helps workers better understand what they contribute to the overall team. What are their skillsets and creative capabilities that enhance their projects and department?

In large media companies with huge staff, in-house coaches are often used to cover not only areas of professional performance but also personal concerns and development as well.

Communication Skills

As the coach works on each individual’s own productivity and self-awareness, there are also opportunities to build communication between employees.

Coaches are a major value for corporations because they open up lines of communication between employees and upper management—a line that is traditionally hierarchical and impenetrable. Coaches can improve the relationship between managers and employees by:

• Building mutual trust on both sides
• Promoting honesty
• Clarifying issues and conflict resolution processes
• Bringing respect to all members of the team

Team Building

Productivity, self-awareness, and communication come together to build a stronger team. This is especially important in the media industry, where productions get off the ground when everyone on the team can utilize their skills in tandem towards the overall good.

External coaches utilize small group sessions as a way to break down cross-cultural barriers, build communication, set goals, create a plan of action, and gain honest feedback (feedback that HR and in-house coaches may not get).

The goal of coaching in the media industry is to help generate fresh and innovative ideas. This is best accomplished by coaching teams to embrace change, resolve conflicts, promote collaboration, support leadership, and work towards a single target in a way that will provide mutual benefits for all parties.

Areas of coaching

In the media industry, business coaches often focus on four main areas of coaching: performance, planning, scheduling, and resources. Together, these four areas help to fashion a culture of creativity that is crucial to success and growth.

1. Performance

• What are the results?
• How do you obtain the initial results?
• How do you use these results as a jumping off point?
• How can you utilize these results to set goals and targets?
• Think of performance in terms of media-based language. What do the results look like from an artist’s point of view?

Outcomes may not be metric or quantifiable here. They may be skill-based or innovation-based, which are harder to track. In this way, it’s important to look at media not as a metrics-oriented business but a results-oriented one.

Results are those consequences that come from a specific task or action.

• What are the results when you boost an individual’s productivity and self-awareness?
• What are the results when you improve communication skills?
• What are the results when you have a strong working team?
• What are the results that come from a creative, inspired environment—rather than a forced, strained, or unnatural one?

2. Planning

With looking at your results and the results you hope to achieve, you may seek to fill in the gap of where you are and where you want to be. This is accomplished through planning.

Consider: How can you anticipate?

In today’s media industry, projects can change as quickly as a tweet can be sent. In this way, long-term planning needs to be agile and flexible. A strong plan is able to anticipate future events and news, and set tasks and goals accordingly. Plans need to be able to understand how their audience will participate and interact.

Planning is a crucial step in the growth and development of media teams. Coaches help individuals better understand the balance between planning and adaptability, and how this relates to overall performance results.

3. Scheduling

Along with planning comes scheduling. Coaches help teach the importance of the calendar. They help media workers consider seasons, publications, cycles, fashions, and trends. How can you schedule in accordance with anticipated planning? How can you be ahead of the times?  

This scheduling is also importance in terms of the specific kinds of media. Advertising will have a different scheduling and planning process than news teams, which will be different than video production. Understanding these differences helps a business executive set goals and analyze results in accordance with the given media sphere.

4. Resources

Consider the intersections of art, media, and tech. How will this influence your project and your results?

Who are the people involved in your project? Consider contractors, writers, filmmakers, developers, and anyone else who has a direct or ancillary role.

What resources do you need to accomplish the project?

An external coach can help define your necessary resources and design a blueprint that allow you locate and utilize these resources.

Developing a business in creative media

Whether you are an executive in the media industry or considering starting a business, there are several points to visit. For example, you might consider:  

The skills you will need to start:

• Passion
• Creativity and innovation
• Sales and marketing
• Management
• Team building techniques

To develop the necessary skills you might invite external partners who may teach you how to work and manage contractors and outside resources in a way that will help fill in the skills that you lack.

The best way to develop the necessary resources is through a coach. Look for a coach who can boost your creative atmosphere while also enhancing your entrepreneurial skillsets and talents.

Conclusion

There are numerous benefits of internal and external coaching, regardless of industry, role, or position. Coaching supports, inspires, motivates, and influences. Coaching builds personal and professional performance in large corporations and small startups alike.

Wherever you are, you could benefit from a coach who knows and understand your industry. Contact Peter today to open up a conversation about the value of coaching for your business, your growth, and yourself.