Copy of Two pop stars and a strategy consultant walk into a bar....

Well, actually, it was onto a plane.

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I was flying back from a meeting in LA, sitting in my Virgin Upper seat when, with a commotion the size of the Hollywood sign, in came Mariah Carey. The undisputed owner of Christmas songs plonked herself down opposite me whilst her entourage did entourage-type stuff.

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I was simultaneously star-struck and gob-smacked at the chaos associated with getting a global pop star to her seat.

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And then, amid the chaos, wandered in one of my personal faves…..Duncan from the fabulous boyband, Blue.

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Talk about living your best life eh?

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I’ve been lucky enough to find myself in some pretty cool situations over my career. I’ve made ads with the likes of Donald Sutherland, Gary Oldman and Jennifer Anniston and been involved in the development of movies such as King Kong, Shrek and the Bourne stuff. And I’ve flown on a lot of planes with famous people.

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I’ve seen some interesting behaviour which has helped shape me as an individual and as a leader, and allowed me to help my senior clients develop their sense of individuality whilst not becoming bloated by their self-importance (aka acting like an idiot).

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Here are three key lessons I’ve learnt:

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Show humility: it’s not all about you

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I’ve witnessed a grown man have a hissy fit because his beard didn’t look quite right. I spent a WHOLE DAY in a trailer with a talent manager convincing the talent to get back out and do their job. The job that they were being paid to do.

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I’ve watched whilst a celebrity took over ALL the toilet facilities on 'site' (think about it) for over an hour, refusing to come out because their hair wasn’t 'right'.

As a leader, you may have a little bit of fandom from people in your team, you might think you deserve that toilet, coffee, parking space more than anyone else.

But here’s the thing, you don’t.

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Good leaders are humble enough to recognise that whilst they might be at the head of the company, they can’t do everything on their own. And that means everyone gets the coffee, the parking space and the toilet.

Be responsible: be aware of the influence you have

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One of the lovely actors I worked with needed to get back to the UK from a USA shoot. It had the potential to really stuff up the programme timeline, incur a huge amount of cost and totally disrupt the work. He knew that, but he still needed to go.

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Instead of using his celebrity as permission to just sod off, he worked with us to find a solution. It wasn’t great, and to be honest, it was the least-bad option rather than a brilliant answer, but he didn’t ‘just’ go.

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We reworked the script, amended the filming schedule and got agreement to the new approach across all the various parts of the team. He knew the impact he could have and was responsible enough to find a way through.

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Being in a position of authority comes with responsibilities: know your challenges, understand your commitments and respect boundaries.

Have a deep respect for others and the role they perform

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I spent time with a celebrity who used an assistant to feed them. Actually sit and spoon food into their mouth, whilst reprimanding the assistant and criticising their feeding approach.

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There is so much here to unpack, but for me, the killer thing was a lack of respect.

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We all have different skills, talents and experiences. And the vast majority of people are trying to do a good job. Understanding and respecting others in their role is such a vital part of being a good leader and fostering a culture of mutual respect.

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So you’re thinking, ?well of course I’m grounded, respectful and aware of my influence.

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Of course, I act responsibly, make decisions with integrity and consider the well-being of my team and the business.

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And I’m sure you mainly are…. But, ask yourself this, do you regularly and proactively check-in to make sure? ??

One of the best things I've seen in both the celebrity and leadership worlds is the recognition that along with influence comes the responsibility to ensure that influence is positive and respected.

Here are some of the ways you can do that:

Have a trusted individual whose job is to call you out. Find a safe space for robust, honest and straightforward feedback.

Get out of your bubble...force yourself to walk in the shoes of your team members. Buy the coffee from the canteen, park in the space furthest away from the office.

Live on an average salary for a month. Understand the pressures of 'normal' life because we all forget really quickly.

Test your values. Do you still live by them or are they becoming eroded by the pressures at the helm?

It's totally understandable that your life changes when you get to the heady heights of leadership, just make sure you're handling that in a way that benefits everyone.

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?? Strategy Advisor: Your guide, mentor and coach.

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