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Reflections From Creative Coaching: 2023 Creative LIAisons Coach Tomás Ostiglia, ECD, Lola Mullenlowe Madrid
12 September 2023REFLECTIONS FROM CREATIVE COACHING:
2023 CREATIVE LIAISONS COACH TOMÁS OSTIGLIA,
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, LOLA MULLENLOWE MADRID
Learning To Teach
I've always tried to avoid certainties, and sometimes I even think it's an excuse to justify my poor memory. But the truth is standing against conventions has allowed me to do things differently and stay fresh without losing the capacity to surprise when facing problems.
That's why I often have mixed feelings about sharing ways of doing things as I get skeptical about how good they are, especially when the same methods have already been used as I firmly believe that to achieve new results, you must change your ways.
But luckily, here comes LIA (London International Awards), asking me to be the coach for three young talents who are starting out in this industry. So, I am compelled to dig deep into my experiences, which are much more concrete than my questioned certainties, and prepare a talk to help them better see what could await them in the future.
The first thing I tried is to be brutally honest. Telling them how things really are with no sugarcoating, especially about my own experiences, and opening up so they can see beyond the pre-conceived idea they have of things. Our work creates a very strong image (we are paid to do that, and we have learned to do it with precision), but here, things must be the opposite. These talks are for them to see the threads, the dirt, the whole truth behind the image conveyed in a story or idea.
So, I stripped down all our best campaigns, and seeing the sparkle in their eyes was sublime, because the excitement they were feeling was the realization that there are no gods, heroes, or geniuses here (well, there are, but that's someone else, not me). What really makes things happen is the work where great things are achieved by actually going out and doing them. Everything involves an ever changing process, but most importantly with great passion, nothing is impossible. Without crazy ambition, you won't make anything happen. You have to push hard to start the car and learn to drive it to reach the finish line.
We will stay in touch for sure and we got to know each other, which is the most important thing. It was almost therapeutic for me to listen to them and I think I learned more than they did. I guess that's what education is all about. I've always considered myself a bad student, but after this amazing experience, I guess I get an A distinction.
I've always tried to avoid certainties, and sometimes I even think it's an excuse to justify my poor memory. But the truth is standing against conventions has allowed me to do things differently and stay fresh without losing the capacity to surprise when facing problems.
That's why I often have mixed feelings about sharing ways of doing things as I get skeptical about how good they are, especially when the same methods have already been used as I firmly believe that to achieve new results, you must change your ways.
But luckily, here comes LIA (London International Awards), asking me to be the coach for three young talents who are starting out in this industry. So, I am compelled to dig deep into my experiences, which are much more concrete than my questioned certainties, and prepare a talk to help them better see what could await them in the future.
The first thing I tried is to be brutally honest. Telling them how things really are with no sugarcoating, especially about my own experiences, and opening up so they can see beyond the pre-conceived idea they have of things. Our work creates a very strong image (we are paid to do that, and we have learned to do it with precision), but here, things must be the opposite. These talks are for them to see the threads, the dirt, the whole truth behind the image conveyed in a story or idea.
So, I stripped down all our best campaigns, and seeing the sparkle in their eyes was sublime, because the excitement they were feeling was the realization that there are no gods, heroes, or geniuses here (well, there are, but that's someone else, not me). What really makes things happen is the work where great things are achieved by actually going out and doing them. Everything involves an ever changing process, but most importantly with great passion, nothing is impossible. Without crazy ambition, you won't make anything happen. You have to push hard to start the car and learn to drive it to reach the finish line.
We will stay in touch for sure and we got to know each other, which is the most important thing. It was almost therapeutic for me to listen to them and I think I learned more than they did. I guess that's what education is all about. I've always considered myself a bad student, but after this amazing experience, I guess I get an A distinction.