Future Leaders with Lane

If the thought of networking brings to mind an afternoon wearing a name tag and making small talk with people you need to impress. Then, hoping to learn enough about a relevant topic to convince your team the train fare was £25 well spent... Ick.

For those who aren’t keen on this particular brand of corporate torture, I’m pleased to report Future Leader sessions are nothing of the sort.

If you who joined us down the Lane with Lane, I’m sure you’ll agree that the Future Leaders Advisory Group (FLAG), has created a welcoming community of marketeers from agency and client-side. It’s great being with like-minded people who are also figuring out the best next step in their career.

Which brings me to “Turning the Tables on Leadership”, the first Future Leaders event of the year hosted by programme sponsors Lane and for the new FLAG Chair, Frankie Coia from Republic of Media. We kicked off the night in the way all good events do, with some food, before the panel was introduced.

First up, Ali Findlay. Marketing Society Fellow, Founder of Lane, and proud side-hustler running her own equestrian business in her “free time”. Next, Marketing Society Fellow, MD of Lane Media, and the face of the Leading Conversations podcast, Barry Fern. Together, with FLAG member and Lane Media Account Director Ash Chalmers and Lane’s Head of Content Jaimie Grosset.  

A sort of ‘quiz your boss’ session kicked off and we got to hear all about the learnings from the careers of two entrepreneurs and business owners, before Ali and Barry turned the tables right back on their team to explore their intrapreneurial spirit.

Ali and Barry shared a quick overview of their journeys so far. A hodge podge of experience in Financial Services, Motor Retail, Tech Start-ups, and agency life, the two are well equipped to head up Scotland’s largest independent and integrated creative and media agency.

The tables then turned to Ash and Jaimie, two intrapreneurs who have made their mark at Lane. Again, these two had a host of varied experience between them, Dairies, Snack Sampling, Martech, Teaching, Blogging, Fashion, SEO, Content… the list is honestly too long to mention!

There were a few learnings I took away from this session, whether you’re an intrapreneur or an entrepreneur:

• Believe in yourself and your business idea – if you don’t know one else will
• Do your work to understand the financials and impact on the business
• Gather evidence to showcase the scale of opportunity
• Developing good relationships with people will give you a good head start 
• Look for the areas you can add value – that’s where you’ll find your passion
• Don’t give up, turn that no into a yes, or take your idea to someone else! 

As the evening wrapped up, it was clear the “Turning the Tables on Leadership” event wasn’t just another industry event, it was an inspiring session that left everyone with practical takeaways, whether they saw themselves as entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs.

With such a supportive community, the Future Leaders sessions continue to prove that career growth doesn’t have to come with the dreaded networking event cliches. I am already looking forward to the next one!