FriYAY 🥳
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The trouble with being a producer is:
→ nobody trains to be one; there’s no formal learning path, training (ahem) or accreditation
→ which means every producer has a squiggly career; different levels of skill and capability in different areas
→ which means every company hiring producers has different expectations about what producers can/should do
→ which means every time a producer starts a job, they worry about whether they will know what to do and, therefore whether they deserve the role, i.e. they suffer from imposter syndrome
This week I spoke to nine producers.
Last week four.
The week before that, five: and all of them were looking for mentorship or coaching to overcome this feeling.
Pep talk-time!
The very nature of this job is to navigate unknown and emergent situations: ideas evolve, leading circumstances and requirements to change and unfold unpredictably.
Producers are expected to be adaptable, resourceful, and able to handle challenges as they arise — NOT have all the answers in the first instance.
Yes, it’s totally natural to feel a level of uncertainty when starting a new job, but imposter syndrome is not a useful or accurate way to describe this feeling in the context of producing.
Producers are hired precisely because our varied backgrounds and capabilities make us suited to handle uncertain and chaotic environments like creativity.
Your squiggly career and skills are what make you so valuable.
Your ability to do the job without knowing HOW you’re going to do the job is WHY you got the job!
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The single most transformative moment of my career was when I clocked that producing is strategy.
I guess it didn’t register for so long because we work with people called Strategists. And our job title is Producer. So the disconnect there is really significant until you look at what a strategist actually does:
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Some Strategists I learn from:
Alex Smith: https://basicarts.org/newsletter/
Baiba Matisone: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1K0VrGRu6IQf62msG0CaAcnt3RxVOV2WB
Mark Pollard: https://sweathead.com/
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It’s easy, and a common trap, to assume clients know what you need from them when you send over WIP or present work on a call, but I promise you they don’t know unless you tell them.
So tell them what you want them to do with what they’ve seen:
are you sharing a status update (no action required on their part)?
do you want feedback from your point of contact (subjective judgement about the WIP)?
do you want approval from your point of contact (acknowledgement from the client org you have met/delivered a milestone and will be moving on to the next)?
You won’t get what you need unless you ask for it.
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You are probably sick to death of ChatGPT, but it definitely has its uses.