Last week we brought Hear Here back to Manchester. An invite-only evening at LOVE’s studio brought 65 creative leaders together in one room.
With three brilliant panelists, each with very different careers, the conversation anchored on the theme of ‘Make Your Move’. How do you lead, create and grow when everything around you is shifting? When do you stop waiting for permission, and start designing change on your own terms?
Our panelists: Meghan Labot, Managing Director at LOVE in New York; Abbey Bamford, independent Design Journalist; and Hana Khan, Creative Partnerships at Channel 4
A side note, but an important one… We asked the audience (full of Creative Directors, Heads of Brand and Marketing Leads) who has a five year plan. The answer: not a single person. Which proves exactly why this conversation about change is so important to bring to the surface.
It means that right now, we are all going through change; it’s inevitable. It’s how we deal with it that defines whether the change improves us or breaks us.
Reframing change
Meghan, the most experienced voice on the panel, brought a perspective built on decades of navigating the creative industry through every kind of shift it has thrown at her. Her approach to change is neither passive nor panicked. Her attitude? Quite simple: no regrets.
“I don’t regret my decisions. My career is a winding path, but every step along the way has led me to where I am today.”
She talked about the importance of finding certainty even in moments of uncertainty, in a grounded sense of what you know to be true.
“Confidence comes from certainty. I’ve always tried to find something to be certain of, even in moments of change and uncertainty. That’s allowed me to weather a lot of craziness.”
Her message for anyone facing a change they didn’t choose: look at it as an opportunity to grow. “Every time something changed, I grew a little bit and got better.”
Back yourself
Abbey brought a different kind of story; fresher in career terms, but still considered. “Freelance is inherently full of change. Every day is going to be different.”
The thing that makes the rollercoaster of freelancing work, and manages all of the uncertainty it brings, is being certain about yourself.
We discussed looking for community since starting her own business – networks of women, freelancer groups, creative communities – and being pleasantly surprised by how much support exists when you go looking for it. Her advice?
“Back yourself early on. Know that change is actually growth. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing.”
Changing culture
How any brief have you read this year that ask you to create culture? Yes.
As the writer of The Nugget, Channel 4’s internal cultural trends newsletter, Hana spends her working life looking at micro trends and asking what they actually mean about the way people are feeling.
She talked about trends she’s been researching and what they reveal. Across society, the most interesting cultural moments are rarely surface-level. “A micro trend actually means so much more than what it is representing.”
For brands and creative leaders trying to stay relevant, having your finger on the pulse isn’t optional. Brands that listen to what people are feeling rather than projecting what they want them to feel are the ones that cut through and last.
Industry thinking
The conversation turned, as it always does at Hear Here, to the bigger picture. We made time for a Q&A which brought some excellent provocation: “Has there ever been a time when it’s been an advantage to be a woman, rather than a man, in the design industry?”
Meghan spoke about a moment where the balance shifted, and it literally became harder for men to find certain roles than women, and what that reset meant. In terms of gender diversity in creative leadership, progress has been real, but the work isn’t finished.
The room was full of people who wanted to be in the same space; on the night, yes – but also committed to making the design industry a better space for everybody to thrive.
