Leadership Journeys: Launch Media’s John Jackson
John Jackson is a creative force in the Baton Rouge business community: His video production company, Launch Media, helps organizations create award-winning training, safety and marketing videos. He also overhauled an empty building in downtown Baton Rouge for the company’s production studios, creating a co-working space for other businesses as well, called Creative Bloc. And he has been involved with the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Forum 35’s Art Melt and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.Through it all he’s modest about his work. “I never thought of myself as a leader,” Jackson says. “It’s just something you do. You grow and you make it work. People want to be passionate about what they do, so being a leader helps paint a vision for someone about why they’re there.”Here’s his take on what it means to be a leader.
Connect with Others
No matter what kind of work he’s doing, Jackson says connecting with others is what drives quality work. As the owner of a growing company, he says, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the ins and outs of the business rather than developing relationships and growth within the company.But those connections help build what Jackson cites as one of the most important leadership traits: emotional intelligence. “Being able to reflect, have empathy and an appreciation for what gets employees jazzed up, but also the situations they might have going on in their lives — it’s all important to connecting with them,” he says.It’s vital to build those relationships outside the organization, as well, he says. “Any business has its ups and downs, and I look to leaders in the community who have failed or had challenges but rose above it,” he says. “You’ve got to talk to people and get a peer group; you can’t stay in your head all the time. Seeing other people’s challenges and how they dealt with them, and being able to share your own, is very important.”
Learn from Experts
While networking and connecting with other leaders is helpful, Jackson also recommends getting a mentor to help you develop as a leader. “Finding a mentor was hugely important in my leadership development,” he says. “I highly encourage anyone who’s running a business to find a banker, and find a mentor.”This was especially important for Jackson because he says he had little business experience and hadn’t ever planned on owning a business; much of his experience came from trial and error. His business partner, Michael Trufant, served as his primary mentor, helping him with skills such as reading a balance sheet and negotiating a contract.Jackson says participating on boards and committees is also a good way to stretch your leadership muscles. “You might have to get outside of your comfort zone, but you get out of it what you put into it,” he says. “Taking ownership is important. There are always challenges to deal with, but you grow and you understand and you get more wisdom around decisions. You learn to communicate what you want accomplished.”
Be Willing to Evolve
One of the most important roles of a leader is teaching others — and the way we teach and learn is changing, Jackson says. Expectations are evolving as younger generations enter the workplace, and the way people receive and consume information is changing quickly. Training, development and employee education are likely to move toward more visual-based learning no matter the industry, and video provides a consistent, streamlined and efficient message and format for employees wherever they are, he says.As technology continues to develop, companies will be able to add options such as augmented reality or virtual reality to training and development videos, he says. “The idea of video is different for different people — you can include animation, 3-D modeling and other features,” Jackson says. “It’s just going to get better and faster, and more companies will be able to use it to train and educate people.”Looking for ways to develop your leadership skills? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
