John Saint-Denis works in interior design, consumer goods and marketing, and has done so for the past 20 years. Most recently he has been advising companies like Trusted Hands Network, Repp Design Group and JoannesLucas Gallery while showing his own collection at EVM, and at "The Atelier", a creative space he founded for artists, designers and editors in 2011.
John has worked with Williams Sonoma Home, Baker Furniture, two national marketing agencies, designed his own line of furniture, and ran his own showroom and interior design studio in Santa Monica, CA. He has also served on the board of the Avenues of Art and Design in West Hollywood, CA, was a founding board member of the La Cienega Design Quarter and recently co-founded the La Brea Highland Association of shelter businesses.
With a BA in communications, and much post graduate independent study, he has been accredited to offer continuing education units to design professionals through his History of Luxury training program at Baker.
https://www.wikipedia.org
L&M: You hold and have held some high level leadership positions, are there any lessons you have learned that stand out as ah ha moments for you?
JSD: The big lesson I keep learning is that leadership is service. Leading by example is one step, but leading by actually taking care of those you are in charge of is the really juicy part of leading. I blur business relationships and personal connections constantly. If I need to lead a client or an employee to success I often find myself working to solve their problems at home or their problems with money or health. Those ah ha's comes when you help get someone through a personal struggle, and suddenly they become the shining star of the bigger project you're leading.
L&M: It sounds like that is inspirational to people. Can you expound?
JSD: I like to find out what makes people excited, and then I try to show them how whatever we are working on will give them their emotional payoff. For example, in the worlds of marketing and design, some people are excited by a beautiful finished product. Others are inspired by press coverage and praise from the public. Still others are inspired by financial reward. Then some are inspired by change or by accomplishing something that's never been done. So I have to get creative about how I inspire people, but maybe the common denominator is that I tend to find a lot of joy in my own work, and I share the excitement and joy I feel about what I'm doing with everyone around me. People have told me that my happiness, and the amazing stuff I get to do, inspires them more than anything.
L&M: What has been your biggest leadership challenge in your career?
JSD: I think taking over management of a team of employees who had been doing their same jobs for many years, decades actually was one of my biggest challenges. In this case I was new to the organization, much younger than most of the team, and I had little knowledge of the operational details and functions of the levels under me.
This was also happening just as the economy was collapsing in 2008. I was given the responsibility, and I took it, because I knew the team needed a fresh eye and bit of a shakeup. It was very challenging to get people out of a "I'm winding down to retirement, so let me just do it the way I've always done it" to a place where they could say, "hey yeah, let's put away the tired old complaints and roadblocks and start fresh."
L&M: How did you do that?
I think I got there by first solving some problems for the team that had been nagging them for years. I also made sure I showed deep respect and admiration for the knowledge they had amassed and the commitment they had shown. Once I did that, I think I was able to show them how some changes that would make the work more productive and would also make the work easier, more satisfying and more fun. Better strategies are almost always easier in the end, if you can show and promise it up front; it goes a long way. I didn't win them all over, and one retired early probably because of me which wasn't ideal, but all in all, I think I met the challenge.
L&M: What has been your greatest leadership accomplishment?
JSD: Organizing a group of neighborhood businesses into a powerful and now nationally recognized design district and design authority. It took months and years to get buy-in from very diverse boutique and large showrooms to come together to pool resources and to form a common identity. I didn't do it alone, of course, but I was part of the founding leadership team. What was once just a scattering of competing and hostile neighbors is now a well-oiled machine that produces unified events, makes careers of designers and product makers, creates an evolving brand identity and drives economic growth beyond our wildest dreams.
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L&M: Do you find there are unique challenges being a leader working in a creative environment?
JSD: Yes, measuring my own success, and that of those I've led, is not an exact science in the creative world. Design, art, and even marketing ideas are often satisfying on a very personal level based on your own experience and view of the world. It's a challenge in the creative world to inspire people to do something you might not personally or immediately understand. It's challenging to give people the space to be creative as well as the guidance to stay focused and to get to where they want to go.
L&M: Has there been a leader or leaders that have inspired you?
JSD: Yes, several. My older brother, Gary Saint-Denis has led and leads companies which have achieved amazing success. He's got a natural talent for the practical tasks of business but also uses his optimism, his courage to take risks, and his sense of social responsibility to get out and do great things.
Chad Hunter Griffin is another. He leads the Human Rights Campaign. He's a soft spoken, nerdy kid from Oklahoma who has tirelessly worked to become a voice of the next generation of civil rights leaders.
And there's Bill Clinton, who is about one of the smartest guys to ever have lived. Flawed and undisciplined, he still inspires people every day. He goes on to keep rising from the ashes and do the work he knows is right.
L&M: Have you ever had or been a mentor?
JSD: Yes, both. I had a mentor from the executive team during my days at Williams Sonoma and I'm mentoring young designers and business leaders now. In both cases it's about honestly sharing what you know and feel. As a mentor, you have to be willing to reveal your mistakes and struggles and the crazy paths you took to overcome them; without that, it becomes preachy and loses all credibility. It's often tempting to compete with someone you are mentoring. Again, I like to mix up the roles and let the person I am mentoring lead me to find something I wouldn't otherwise have known or done.
L&M: What do you look for when you are looking for someone to fill a leadership role?
JSD: Compassion, intelligence, the right experience, the ability to express in a clear and engaging manner and general likability. With those things in place, the rest are details. A leader doesn't have to always be liked, but they have to be likable. No one is ever going to passionately follow the lead of someone who isn't engaging on some level.
L&M: What is the one piece of advice you would give a new leader?
JSD: Just one? Make sure you are really really passionate about the thing you are leading people towards. If you don't care about it, you're never going to sell it to those who are following you. If you're not sure, look for somewhere else to make a difference and lead.
L&M: OK, do you have another piece of advice you would like to share?
JSD: Don't be afraid to admit you don't know something and don't be afraid to ask questions, even from those you are leading. Everyone brings something to the table and you'd be cheating yourself and your team if you didn't mine them for all the knowledge and ideas brewing in your group. That being said, remember that as a leader you must take responsibility for the work and actions of those you are leading. Never use an employee's misstep as an excuse for something going wrong. Create an atmosphere where problems can be discussed openly and honestly before they can cause more damage than necessary.
L&M: How do you handle poor leaders; either those that report to you or those you find yourself working with?
JSD: First and foremost, I try to lead by example. If I'm working with a poor leader, I'll do my best to show them a different style of leadership by spending a lot of time with them just being myself. I usually get them to understand first that I have their best interest at heart. Then I collaborate with them on how to better handle situations where they are weak. I try to get them to come up with ideas of their own to improve and then ask them if they see any downsides to their approach.
Often they will teach themselves to be good leaders. In the rare situation that someone just has no capacity to lead, they usually know it, and it can be a huge relief to take them out of a leadership situation or pair them with someone who is naturally inclined to lead well. It's okay to not be a leader, after all.
L&M: What inspires you as a leader?
JSD: People who find joy in their work; people who can laugh at themselves and who don't take silly things too seriously. For example, in the design and furniture world, a sofa can be a beautiful and important thing in a person's life, but if it's a week late or shows up in the wrong fabric, you have to remember that no one is going to die because of it. I like people who can laugh it off and in the same minute get on to the tasks necessary to make it right. I have to catch myself sometimes when I'm tempted to waste a whole bunch of time and energy making somebody wrong instead of just telling someone how to fix the problem.
I'm also inspired by what delights people. If the people I'm leading find delight in their achievements, and the end result of what we are doing is beautiful, of service, or just entertaining, I'm inspired to do the next thing.
And of course, when people's lives are changed, I'm inspired. When they work through something and come out the other end with a new point of view, a new realization or just a better situation, I'm inspired.
L&M: What is one of the biggest mistakes that leaders make?
JSD: I think it's common for leaders to slip from taking appropriate responsibility to taking complete control. I always think about the metaphor of the forest ranger leading people through the wilderness. If he/she doles out all of the gear and points out every pit fall and chooses every rest stop and requires everyone to follow in his/her exact footsteps, the followers may get to where they need to go, but they'll need the leader every time they enter the forest, and they won't have very much fun. It's better to let people take some of their own trails, decide what they want to carry, note the things that turn them on. They make some mistakes and learn from them, and before you know it, they are adding to the leader's tool box of skills and maybe next time even leading their own group.
L&M: Can you summarize what leadership means what to you?
JSD: To me leadership means standing up in an organization or a community and sharing knowledge, experience and point of view. It means taking responsibility for the success, education and the well being of those we are leading. It means living in integrity, and by the integrity of our own actions, deserving the respect and ear of the many. It means speaking up for what's right, often first, and often changing the lives and minds of the bigger community.
L&M: I watched II Palazo and absolutely love it; it is so unique, creative and unexpected. Was that your concept or your team? http://youtu.be/WxixitjFh3Y
JSD: Yes, ll Palazzo was my concept. I wrote it, co-produced it and of course did all of the set design and a lot of the social media work and PR afterwards. I must say my director, Nino Mancuso and co-producer, Brian Rodda were amazing partners on this project. Without them and the rest of the crew it would have never happened.
I wanted to show that you could make a commercial, an art film, and have a social message all in one project. I think it ended up being pretty successful on all accounts. I just finished shooting its sequel, "The Paris Flat", which hit the internet on Valentine's Day. This time, I'm trying to achieve all the same things AND add a fundraising component for the fight for marriage equality. http://youtu.be/UjXfcwvPp3g
And again, although the concept and story came out of my head, the production team, which ended up being a creative team, made it into something so much more than I ever could have hoped for.
L&M: I have always found the written word to be inspirational and motivational and so each day I post a quote on the Leadership & More blog and through other social media. Do you have a favorite quote?
JSD: "Love thy neighbor as thyself includes feeling the pain of others as if it's our own, because that's when we become inspired to do whatever it takes to help our fellow man. Living the truth that we are one soul means that we take responsibility for everything that happens to others." - Yehuda Berg, The Kabbalah Center
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