The Stable’s series of powerhouse women in adland-Aus for International Women’s Day continues. These women are not all CCOs or CEOs although some are leaders. The Stable, and the people who nominated them, want to applaud the grit, guts and gumption that exist in women at every level. We hope our powerhouse women will inspire everyone to see people, not their gender, in their colleagues, clients, friends and partners.
Until the pervasive stereotypes, gender pay gap, unequal parenting…the idea that women are less than…disappear. Until a person’s sex doesn’t affect their choices or their standing, let’s make sure that International Women’s Day continues to its job.
This edition features Jessica Thompson, creative director, The Hallway. She was nominated by Simon Lee, partner & CCO, The Hallway, who commented, “In just a couple of years as a creative director, Jess has shown herself to be at the vanguard of a new generation of creative leaders. She fuses exceptional creative talent with an empathetic leadership style, authentically garners the respect of senior clients and elegantly balances fierce creative and professional ambition with motherhood. I see Jess as an inspiring role model for young female creatives looking to make their mark on the industry.”
Here is a snapshot of what makes Jessica Thompson a powerhouse woman:
The Stable: May we talk first about your parenting career break. What did you fear about the break? What happened (good or bad) because of the break? How are you supported as a working mum?
Jessica Thompson: As a self-identified Career Girl, I approached Elodie’s due date with not a small amount of panic. What if, after her birth, I became Just A Mum? A tired, doting woman, sporting leggings and always a mysterious stain, relegated to a dowdy demographic thought of only during conversations about fabric softener and sales on milk. I’d return to work, maybe, and be affectionately side-lined because of my newfound soft-headedness and propensity to burst into tears.
What actually happened was this: I learned a patience and an empathy I’d never known. I found myself more capable, efficient, independent, humble and joyful than I’d ever been. And as I returned to work, I gained perspective and confidence. In a workplace like The Hallway that acknowledges an individual’s multitudes, and with the determination so many working mothers have to find fulfilment in all of our identities, I’ve become a version of myself that I’m so proud of.
My own mother warned me that the Second Wave feminists were wrong, that you can’t have it all, and that something has to give. And maybe that’s true. I’ll have to do it longer to know for sure. But I’ve done the best work of my career in the six months since I returned to work, and have the messy pleasure of a toddler to come home to at the end of it to boot. This is not to diminish the choices of stay-at-home mums; I now know the phrase, Just A Mum, is a harmful, erroneous paradox. But if you want both the career and the motherhood, it takes a hell of a lot of work, but you can absolutely do it, and do it well.
TS: You’ve had an interesting career path – production, journalism, comms, writer/CD. What did you take with you from each phase that helped you in the next?
JT: In my first job, I learned a 9-5 wasn’t the terrifying prison it seemed during uni.
In my second, I learned that I could write well enough that people might like to read it. A hobby can become a career.
In my third, I learned that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was. But I could be.
In my fourth, I learned that even if passionate and angry sometimes feel the same, delivery is everything.
And I’m still learning. Right now, I’m focused on how to set boundaries for and expectations of other people while also being kind to them. I think the trope of the furious, uncompromising CD is so boring. As well as becoming recognised for great work, I hope one day to be recognised for great leadership.
TS: What do you think it takes to be a successful leader? What skills or assets do you rely on most?
JT: I’m still forming an opinion about this, and I hope never to stop, but this is what I believe so far: Being able to demonstrate that you can and will do the things you expect from others. Staying calm and clear when everything around you is chaos. Recognising when someone else in the room has a better answer than you, and giving that person the space to own and exercise their point of view. Being there and getting out of the way at the same time. And being, at all times, approachable. You can’t do any of this if the people you hope are looking up to you are too intimidated to speak.
TS: What gets you up in the morning?
JT: Elodie, usually. Singing “Old Madonna had a farm” at the top of her lungs. But after her, and this is going to sound so trite I’m almost embarrassed to write it, is hope. I am buoyed all the time by hope, and belief, and dedication to those two painfully ephemeral things. For someone with such a moody headshot, I am a very romantic optimist. I enter the day with the belief that the good things we want will come, that hard work will pay o, that the idea I had at four a.m will look as good in layout as it did in my head. And I’m committed. I won’t let anyone down, least of all myself.
TS: What advice would you give to a woman wanting to gain a foothold in the industry now?
JT: Find, harass, meet and learn from other women who are in the positions you hope one day to be in. I’ll be one, if you like. Message me. Don’t let anyone diminish you as a compromise for reaching your goals. Tell the people who have the power to enable your ambitions what you want and why you deserve it; don’t wait for them to notice, or to offer it, or to make space for you. Whoever made you believe it’s impolite for a lady to speak up was full of shit. You are in control of what happens to you. So go and make it happen.
TS: What are you most proud of?
JT: In the wake of the birth of my first child, it would be remiss of me not to list her first. She is my Titanium Lion, a brilliant little beast of tiny proportions and epic potential.
Work-ly speaking, and most recently, I am proud of our work for Boody. From the spark of an idea over the breakfast bar to a fully realised campaign that seems really to have impacted women and their expectations for what the fashion industry – and society at large – ought to be offering us, the work is exactly what I knew it could be. It owes so much of its success to the collaboration of very talented, very impressive women across complementary disciplines.
Finally, I’m proud of the times people – particularly my female colleagues and friends – have let me know something I did or said made a difference to their own experiences. The most rewarding part of being in a position of leadership is learning you’ve added a little fuel to someone else’s fire so they can go get what they want, too.
