• by Larissa Faw , January 5, 2021

David&Goliath’s founder and creative chairman David Angelo is reflecting on 2020 as “less as the year that I survived a challenge but more as the year that I stood in the face of challenge, evolved as a leader and person and focused in on all that I have to be grateful for.”

Angelo tells MediaPost what the past 12 months have taught him as a leader, things he would do differently, and his biggest challenges as he looks towards 2021 with optimism and hope.

He believes he has grown both as a leader and personally through the tumultuous past year. “When the pandemic hit, one of the more fundamental life lessons that I experienced and was witness to is that it forced us all to pause and take a look at how we are living life, as it relates to our health, our families and friends,” he says. “It shifted how we viewed life and most importantly business. In essence we had to stop the world, to change the world.”

From a business standpoint, Angelo says it reminded the entire industry of how important it is to band together and focus on helping to find solutions to some of these issues, particularly diversity and inequality.

“And almost immediately, we were no longer an advertising industry trying to overtly sell products and services to people, but rather we were people who shared greater empathy and concern for each other,” he says. “There was less focus on self-serving interests and industry norms of the past and instead I saw authentic purpose in action.”

Seeing this unfold gave Angelo “great hope” for the industry and the power of creativity. “That is the greatest opportunity for all of us, in that, who we are in challenge ought to be who we are in life, and if we can apply that same type of action and philosophy to how we do business, we will shift our industry not just for the benefit of one, but for the good of all.”

While Angelo doesn’t typically look at how he would do something differently amidst a challenge, “as I view challenges as gems of life and it really comes down to our ability to recognize the opportunities for growth in them,” he thinks 2020 served as an “opportunity to further inspire as many people to awaken to an even braver version of themselves, to embrace a new mindset for change within themselves and in the world.” He adds, “And after the year we’ve had, that’s a welcome change.”

The last few months has sparked Angelo to evolve his leadership style. “As leaders, we are always learning, and in many ways unlearning past habits in order to be better people, which enables us to unlock our empathy and inspire those around us to do the same,” he states. “And commitment has to go beyond the walls of your agency or business; it must address the issue in your community and the world.”

Leaders must have the courage to stand up and truly embrace their own commitment both inside and outside of work, he states. “They must go from having to take action, to wanting to take action because it’s the right thing to do regardless of what shareholders or, in some cases, even clients may think. To me that is the essence of true leadership and where we need to evolve not only as leaders but as people.”

Another thing that Angelo learned about leadership this past year is to “surround yourself with like-minded leaders who authentically believe in change,” he says. “Leaders that all share the same values and quest for making the world a better place for all. Leadership is no longer about one person, but a group dynamic that is capable of creating greater transformation and impact together.”

His biggest challenge was twofold, he says. First embracing the idea of remote working and second, learning the technology that supports it. But once he learned the technology and discovered how effective working remotely is, “my entire world shifted,” he states. “It brought me back to the time I was working at Chiat Day when Jay Chiat first introduced the notion of a remote workplace, an idea that was ahead of its time. Back then, it was a challenge to consider because there was no proof of concept and mainly, there was nothing forcing us to do so. But after experiencing the benefits firsthand, during a pandemic where we had no choice but to embrace it, it’s hard to imagine not operating within this new mode of working.”

Working from home even brought him birthday joy. “To say that birthdays are a big deal at D&G is an understatement,” he jokes. And for his birthday, the team created a celebratory video and surprised him with it during an all-agency (200 people) meeting via Zoom. “Candles were involved. It was a moment I will cherish forever.”