Many people try to define leadership, but it’s rarely that simple. There’s no universal formula—leadership is inherently adaptable. If I were conducting an orchestra or running a vineyard, my approach would look completely different from what I’ve honed as a leader working at Valnet over the past two years.
By leading the Screen Portfolio – which includes brands such as ScreenRant, Collider, CBR, and MovieWeb – I oversee one of the world’s most influential entertainment media portfolios, reaching over 150 million readers monthly. Managing this expansive portfolio requires orchestrating the efforts of over 800 talented content creators worldwide. In striving for success, I have had to develop my leadership skills to empower my team to excel under high pressure conditions, fostering a collaborative and resilient environment.
This article isn’t a one-size-fits-all blueprint for success; rather, it’s my perspective on leading in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment. Leadership requires being mindful of your surroundings and adapting your approach accordingly— so be mindful of this as you read it through my experience.
Finding the Right People and Understanding What Motivates Them
In an industry as relentless and fast-paced as digital publishing, leadership requires a thorough understanding of what drives people and rallying them toward a common goal. As a leader, it’s essential to set high standards while deeply understanding the core motivations that drive each team member. It’s about identifying when recruiting or promoting who can handle the heat of a blitz-paced environment, who thrives when stakes are high, and who has the resilience to pivot after an industry-wide disruption.
At Valnet, we focus on hiring individuals who foster the Valnet business System (VBS)—a framework built on efficiency, adaptability, and a commitment to high standards. VBS emphasizes not only achieving results but also fostering a highly competitive environment where innovation and resilience are valued.
Which means that when I recruit new hires for the Valnet team, I always seek ambitious, competitive, energetic and humble people who thrive on competition and have the drive to outshine others with similar profiles. These are the people I value most—not just because they are capable, but because they’re driven by a commitment to performance, competition, and achievement. For example, I particularly value individuals who have led sports teams as Captains, as this often demonstrates natural leadership and the ability to inspire and organize a group under pressure. In corporate settings, managers of small teams tend to have inherited those teams due to technical expertise rather than genuine leadership—especially if they haven’t recruited or built the team themselves. So it’s never a guarantee that someone with past management experience will be a strong leader.
I find that those who bring natural leadership, an ambitious mindset and work hard/play hard mentality to the table are best armed to navigate the high pressure and relentless pace of publishing.
Transparency to Ensure Sustained Efforts
In general, it’s essential that each team member has clarity on their career path and the long-term opportunities available to them. Why? When people have clarity on their mid- and long-term goals, their engagement, focus, and drive to grow within the company naturally increase.
This component is the key to retention: athletes would get demotivated and drop out if there was no clear path to success or to a career. This is why I make it a priority to communicate clear career pathways so that people have clear goals.
To promote talent development, I like to start high-potential employees with a small scope and expand it based on their successes. This approach fosters continuous learning as they take on new challenges and build adaptability. It not only drives personal growth but also serves as an effective strategy for retaining top talent.
Leading By Example
To lead effectively in high-stakes environments, nothing beats leading by example. The most successful coaches in professional sports are often ex-pros who understand the game from every angle and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty by performing exercises themselves to lead athletes. This isn’t just about maintaining humility; it’s about showing your team that you’re in the trenches with them, ready to do the hard work. As a leader, leading by example builds credibility and triggers learning by replication. When your team sees you embodying the standards you set, they’re more likely to adopt those standards themselves—and that kind of cultural alignment drives sustainable success.
My role requires me to manage Operation Managers who oversee P&Ls, and leading by example comes naturally because it’s the role I started with at Valnet. Whether it’s brainstorming article ideas, negotiating rates, or hiring content creators, I step in whenever needed to support my team. For instance, while building ScreenRant’s presence in New York, I’ve been personally writing job descriptions, conducting interviews, and crafting business cases to accelerate success. This hands-on approach not only accelerates getting results but also shows my team that I’m willing to do anything I ask of them.
Striking A Balance With Internal Competition
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” — Phil Jackson
Fostering a competitive environment inside a team is a powerful motivator, but competition requires balance. Too much competition risks a toxic environment, while too little can breed complacency and dull ambition.
The key to navigating this balance is to give each person an individual goal that’s measurable, such as hitting KPIs specific to their role, alongside a team goal that drives collective success. For example, my recruiters have individual goals measured by two KPIs: net onboarding (onboards minus departures) and retention. They compete with one another to showcase the best results, which fosters competition and performance. However to balance this, they all have, as part of their bonus structure, a shared goal for the portfolio to hit its EBITDA target. This combination of individual and team objectives allows me to push people to their full potential while maintaining strong collaboration.
Closing Thoughts & Call For Hires
By reading through this article you’ve probably realized through the many sports analogies that my view on leadership has a lot in common with how a coach is expected to run a top-tier sports team. Success comes down to recruiting the right talent, fostering growth under performance pressure, and setting ambitious, clear goals for the individuals but also for the team. Each team member strives to excel individually, yet works toward winning as a group. Overall I seek to build a culture where everyone can reach their potential—and together, achieve remarkable results.
If this vision resonates with you and you’re confident in your ability to make an impact, I invite you to explore our current opportunities.
