Take Ownership for Change
by Kevin Urban
I just finished reading President Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" and in it he talks about his values and how they were shaped. I have to be honest, I like what this man stands for and, so far as I can see, he has stayed true to the core values that he laid out in his book… accountability being one.
A few days after finishing the book, The President said something that really stood out to me - "I screwed up". Regardless of the fact that we hardly ever hear a president utter those words, it was jarring. Not because he "screwed up" but because he owned up to making a poor choice. He was holding himself accountable - which I had just read was one of his core values.
Thoughts started to pour in and I started to think about this newsletter article, actors, and our profession and realized that as actors we as a group need to be more accountable to ourselves and our careers. I thought about one of my clients who had been unhappy with an agent relationship for several months and how this client took action to change this relationship.
This particular client is very proactive and was going to open calls, being seen, and booking projects that his agent said "I couldn't get you in for" and give a number of reasons why. This happened consistently enough that my client, feeling unsupported by the agent, was ready to walk away. Having booked a new job without the agents help, and upset with the thought of paying the agent 10 percent, my client had decided to leave the agent and wanted to do it via a phone call.
I convinced my client that it was not the way to go and that it should be done in a face to face meeting. Not only did this client need to practice meeting skills for preparation for a new agent, it was something out of their comfort zone. In our session, we worked on the facts. No embellishment, no snarky comments…just the facts. Acknowledging the moves made by each party, and blaming no one. In our hour we came up with a plan of talking about the circumstances and role played the scenario. My client was going into the meeting ready to walk away, and was ok with the outcome of being agent-less.
I met with this client the following week and asked how the agent meeting went. As we started the session, my client told me that things went differently than expected. At the beginning of the meeting the agent was defensive, but because my client stuck to only the facts, telling the agent the reasons for the unhappiness, and announcing another booked job the agent had said "they won't see you for this", the agent's attitude changed. Suddenly the agent was working to keep my client on his roster. Finally, my client had the agent working for him. Had my client gone in blaming the agent, the agent wouldn't have been as receptive and they probably would not have walked away working together.
I see many actors who put the blame outside of themselves. In 2009, the Savvy Year of Determination, it's time to own up to what is and isn't working in your career. It's not the agents fault, the casting director's fault or the director's. Take control of the reigns of your career. Again, the key for me lies in the word ownership. By taking ownership you are really valuing who you are and what you want out of your life and career. Thank you Mr. President.
(Side Note: I highly encourage any actor to read the Prologue of President Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" for inspiration. Obama is very candid about the ups and downs of his political career which are, believe it or not, very similar to those of our own industry.)
