In the newest Taking The Lead video podcast, Tom Coyne, Founder & CEO of Coyne PR, shares his insights drawn from his 33 years of leadership experience and building one of the U.S.’s most awarded PR agencies.

Here are excerpts from the full video interview:

One of my favorite Tom Coynisms is, “When you get credit as a leader, respond with a tennis racquet, not a baseball mitt.” That’s a lesson a number of leaders need to learn. How has that approach benefited you and the agency?

Too many leaders take too much credit for great stuff. At the end of the day, they get the credit anyway. If you know where the ideas come from, point it out. It builds trust because your team doesn’t have to advocate for themselves—you’re advocating for them. And it has to be authentic. People can smell it if it’s not real.

Too many times, people are looking for what’s wrong. They want to catch people making mistakes and fix them. But I try to focus on catching people doing things right. Thank them, applaud them. It’s simple, but it shifts the culture to one of trust and positivity. It makes people walk taller when they feel they’re making a difference. Why not help people feel that way?

When I visited your new office, you proudly showed me the huge conference room, the brainstorm spaces, and more. But I was surprised to see your personal office was smaller than before. Do you remember what you told me about that choice and how it reflects your leadership style?

I said, “Why do I need an office?: I’m meeting with clients in the conference rooms, I’m in the brainstorm spaces with my team, or I’m walking around, checking in on people—that’s my work.

Leadership isn’t about sitting behind a desk in a big corner office. It’s about being out there with your team, listening, collaborating, and creating an environment where ideas can thrive. At the end of the day, my job is to foster a space where great ideas and great people can come together. That doesn’t happen from behind a closed door.

What was your toughest leadership moment, and how did you get through it?

My toughest moment was about ten years ago when I had a CFO issue. He falsified our books and turned the company upside down financially. I had to lay off some people, and that’s always the hardest thing for me because I treasure my team.

It’s tough because you think about their lives—who’s putting kids through college, who just had a new baby. I did everything I could to help place them in jobs.

But you bounce back. As a leader, you focus on moving forward and supporting the people who are with you. I thought about the 150 families we support, and I knew we had to rebuild. You get through tough times by taking care of your team, keeping your focus on people, and staying grounded.

Another one of my favorite Tom Coynisms is “Success leaves footprints”. What are the leadership successes that you experienced, that left footprints and guide how you inspire and lead your teams and individuals?

My leadership footprints come from fixing problems and making things better for my team. For example, I heard copays were getting high, so I created a fund to cover them. When I updated our maternity policy, I brought together three women on my team who were pregnant at the time and told them, “You write the policy.”

The idea is to listen, solve problems, and support people. That’s what makes a lasting difference.

I also encourage my team to think beyond just what the industry does—to look for new ideas, better ways of working, and solutions that set us apart. Success leaves its mark when you push to do better and make life easier for the people you work with.

Who are the executives inside and outside the PR industry executives you admire as truly effective leaders, who have engaged, inspired followers, and whom you would follow?

Grace Leong of Hunter is amazing—she’s vibrant, creative, caring, and incredibly authentic. She tells you exactly how it is and inspires everyone around her.

Andy Polansky, now retired from Weber Shandwick, is another leader I admire. He’s kind, nice, generous, and doesn’t look down on people. He meets people at eye level and makes them feel appreciated.

Within Coyne PR, Rich Lukis, John Gogarty, and my leadership team are all terrific people. They help me stay accountable to our mission of being the best place to work. Sometimes, we’ll ask, 'Is this really the best place to work?' And if it’s not, we fix it. That’s the kind of accountability that makes us better.

What’s great about this business is the number of incredible people in it. Whether I’m judging awards or attending industry events, I see leaders who think at a higher level. Communicators don’t just think about what they put out—they think about how it’s received. That perspective, the ability to connect deeply and inspire, is what makes great leaders stand out.

I also look for leadership beyond PR. I admire people who are authentic, who care about their teams, and who push themselves to be better. At the end of the day, it’s about serving your people and creating an environment where they can succeed.

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Ken Jacobs is the principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching, which empowers PR and communications leaders and executives to breakthrough results via executive coaching, and helps communications agencies achieve their business development, profitability, and client service goals, via consulting and training. You can find him at www.jacobscomm.com, [email protected] @KensViews, or on LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to the Jacobs Consulting and Executive Coaching YouTube channel.