Rebecca Smart
Rebecca Smart is currently Managing Director, Publishing at DK, part of Penguin Random House that specializes in illustrated reference books and publishes globally. Prior to this, Rebecca was MD of Ebury for over four years.
Rebecca got her start in the industry before publishing degrees existed, when she completed a non-academic diploma in publishing. This was a practical 9-5 course that taught its students a huge range of publishing skills, from running a printing press and designing layouts to planning marketing campaigns, as well as structural editing and copy editing. Having acquired these skills, Rebecca got her first job in Oxford – as production controller, a role which she says gave her a sense of the book as a 360 degree functional object with a specific purpose for a reader. Production also gave Rebecca responsibility for the schedule and budget, and a wide experience across the whole publishing process. She speaks passionately about the importance of the many roles in publishing that are less visible: in contracts, finance, legal, logistics, technology and production.
After a few production roles in other companies, Rebecca joined Osprey, which had just moved to Oxford. As it grew, Rebecca grew with it, studying for an MBA and staying at the company for sixteen years while working her way up to become CEO. In 2014 she was approached by Tom Weldon, CEO of Penguin Random House UK, to take on the Managing Director role at Ebury – we learn she was incredibly excited by the opportunity, but found it a steep learning curve from niche enthusiast publishing to mass market consumer trade publishing. Rebecca still lives in Oxford, commuting two hours each way into London, now to her new role as Managing Director, Publishing of DK.
'A good employer will help you work in a way that will make you more effective in every part of your life.'
Living in a different city to the one you work in, do you feel that you have achieved work/life balance?
My family is established in Oxford, and I love being able to get out into the countryside at the weekend. The long commute is always going to be a challenge, but I don’t come into London on a Friday and that keeps me sane! Sadly I think it’s normally women who feel they need to find balance. Society hasn’t moved as far as it needs to, but I do think responsibilities are more shared now. My husband works at home and does all the running around with the children, but there are sacrifices to be made for both of us. I would say that the more responsibility you take on, the less it becomes about work-life ‘balance’ and more about just getting everything in your life done. Work and home become less distinct, so for me it’s important that the job gets done but it doesn’t matter when it happens. I’m so pleased that Penguin Random House brought in a flexible working policy because it’s important for both the company and employees that we get the best out of people, and that means people need to be able to work in a way that suits them. My advice would be: don’t be afraid to ask for the arrangements that work for you. If you are passionate and great at what you do, a good employer will help you work in a way that will make you more effective in every part of your life.
'I look at my daughter and she and her friends are just going for it – whatever they want to do, nothing will stand in their way.'
Publishing is made up of over 70% women, yet leadership roles are predominately occupied by men. What are the barriers to more women taking on leadership roles?
There are so many reasons more women don’t become leaders. In my experience for some women confidence is still a problem. We need to shout louder about what we do. But I hope and think that this is improving. There are women who say, ‘It’s just not me. I don’t want to be at the centre of things and the person everyone is looking at.’ Obviously, it’s not just women who feel like that – there are men too – but I believe that reluctance to step up to a leadership role will change with the next generation. I look at my daughter, who’s fifteen, and she and her friends are just going for it – whatever they want to do, nothing will stand in their way. I think there are women of my generation who have not felt empowered in that way. I have always believed I could do whatever I wanted if I worked hard enough, and I think that belief is really important.
'You need to learn to be OK with the fact that you don’t know everything; don’t pretend that you do.'
What advice would you give to someone who is stepping up to a leadership role?
Surround yourself with people you can learn from and find mentors from different backgrounds. I found Twitter was a huge help in building a network of people I could trust and ask questions of. You need to learn to be OK with the fact that you don’t know everything; don’t pretend that you do. For example, I joined a fantastic team at Ebury, an incredibly successful company, so it was about trusting those people, learning from them and seeing where I could add value.
For me, learning to manage people was a gradual process. There’s a model I learned on my MBA which is to think about management in three layers – first work on truly managing yourself, then managing people one-to-one, then managing a team. I’d already been thinking about that – and about myself as a leader – by the time I managed a team.
One of the things that I would say to people who are starting to manage others is just be yourself. It’s as simple as the fact that you are you, trying to get the best out of each individual and help them grow. Another piece of advice is always to say the thing that’s lurking in the back of your mind – the thing you’re not sure that you should say. You obviously need to think about how you say it, and it’s really not easy, but in my experience some of the best results come from the hardest conversations.
'There’s something about displaying emotion and vulnerability that people love, because it shows them that you are human.'
At Ebury we published Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, which is all about how vulnerability is powerful in leadership, and I would totally agree with that. I said that the best results come out of the hardest conversations, and every time I have shown vulnerability it has been a positive thing. There’s something about displaying emotion and vulnerability that people love, because it shows them that you are human. Don’t be afraid of that.
Finally, I would say be kind to yourself. Yes, go for it – hustle, push yourself hard – but make sure that at the same time you’re looking after yourself.
'A book can be a way to harness the power of an activist or, on the other hand, to escape from some of that turbulence.'
As someone who has been leading a division at a major publishing company, what do you anticipate the biggest changes to the industry will be in the next ten years?
Our biggest challenge has to be to grow our readership. With so many calls on people’s time, we need to show them why books are important and, more than that, why they are cool. The political turbulence we are experiencing leaves a void which our industry can help fill through authority, knowledge and facts in a trusted product. A book can be a way to harness the power of an activist or, on the other hand, to escape from some of that turbulence. A book can be the answer, whatever your need. I don’t think the industry is good enough at explaining what we do and why it is important.
I think audio and voice will continue to grow in importance, and there’s some way to go on the technology. Voice-led artificial intelligence needs to improve dramatically before it becomes really useful, because at the moment it’s seen as fun and gimmicky. AI needs to transform the interface between voice devices and the internet. There are companies trying to introduce emotion into AI-read audiobooks but it’s not there yet.
Lifelong learning will continue to grow as a trend for all kinds of reasons. At the moment I think part of this goes back to the turbulence of our modern world; we are looking for ways to make sense of things. Again, we can make the most of that.
Finally, could you tell us about another woman working in publishing who inspires you?
Madeline McIntosh – now CEO of PRH US – is such an inspiring woman. She is brilliant; super smart, exceptionally strategic and commercial, but incredibly human.
