Leadership Lessons with Patrick Bonin, Founder and Managing Director of The Line

Camille Chevallier, Senior Consultant for Communications in Europe at Hanson Search, recently sat down with Patrick Bonin, Founder and Managing Director of The Line, part of the Kingcom group. In celebration of The Line’s first anniversary, they discussed the importance of technical expertise in leadership, the necessity of humility in a shifting agency landscape and why the traditional 360-degree model is giving way to specialist collaboration.

What was your journey into PR?

I actually started out as a macroeconomics professor at French universities. Driven by intellectual curiosity, I eventually left my thesis to find a job that allowed me to engage with a variety of subjects, like industry, sport and food, all in a single day. I met a PR agency director by chance and started as a consultant. I worked at Le Public Système, spent time in a ministerial cabinet focused on sports, and have been managing PR teams ever since. For me, this job is a passion because of that constant mix of subjects and communication channels.

How would you describe your leadership style?

I don’t think a leader should just be a “conductor” of an orchestra. You need to be technically proficient enough to step in as the “first violin” when the team needs you. Beyond that, my leadership is really focused on recruiting and developing talent. Over the past 20 years, I’ve hired over 150 people, and I am happy to say that I am still in touch with most of them. Leadership also requires humility and transparency. For example, I’ll tell a client, “I’m not the best expert for this specific algorithm; my colleague is.” A good leader knows they cannot be an expert in everything.

What is your biggest success or pride in this job?

My greatest pride lies is the relationships that I’ve built. I love opening LinkedIn and seeing messages from former employees or students asking for my opinion. One of my proudest moments was when two former employees called me back to hire my agency because they valued my expertise. Being able to help people in their professional journeys is a true accomplishment for me.

What advice would you give to someone starting their career?

The most important thing is to stay humble. Never believe you know everything and avoid the “Olivia Pope” syndrome; there is always more to learn. You also need to embrace disagreement. Early in your career, it is hard to hear a client or manager say your work isn’t right, but those are exactly the moments that drive progress. These days it’s especially important to stay curious, because our industry is constantly progressing, just look at AI and social media. If you think you’ve “seen it all,” you are mistaken.

I would also urge any managers to never argue with someone’s feelings. You can debate professional skills or client feedback, but if a collaborator feels they have reached their limit, you must listen and accept that feeling.

What are the current challenges for the agency model?

The biggest challenge right now is understanding the “subtext” of a client’s brief. Often, we take a need literally, while the client, having lived with their brand for 25 years, might be thinking of something entirely different. I want to integrate more people from the “advertiser” side to bridge this gap. Additionally, we must keep PR attractive to new talent despite competition from AI and large consulting firms. We also need to rethink the role of junior consultants, as AI now handles many of their traditional tasks. If we don’t, we risk not having a senior generation in five years.

What about company culture and innovation?

Agency culture must be based on transparency and trust. As for innovation, I think the “360-degree” model, where one agency claims to do everything, is over. True innovation comes from recognising your “blur zones” and collaborating with specialised experts, such as data mappers, rather than working in a “white label” mode. Clients really appreciate it when you openly acknowledge what you can’t do and direct them to the right specialist.

What are your thoughts on the future of the industry?

I am optimistic. Today, you can’t do corporate communication without consumer communication or social media; everything is interconnected. Public officials are on Twitter while reading the press; the channels are inseparable. Our job is to move away from the “chic vs. dirty” battles between high-level public affairs and operational community management. Humility is the cardinal value of our profession.

Whether you’re hiring top Public Relations talent or considering your next career move, our team would be delighted to support you.

Camille Chevallier is  Senior Consultant for Communications in Europe. Camille brings her in-depth knowledge of communications to the recruitment industry and works across marketing and communications sectors.

Hanson Search is a globally recognised, award-winning talent advisory and headhunting consultancy. Our expertise lies in building successful ventures worldwide through our recruitment, interim and executive search in communications, sustainability, public affairs and policy, digital marketing and sales.