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Cartoon Network’s James Anderson
Shares 5 Tips For Young Professionals In Television
Before joining Turner Animation’s Young Adult Media Group (also known as Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang), James Anderson worked for another television mainstay, Carsey Werner. “I started with them right out of college as a production assistant on “The Cosby Show,” he shares. “So you can imagine the education I was getting.”
That education paid off, as Anderson is now senior VP of public relations for Turner Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media. “I’m responsible for overseeing the internal and external communications of all businesses connected to the network, including digital [and] corporate as well as production,” explains Anderson. –todd williams
What’s the most important lesson you learned as a young professional?
Learn how to listen. Learning how to observe and always knowing that I was not going to be right and it was OK to not always be right. Recognize that and then move forward from there.
What is a defining trait of an effective leader?
Get out of the way of those on your team. Learn delegation, trust [and] encouragement, and know when to step in and step out.
Can a young professional be too ambitious?
I think ambition is great as a young professional — even as an older professional. I think you have to find a balance with that ambition. There is an argument, however, that being too ambitious can be damaging because you don’t have the patience that is required to sit back and observe.
What must you be prepared to sacrifice for success?
I think one of the more obvious ones is time. As you go along in your career, you figure out that balance. I don’t think any good executive continues as a [good] executive unless they’ve got some kind of [outside] life experience. That could be family, travel, etc. [But] early on in a career one of the things that people tend to say that they sacrifice is their time.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
When you’re in a roomful of people, don’t always feel the need to talk — and if [or] when you do talk, make sure it’s on point.
