The Roundtable: Leadership Behind the Scenes
Participants from left to right in video: Sarah Gossett, Nova Brand Projection Christopher Burnley, Corefact Rosemarie Breske Garvey, Blooming Color Josh Russell, CBi Print
Leadership in print today looks very different than it did even a few years ago. In this Dscoop Roundtable, four industry leaders — Sarah Gossett of Nova Brand Projection, Christopher Burnley of Corefact, Rosemarie Breske Garvey of Blooming Color and Josh Russell of CBi Print — come together to talk about what it really takes to build strong teams in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment. The conversation quickly moves beyond strategy and into how people feel, how they grow and how culture shows up in the day-to-day reality of work.
The group acknowledges the stress that comes with leadership, but emphasized that purpose, shared ownership and a sense of contribution can transform that pressure into something beautiful and sustainable. When teams feel invested in both the customer experience and the company’s success, they show up differently.
That mindset connects directly to how leadership itself is evolving. Across the discussion, there was a clear shift away from top-down decision-making and toward empowerment. The most effective leaders are not trying to have all the answers, the group says. Instead, leaders are creating environments where people closest to the work can contribute ideas, make decisions and take ownership of outcomes. In production environments especially, the insight and expertise on the floor often surpass what can be dictated from above, and organizations perform better when that reality is embraced.
Trust plays a central role in making that shift work. The group highlights the importance of two-way trust — leaders trusting their teams to make decisions, and teams trusting that their voices are heard and valued. Transparency has become a key part of that equation. More companies are opening up about performance, sharing financial context and helping employees understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
Hiring and developing talent is another area where leadership is changing. Rather than focusing only on experience, these leaders are prioritizing qualities like curiosity, empathy, intelligence and a willingness to learn. Culture fit has become just as important as technical skill, if not more so. When hiring does not work out, the impact is felt across the team, reinforcing how critical it is to get those decisions right. Many are adapting by involving teams earlier in the hiring process and being more deliberate in how they evaluate candidates.
The conversation also includes the complexity of leading modern print organizations. Hybrid work environments, multiple locations and varying roles across production and client-facing teams all create challenges in maintaining a unified culture.
Through it all, these four leaders say, strong leadership is less about control and more about connection, clarity and creating the conditions for people to do their best work.
