Neus Flores
Take the Lead, a book co-authored by Academy #awarded Catalan actress Assumpta Serna and her husband Scottish actor Scott Cleverdon, is a groundbreaking literary work that offers practical insights into the power of acting, leadership and self-discovery.
Drawing from their diverse backgrounds, Assumpta Serna known for her co-starring role with Antonio Banderas in Matador (1986) – one of the first films by acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar – and starring in many other international films, and her husband Scott Cleverdon, best known as the angel Pyriel in the film The Prophecy 3: The Ascent, blend their expertise in theater, psychology, and #business to present a unique approach to leadership development in their book Take the Lead.
Take the lead (volume 2) is a must read for cinema lovers, and it explores the notion of leadership as a skill that can be cultivated and honed, emphasizing the importance of empathy, self-awareness, and adaptability in today’s fast-paced world.
Through #monologues, engaging anecdotes, practical exercises, and actionable #strategies, Take the Lead provides readers with the tools to unlock their potential, take ownership of their decisions, and lead others with confidence. This book is ideal for professionals, creatives, and anyone really looking to improve their #leadership skills.
Serna´s professional career is highly appreciated in Spain, and she even served as President of AISGE (Actores e Intérpretes – Sociedad de Gestión de España) – Spain’s society of managing intellectual property rights for actors.
She also volunteered in many organizations, such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), where she helped to select foreign movies for the #Oscars for four years. She was also a board member of the European Film Academy (EFA) for eight years, and raised 1.8 million euros to bring the European film awards to Catalonia in 2004.
After Serna´s previous book El Trabajo del Actor de Cine (The cinema actor´s work) published in the year 2000, the couple started educating future actors in their own First-Team Academy for actors based in Madrid (Spain), where they have taught 4,000 students from 6 countries in collaboration with various film schools and film festivals.
Their First-Team Academy currently offers courses designed to foster personal growth, team-building, and effective communication, equipping students to thrive in dynamic professional acting environments. This unique institution empowers individuals to approach leadership challenges with creativity and emotional intelligence, using the same tools Serna honed in her #illustrious acting career.
Moreover, First-Team Academy always include a variety of disabled and under-represented people in their courses thanks to the First Team Foundation. The last workshop by the academy was at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Mexico.
During the Covid-19 pandemic both actors began to do a daily livestream on the subject of acting, filming and other aspects of filmmaking from the perspective of actors working in the audiovisual industry, thus creating a #community with the membership of their online #followers called La Familia de Cine (cinema´s family), which currently includes over 100 #members from all over the world.
Looking ahead, the couple have exciting new projects on the horizon. They want to develop further on the work #ethics in cinema environments subject, which they already started when they posted videos on YouTube during the most complicated pandemic times.
By blending the arts with professional #growth, both Serna and Cleverdon are shaping the future of cinema leadership #education, proving that the best leaders are those who can #inspire, innovate, and connect with others on a human level, while showing that leadership can be not only an #art but also a #science.
Article published for Washington Morning by author Neus Flores
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