José Cancela, the president of the Telemundo Station Group, didn’t get his first lessons in leadership working at a TV station, but while he was a teenage Air Force mechanic. A career pivot into sales brought him to work at the precursor to Univision, and he rose in the ranks of Spanish-language media over the following 45 years. Prior to his current role, Cancela served as president of Telemundo Puerto Rico for 12 years, including during Hurricane Maria, one of the island’s most devastating natural disasters.
But even during his television career, the Cuban American executive fell back on takeaways from his Air Force days — responsibility and team effort.
“You’re only as strong as each other,” he said. “Every part of the organization, no matter how insignificant you may believe it is, serves to drive the next step.”
Learn Cancela’s leadership lessons in the above video and his further comments below.
What leadership advice do you have for people starting their careers?
Even when you’re not in a leadership position, you have to behave as if you’re in leadership. Being responsible, making sure that you’re organized, being responsive to the needs of the people around you — those are all leadership traits. Even though you may not be leading someone, they prepare you for that opportunity when it presents itself.
You joined the Air Force shortly before you turned 18. What did the military teach you about leadership?
One of the fundamentals is that you’re only as strong as each other. While I was [an Air Force] mechanic, I made sure everything was in working order to be able to launch the aircraft. Every part of the organization, no matter how insignificant you may believe it is, serves to drive the next step. That’s my biggest takeaway to this day.
What was more stressful, your time in the Air Force or your career in television?
Each had their different type of stress. I do remember, to this day, very vividly, landing in San Antonio, Texas, and then being whisked off to the base. Being woken up [at] 5:00 a.m., a drill instructor with some sort of stick and a trash can, and bam, bam, bam — “Everybody up, everybody up, everybody up!” That was that way for quite a while.
But that stress is something you don’t carry with you to bed. The stress of an organization is hard to disconnect from. And more so today, with the iPhones and the access we have to each other, stress can overwhelm you if you don’t manage it correctly. So you need to learn how to disconnect. It’s very tough to do for aspiring journalists.
What was a challenging time for you during your career as a media leader, and how did you overcome it?
In 2017, in Puerto Rico, we were hit with [Hurricane Maria]. The entire island was without power, and I remember going into the newsroom [at] about 2:30 p.m. and we were off the air. I could sense the tension in the newsroom of everyone who wanted to know what had happened to their families. All the cell lines were down.
For the first time in my career, I had to walk into a newsroom and say to everybody that was in there, “Just shut down. Nothing you’re doing right now is going to have an impact on anyone. You need to go take care of your families.”
I thought that was one of our best moments as an organization, how we came back from [Hurricane] Maria in Puerto Rico, and how Comcast was giving and helping our employees and viewers, for many, many, many months. But those first 48 hours were probably the most challenging time I’ve had in my career. On the one hand, you feel powerless, but on the other hand, you can’t act powerless. You have to make sure people understand that you’re going to move them forward.
How have you paved the way for other Latino leaders?
Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to promote individuals, help them grow their careers, whether it was my days at Univision, a Spanish-language radio network or my time in Puerto Rico. In any position that I’ve held, I’ve tried to help people grow in their respective areas and sometimes even out of their comfort zone. It’s very rewarding. Last but not least, I hope I’ve led by example, that people who worked with me see what it takes or what you need to do to be able to lead an organization.
