Marisa Laria, Marketing & Communications Manager, Revlon Inc

TMA so far: What’s the single most valuable insight gleaned? 

That I can be myself and still be an inspiring leader. Why are we trying so hard to be someone we are not? Too often do we suffer from imposter syndrome, feeling like we are just not stepping up to the mark. I found myself trying to replicate styles from others which did not align to my values or my strengths. The Marketing Academy helped me to realise that putting others first and leading with empathy and kindness do not need to stop the higher up the chain you go. Imagine a workplace where everyone was comfortable being themselves – no ego and no mask.

How to nail the TMAs entry requirements?  

Be yourself!! What makes you special, why do your colleagues/team love working with you, what personal parts of your life have shaped who you are? Share them.

Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given & why? 

“Drive it like you stole it”. It is something we learnt at the first Marketing Academy bootcamp. In moments of stress, we tend to be cautious or overthink. WE HAVE GOT THIS! Back yourself, go with your gut and just run with it. What is the worst that could happen?

The greatest professional lesson you have relearned/assumption to explode? 

Identify your values early and ensure the way you lead supports those values. This will allow you to be an authentic leader and ground you in making decisions which allow you to be happy and also help others to thrive. There are moments in my career I am not proud of and talking through these with my executive coach (the fabulous Leigh Morrison who provides her services free of charge as part of The Marketing Academy scholarship!) I have been able to uncover it all come back to the misalignment in values. It sounds so simple but is so easily overlooked or forgotten in times of stress.

Greatest capability gap (individually & within your teams)? 

The thirst for learning and development from employees which cannot be matched by the business.

Talent crisis: What’s the impact on your teams, how to navigate (what is keeping people from moving on?) 

Marketers have incredibly curious minds. We are always on the hunt for newer, bigger, better – and that is the same with our learning and development. If employees aren’t getting in on the job or via formal training, they will look elsewhere. I feel so proud when someone in my team is promoted and even when they leave for a stronger role. I have done my job if they are improving and are proud of their achievements.

Elly Hewitt, Founder and Managing Director, Alt/Shift

TMA so far: What’s the single most valuable insight gleaned? 

That leading with authenticity and vulnerability builds trust from your team members and clients, and that kindness is a superpower not a weakness in business.

How to nail the TMAs entry requirements?

Don’t treat it as an interview. You need to be far more revealing of yourself than you would in a professional interview setting. Allow them to get to know the real you and be clear on what you want to get out of the experience.  

Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given & why? 

You fall the way you lean. This was something that came through really strong in the first bootcamp for TMA. I am someone who has previously prioritised everything around me before me. Every time I go put my health or my priorities on the back burner, I say this to myself. My second favourite piece of advice from a long-term client is: ‘Being right isn’t always right.’

The greatest professional lesson you have relearned/assumption to explode? 

I think going through Covid as an agency owner renewed my belief that if you put your employees ahead of everything, then everything works out. Whenever things feel tough, whether it be pipeline concerns, client issues etc, rather than staring at a P&L hoping for things to change, I redirect my energy towards my team. It always turns things around.

Greatest capability gap (individually & within your teams)? 

After two years of lockdown, I found myself and the team took some adjusting to managing clients in real life. Being present in face-to-face meetings when multi-tasking behind the screen became a habit when working virtually took some adjusting to. But more than anything, I don’t see any major capability gaps, I am constantly blown away by the talent working within the business. The greatest challenge is finding more people to support business growth. The skilled migrant visa changes affected the PR industry prior to Covid. And now we have a shortage of expat talent who you could always rely on for short term contracts at a bare minimum, as well as sponsoring those who wished to stay. Many returned home in 2020 and 2021 – and we’ve yet to see them return.

Talent crisis: What’s the impact on your teams, how to navigate (what is keeping people from moving on?) 

The impact of the talent crisis is the single main issue that keeps me awake at night. There is no joy seeing your team stretched. Often the pressure points are non-billable work like pitches or big responses to briefs for existing clients. Previously, we have been able to lean on freelance creative teams or, for large PR campaigns, freelance publicists to help with media pitching efforts. Finding freelance talent has been nearly impossible for 24 months and finding quality freelance talent has been even harder. If the talent isn’t up to scratch, it ends up putting more pressure on the teams. Recently, we have definitely seen more movement in the freelance space, and hopefully once the northern hemisphere summer is done, people will flock to our shores for working holidays once again. To mitigate turnover throughout this period we have invested significant time listening to the teams’ preferences on work locations and have introduced the following:

• • Two days in the office (Monday and Tuesday for collaboration needs), the rest of the week is fully flexible.
  • Work from anywhere for a month each year.
  • Shifty Job Pause – allowing up to three months leave and we will hold people’s roles.
  • We have always distributed 10 per cent of our profits to our team and hold a two-day offsite Shifty retreat, annually.

The above seems to be working, our turnover remains really low in spite of the ‘great resignation’ trend that was highly talked about in 2021.

Andrew May, Chief Growth Officer, v2food

TMA so far: What’s the single most valuable insight gleaned? 

A deeper understanding of self, others and how we interact personally and professionally. Understanding that everyone is motivated differently and we are all very much individuals. But we share common challenges throughout life and caring for each other and increasing understanding of self and others can propel us forward in many ways.

How to nail the TMAs entry requirements?  

Be yourself! Trying to be something you're not will only create a façade in life and the same thing goes for the TMA process!

Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given & why? 

Don't assume others know the same things you do. We work across a vast range of people and assuming others are in the same school of thought can have a large impact when everyone has different starting points or levels of understanding. Especially in teams with different backgrounds, clarifying assumptions up front and being open about goals, objectives and the approach goes a long way to aligning and leveraging different strengths and skillsets.

The greatest professional lesson you have relearned/assumption to explode? 

Understanding what you're good at and focusing in on that. The things we do day to day may not be our greatest strengths, but we can always find a way to unlock our strengths or use them in a different way to keep energised and moving forward.

Greatest capability gap (individually & within your teams)? 

Insight and influence. Seeing where things are going or where they need to go and using influencing skills to help bring others on that journey – so everyone is working towards common goals that are underpinned by insight.

Talent crisis: What’s the impact on your teams, how to navigate (what is keeping people from moving on?) 

Working in a relatively new organisation that is anchored in purpose, we find that our teams are inspired by our mission and feel a collective belonging to work together to achieve great things. There is definitely a pull for good talent and the last three years have made people view the world and their lives differently – organisations that aren't able to deliver on that will see good talent start to look for new opportunities.