EJ Gamboa, Digital Marketing, Media & E-commerce Consultant

What’s the single most valuable insight gleaned? 

“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.” Too many of us with great ambition wind up chasing the common definition of “success”, without thinking deeply about whether it aligns with our own personal definition of success. This struck a chord in me, and inspired me to dive into consulting work after the first TMA boot camp so I could gain exposure to new industries, businesses, people, approaches, and ways of thinking, which has been invaluable in propelling my growth and helping me arrive at a deeper understanding of what I truly want to do and achieve for myself.

How to nail the TMAs entry requirements?  

Be open, honest, and leave your pride at the door. As accomplished as everyone is in TMA, getting into the program isn’t just about your achievements; it’s also about your journey. Being able to acknowledge that you’re still on a journey to grow into a better person and leader will not only improve your chances of getting into the program, but also getting the most out of it.

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

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear”. I’ve heard this from many people, said in many different ways, but I think that quote best sums it up. Taking risks and venturing outside my comfort zone has paid off many times before.

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

How to listen. The vast majority of leaders have never received any training on how to listen, which costs organisations alignment, time, and perspective, among other things. TMA’s workshop on deep listening helped pave the way to a lifetime of better, more effective communication for everyone lucky enough to be in the room.

Greatest capability gap (individually and within your teams)? 

The ability to communicate the incredibly complex in a way that is easy for anyone to understand. This has always been a challenge, and is becoming more so as marketing continues to evolve and become more ingrained with technology, and as new platforms continue to be introduced and media becomes more fragmented. People who are as proficient in communicating as they are in their field of deep expertise are rare, but probably worth their weight in gold.

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

At times when teams are thinly resourced and team members are forced to wear many hats, strong leadership becomes paramount. Leaders who can engage, empathise, and empower people not only attract top talent, but they're also very hard to leave — and the opposite is true. As important as finding and developing talent is within a business, it's just as important to invest in more effective leadership.

Sophie Hirst, Brand & Reputation Marketing Manager, Google ANZ

What’s the single most valuable insight gleaned? 

So much of being a good leader is self awareness. When you observe, understand and work on your behaviours, it can unlock so much leadership potential. For example, the way we listen in a meeting, the way we contribute to a conversation, the way we show appreciation to people, the mindset you start the day with — turns out a lot of us are doing it wrong a lot of the time. You have to really work on this stuff and train yourself to do it effectively. The conditions are always perfect if you have the right mindset.

How to nail the TMAs entry requirements?  

It’s not a marketing campaign or sales pitch. You don’t have to be clever or impressive, you just have to be you (and maybe a little bit impressive...). Don’t kill yourself over the entry video – work out your story, get video selfie mode happening on your phone and go for it. Your reference is important – spend time on that. The panel just wants to get to know the real you, see that you’re open to growth and change, and have confidence you’ll respect the culture of the TMA community.

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

The best advice is the kind that you hold in your heart and refer to often. For me, that advice came from the legendary Katie Rigg-Smith as part of The Marketing Academy mentorship series. “Don’t aim for being liked, aim for being respected." As a conflict-avoiding, people-pleasing perfectionist, this advice helps me make tough decisions on a daily basis. Thanks KRS!

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

The assumption that successful people always have a five-year plan. One of the most valuable parts of The Marketing Academy has been the opportunity to sit down with some of the best leaders in Australia and ask them anything. I’ve delighted in exploding the assumption that all career choices are strategic and perfectly timed. It helps to know your values and what gives you energy, but instinct, creativity and a bit of luck play a much bigger part in designing careers than I used to think.

Greatest capability gap (individually and within your teams)? 

I’m working on educating myself around sustainable marketing practices - decarbonisation, eliminating operational waste, shaping team culture to prioritise sustainable decision making. There’s so much potential for marketers to drive change in everything we do from briefing to creative production, events and experiences to media buying.

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

I’m in a very privileged position in that I haven’t experienced a talent crisis on the team I lead or on the broader marketing team.

Emily Cook, Head of Client Partnerships, Carat

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

The richest and strongest connections come from taking off ‘the mask’, what we place to protect ourselves. This is not about weakness or over-sharing, but I have seen first-hand how it can drive immense connection and deep respect between people. Walking into the room day one of bootcamp with 29 of the top talent in the Marketing and Agency industry in Australia, it can be extremely intimidating! However, through the shared experience and journey of ‘unmasking’ and being truly open to how everyone’s lived experiences has shaped the person sitting next to me and reciprocating that with deep honesty, it truly unlocked incredibly meaningful conversations, stronger connections, and genuine support. Taking this into the ‘real world’ outside of TMA, I have only seen this build stronger, trusted connections and meaningful conversations with my team, my peers, clients, friends, and family

How to nail the TMAs entry requirements? 

Don’t overthink it. You just be absolutely you and make sure you are really open to the process. It can be daunting as hell! But I learnt that there is method to everything that the wonderful team at TMA go through to identify the right individuals for your cohort. Be open to the process, show up as you and give everything you have because it is one of the most rewarding experiences you will have and make a network for life. Also don’t stress about high quality production on your ‘showcase’, it can be rough and ready and show you as you which is all the TMA team want to see!

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

That no matter who you are, what your title is, leadership is a way of life. If you have the ability to influence the people around you, you are a leader. Great leaders at the end of the day are exhausted because of how much they have given to other people.

I love this because it means it puts you squarely in charge of how you carry yourself day-in-day-out and how you can live your life, influencing and supporting the people around you.

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

Listening! While I thought I was a very good listener, I was never truly listening. Re-learning to deeply listen, declaring assumptions from the beginning and being conscious of your listening villain (I am fair and squarely a dramatic listener!). Oscar (Trimboli) re-taught me to spend much more focused time listening, understanding the five levels of listening and understanding the foundations of each. These are: Listening to yourself, the content, the context, the unsaid and the meaning. I have found that in doing this and finding the difference between hearing and listening is action and something I am really trying to drive forward for myself, team and peers.

Greatest capability gap (individually and within your teams)? 

The biggest capability gap I see is the inherent learning of the ‘softer’ skills in the workplace with a workforce that majority of the time works from home. I see this for junior talent coming into the workforce who have started during Covid as well as mid-level managers who have taken on management roles for the first time in the last two years. Personally, I see craft understanding and how I conduct myself day-in-day has been shaped across the 13+ years sitting on the floor of media agencies, taking it all in on how the people around me conduct themselves, tackle tough conversations, handle conflict, and hold themselves under pressure. I believe that we have lost some of these learned behaviours for our junior talent coming through the ranks and this will continue to amplify in agencies and workplaces where there is a lean towards working from home.

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

Dentsu QLD has had a massive 12 months, with my role it has been centred around championing our wonderful people and clients in Brisbane. As a team we have doubled down on sustainable growth of our people and our business. In doing this, we have championed our 50+ wonderful people in the office, driving our connected by design approach. Driving this connected capability across all lines of our business – media, creative and CxM – has seen us continue to challenge and grow our people, retaining and promoting our talent and given our momentum, we are finding high calibre talent who want to work with us quickly. Our latest internal engagement metrics show the connected capability is supporting to challenge and grow the very people who shape our industry where we are best in market in doing this and seeing our engagement metrics at our highest levels by doing this. Our clients are seeing this translated into their business results where we now have our people, our clients, and our media partners as our biggest advocates, which we are incredibly proud of.