Discover Linear with us!
Almost at the end of our academic career as a team, we began to wonder where exactly we would see ourselves working in the future. As a group of an artistic nature, we saw ourselves primarily in the field of content creation. Then, on the occasion of the Laboratory “Leadership and Emotional Intelligence” of ADandPRLab, we were given the opportunity to visit a company of our choice. So, our first thought was Linear, a startup company characterized as a Creative Content Company. Apart from the company, we had also taken into account the co-founder of the company, Mrs. Lina Bakalexi. A key reason we chose Linear is because, being a startup, when the covid-19 pandemic broke out, it was called upon to make drastic decisions in a very short time and without having found itself in such a situation before. We wondered, what thoughts a leader can have in such moments, which would prove the emotional intelligence that he can possess. However, in order to investigate these things a little further, it is important to refer to the history of Linear in a first stage.
Linear Creative Content Company was founded in March 2019 under the founder Mrs. Lina Bakalexi. Mrs. Bakalexi, a graduate of the School of Journalism from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, had her first contact with social media in businesses she was working at. She has also worked as a radio producer at Love Radio. Along the way, having found a new interest in her professional field and even trying to practice it as a freelancer, she decided that she would like to create a company with her own signature. After she managed to receive the necessary funding through an NSRF program for unemployed graduates, she began to put her plans into practice. Initially, it approached entrepreneurs from the catering industry, then, after the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, it managed to attract customers of a technological nature, such as e-shops, as well as anything that may have flourished in the midst of these difficult situations. Nowadays, it is evolving more and more in the field of content creation with a name that attributes the identity of the company, i.e. Linear, an element necessary in the creation of new designs.
When it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic, Linear has faced several difficulties. With most customers in the catering sector, they had to look for new ones that could ‘flourish’ in the midst of a pandemic, in order to be able to cope mainly with the financial needs of the company and employees. The workers, in turn, faced technical problems, which often led to grumbling. Remote working was something that the team did not particularly love and has now stopped adopting this model, since the members want to be and work together in person. Also, the co-founder of the company, Mrs. Lina Bakalexi, was called to face the biggest problem, which was money, as businesses were slow to finance or cut it altogether. In this part, she admits that she would like to have better managed her stress in such circumstances, as her mood also affected the team. But if we put these problems aside, we could say that Linear evolved during the covid-19 period. New people were added to the team, transferred to new offices, acquired new clients and therefore started getting greater recognition, developed and learned more things. Therefore, we conclude that covid-19, in addition to its negative elements, which were true for all companies, has also brought some positives to Linear.
In terms of emotional intelligence and leadership, Mrs. Bakalexi tells us that she does not consider someone to be born a leader and that the elements that ultimately shape a leader are the vision, conditions and goals that they set themselves. She often goes into the process of understanding all her partners and customers, being authentic and honest. The Linear team has bonded harmoniously and this is shown in their meetings, where they act as pieces of the same puzzle. When things with customers reach a dead end, Mrs. Bakalexi suggests to her team to take a break so that they can manage the situation with a clear mind. As she says, it is ultimately more important to have motivation and will to learn in order to have success like a young person coming out into the job market. In the crucial question ‘Do you consider yourself a boss or a leader?’, she tells us that boss and mom are of the adorable Tiki, her dog, while she considers herself to be a good manager who tries to give her best as an employer since this is the key for all members of the company to function harmoniously.
Through our interview with Mrs. Lina Bakalexi for all the issues concerning her and Linear, we unanimously found that a supervisor and company like the aforementioned is the ideal for us, as mutual understanding, mutual help, patience and perseverance, effort, love and will to work are elements that coexist both in the field and in the members of Linear. Besides, this characterizes a good leader, as we have learned through the workshop “Leadership and Emotional Intelligence” of ADandPRLab, with Mrs. Dimitra Iordanoglou.
We want to specifically thank Mrs. Dimitra Iordanoglou, who gave us the reason for this visit to the offices of Linear, but also Mrs. Lina Bakalexi for the warm welcome and excellent cooperation.
Star Tuppers: John Reizis, evadinou, Alexandra S, Sophia A.
