A Leader’s POV
For our last assignment in the Leadership and Emotional Intelligence Lab of ADandPRLab, we were asked to undertake a team research project, or, more particularly, conduct “Job Shadowing”, on people in corporate leadership roles, with the purpose of gaining knowledge from them and insight on their environment. We had to watch how they operate closely, and follow as they’d go about their everyday routines, while also gathering visual content.
it entailed ensuring that existing projects are carried out effectively and with the appropriate supplies. Second, communicating with clients and scheduling meetings with prospective clients to discuss how they envision advertising their business, and to offer suggestions that will be more profitable to them. “I also hope to maintain order in the workplace, and ensure that everything runs properly. On some days, I need to pay great attention to the placement of a sign and what that placement could mean, and make sure that both of our partners are doing well”, Dimitris expressed. We had to explore subjects such as the benefits and drawbacks of working in marketing and public relations in today’s world, the evolution of a leader’s career path, the impact that Covid-19 had on the workplace, and how emotional intelligence plays a part in all of the above, through interviews and participatory observation.
The CEO and Executive Manager of “Bellos — Signage Manufacturer”, a manufacturing marketing agency, Vassilis Bellos and Dimitris Daremas, respectfully, are the leaders our team selected to interview for this project.
Since 1981, the Bellos company has been engaged in the field of professional marking. Vassilis’ father founded the company in a modest area of Piraeus, and he himself took over five years ago, when it was already a well-established business. The Bellos company is in charge of brand signature marketing, whatever that may entail, their banners, installations for any events, and also overseeing and consulting on anything else related to a brand’s marketing campaign (such as metal and wooden signs with the company logo, displays etc.).
In total, our team conducted two interviews: one online with both the CEO and the Executive Manager, and one brief interview solely with the Executive Manager during our Job Shadowing with him.
The two leaders responded to ten of our questions during our online interview. The first “ice-breaker” questions involved introducing the company and its mission to us, as well as describing a typical day in the life of a Bellos’ company leader. For the latter, Dimitris explained that
When it comes to the skills required to succeed in a leadership position, particularly in the field of marketing and public relations, Dimitris emphasized the importance of remaining calm in stressful situations and having a thorough understanding of the subject of the job, especially when dealing with technical issues and high-tech machines — a need that has developed in recent post-pandemic times. Also, he believes that a leader’s success is greatly influenced by how much they enjoy their work, as it can assist them grow themselves and their skill with ease.
“The benefits of working in marketing and public relations definitely outweigh the disadvantages,” said Bellos’ CEO. According to him, marketing has become an inseparable aspect of our daily lives: “Marketing is part of everything we do, from the clothes we wear to the food we eat to the automobiles we drive.”
Vassilis and Dimitris have greatly benefited from the field of marketing by expanding their horizons and learning about fresh viewpoints and ideas through networking, which is an important aspect of any business: “In our case, we interact with different organizations on a regular basis and meet people in leadership positions all the time, allowing us to have meaningful dialogues not only about our company but also about ourselves as individuals.”
When asked how Covid-19 affected the company’s performance, the executive manager stated that it did have an impact and that it had modified the company’s usual work conditions. They had to put their construction projects on hold for a while, although they tried to come up with ways to work around the virus’s mandates and effects. They also tried to use their manufacturing aspect to create employee barriers, in order to separate the office from the clients, and marks to preserve social distance, amongst other things. “It was a challenging time, but we were able to continue our work because of our unique ideas”. The company tried to adapt to a difficult situation with new ideas, and it eventually paid off, as they evolved and expanded their business instead of panicking and shutting down completely.
Following up on our conversation, the CEO discussed the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership roles and the workplace. According to Vassilis, emotional intelligence is extremely important in any company, both in leadership positions and in human resources in general, in order to keep the workload under control and the work atmosphere amicable.
To develop constructive communication and fruitful relationships, it is critical for a leader to understand and identify the feelings and behavior of both employees and customers. “Our human resources and our customers are the lifeblood of the company, and they must, of course, always be kept content. Even in the face of a crisis or an error, we approach our employees calmly and methodically in the office, with the ultimate goal of reducing tension and finding solutions that benefit everyone” — the very definition of working with emotional intelligence.
He was also very eager to teach a few things on his own, taking initiative and giving us his opinion on the future of the marketing field in Greece, addressing that there won’t be saturation. He stated that most of the companies in the field use state-of-the-art technology, making the companies competitive with each other so that there’s always evolution and progress. Moreover, he thinks that in order to be successful you have to study and be up to date with everything involving the field, which is an ever-growing one.
As far as the relevance of EQ is concerned when hiring new employees, Dimitris says that the first thing the company’s HR considers is whether the recruiter has prior expertise in the field or has been trained in it. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is always important in their employment, and people who show a desire to learn, grow, and like their work are obviously often preferred. “When everyone is willing to grow and learn, they share the same ideals and strive for the betterment of their professions and company without creating conflict, intrigue, or degrading someone else in order to grow.”
Dimitris took us on a guided tour around the company’s offices during our job shadowing session. While we were gathering visual content, he described how several sections of the company’s gear and equipment function, which is an additional department that typical marketing agencies don’t have. He then demonstrated what he does as an executive manager on a regular day at work, and answered some more of our inquiries.
Dimitris inspects the steady progress of the running projects, on a routine day at work. He oversees and assists his colleagues as needed and ensures that all projects are completed within schedule. In other words, he supervises a marketing construction project, from start to finish.
We clearly saw that the climate between employees of every scale and department was very friendly. Dimitris explained to us that they spend a lot of hours at the working place together, and he considers it very important to have a pleasant atmosphere, which helps in the implementation of the company’s goals. “We spend so many hours together, that we are essentially like a family. Everyone wants to achieve a common goal, so we work together harmoniously”, he explains.
He then introduced us to some of the company’s clients. Some of them are the Municipality of Piraeus and Poros, Absolut Vodka, Jerry’s Foodtruck , IEK DELTA and many more. Our question here was how they treat their clients, especially ones with such visibility, and if there is any difference between small or large businesses for them. Dimitris explained to us that their key goal was to keep every client satisfied and have a beneficial relationship with each customer. “All customers have the same service on our end, but within each project, our years of cooperation and how popular the brand does play an important role within our partnerships. In these cases we will try to be even more careful so that customers can always be satisfied. In this way, we create the potential for long-term relationships with them”.
With that conversation, our insightful meeting and tour with the Bellos company’s leaders came to an end. With their great help, we were able to learn firsthand about leadership, and how it relates to interpersonal skills and a successful environment. We also got the opportunity to consider a fresh approach to marketing, that of the installations and manufacturing world, and broaden our knowledge around it and the opportunities it holds as a field.
Vassilis Bellos and Dimitris Dermas were truly excellent leaders and mentors, with a high level of concern for their employees and a thorough understanding of their respective fields. Their enthusiasm and expertise motivated us and kept our tour interesting and fruitful, and we are thankful for the opportunity to learn beside them.
Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without our incredible professor guiding us through this process step by step. It is here we would like to give a special thank you to Miss Dimitra Iordanoglou, for the inspiration of this assignment, as well as her guidance throughout the semester. It is definitely a project that enriched our knowledge and expanded our horizons, during our final semester of the AD&PR Lab experience.
Assistant Professor: Dimitra Iordanoglou
AD&PR Lab coordinator: Betty Tsakarestou
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