The adaptability in leadership positions : A close look at Dialectica

In the context of research regarding the leadership standards that prevail in businesses and the results they bring, we contacted the company Dialectica, in order to talk and see up close its operation and the leadership methods that lead to success.

Dialectica is an expert network founded in 2015 by George Tsarouchas and Fred Corkett. A primary example of expert networks are investor networks that are in the business of primary research. These firms connect by side investors, consultants, and business decision-makers with industry experts. Dialectica is recognized as Europe’s fastest-growing expert network in 2021 by the Financial Times, a Best Workplace in Europe for 2021 and in Greece for 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Great Place to Work. These awards made us choose Dialectica as the best example to investigate.

What Management Style actually led Dialectica to success?

Dialectica stands out in the industry for its human centred operations’ system and for the tailor made services that are provided. Thus, the company greatly pays attention to its internal structure and the leadership model imposed.

Dialectica implements a transactional management style, that is in compliance with the values of neuroleadership and the SCARF leadership model :

The neuroleadership style aims to ensure a balance between forming a positive management-employee relationship with interest, affection and support, on one side, and a demanding leadership, with demanding goals, open communication, clear rules and expectations, on the other.

We can safely conclude that via the imposed system, Dialectica has managed to maximize reward and minimize risk, as much as possible.

More specifically, organizationally wise, Dialectica needs to have quite the solid plan as it is globally active and wants to establish an equally strong presence in all regions. That is why, in each department and in any different region, there is a Vice President (VP) for every overseeing each department and then a General Manager (GM) , whose main responsibilities are to communicate with the existing clientele and also carve the strategy, while seeing the “bigger picture”, which will allow its expansion, and to oversee the performance of its subordinates. Below the GM, there are many different teams with their own Team Leaders, who are responsible for a big part of the success, since they are supervising their small teams using day to day operations, training and continuous mentoring.

Case Study

We have decided, to examine two leadership figures of the company, who are in a different level of authority and responsibilities, by interviewing them. We analysed each management style and slightly cross— compared them. The aim of the project is to conclude whether there is an ideal management style after all and also if sometimes it is better to combine certain different personalities and approaches.

-Introducing and profiling the case study’s participants :

Our first participant is Vasilis Mastoras, who has been a member of the company for 4,5 years and is currently operating as a Manager of Client Service — Apac and has a subordinate team of four. According to the company’s policy on using improvement methods, Mastoras started off as an associate and claimed his way onwards. His main responsibility is to manage the clientele, to recieve and analyse projects, while recommending new products and services and attracting new customers. Lastly, he is in charge of forming strategic relations with the clients and competitors.

Mastoras stands out for having high self- esteem, that makes him very efficient. He has an internal Locus of Control, in a positive way, since he has the control of his own success, due to his continuous self-development, as a “challenge catcher”. His position requires empathy, while understanding the state of his team, self-descipline and communication skills.

On the other hand, we also shadowed Vasileios Mavrapostolos, a Dialectica employee for over 4 years, who is an Associate Manager. His responsibility is to mediate between his manager and his subordinates about what needs to be done, while he also provides guidance and training.

He is also, a confident, solid and inspirational presence, but even if he has high levels of self- esteem, he avoids confrontations and ruptures at all costs, without that meaning that he lacks determinism or persistence regarding the circumstances. Additionally, he is known for having a growth mindset and critical thinking by setting priorities for the team.

Our Conclusions

What we will be able to conclude at the end of this project, is that the substance and the operation style of a leader is not only affected by his personal traits, but also by the task he/she handles and the responsibilities he/she handles. In action this means first of all, that a good leader needs to know himself well and be able to develop and evaluate his skills, in order to fit in the position he is applying.

Specifically in Dialectica, managers and supervisors have gone through all prior positions, in order to gain the necessary experience.

In the case we examine, even if the Associate Manager seems to be more compliant with the contemporary leadership model, which heavily relies on emotional intelligence, human relations and soft skills, we have to take into consideration the different level of authority and responsibility each participant of the case study holds. Mastoras, as previously mentioned, is mainly in charge of managing and expanding the clientele, which means that he has to be very strategic and careful regarding more typical things, such as deadlines and goals. On the other hand, Mavrapostolos is a vital linkage between the customers and his manager and his subordinates, thus he needs to mostly exercise his soft skills, in order to make sure that the goals are met and the ambience is pleasant and fruitful.

At this point, regarding the goal of this project, whether there is a specific ideal management style, we can safely say that the most ideal “recipe” would be a style that is in sync with the actual position. We ought to highlight that all leadership figures shall be empathetic, conscious and well mannered towards their employees and to endorse the same values and principles. However, each role is different, requiring a different approach.

As a conclusion, we can safely say that in order to lead successfully and continuously, you need to place the right people in fitting positions and constantly invest in them! That is why, we think that Dialectica is an exceptional organisation, that wants to build mutually beneficial relations with their employees, by prompting them to constantly evolve.

Ad & PR Lab, Panteion University
Tutor: D. Iordanoglou
On behalf of : Leadership and Emotional Intelligence Lab

Kartsona Stella,
Chatziathanasiou Villy,
Makrydakis Manu,
Matsouki Aglaia,
Tsirimokou Elisa