The reflection of leadership in marketing — Job Shadowing Project by Momentum

Just before the grand finale of our undergraduate studies and as part of the “Leadership and Emotional Intelligence” course at #ADandPRLAB, our team Momentum accepted the challenge of our professor, Ms. Iordanoglou, and became for a while the shadow of two leaders from the marketing world.

The goal was specific: to reach out directly and observe two different leaders within two different organizations. One that handles the external promotion of other corporate brands and one that has an internal communications & marketing department.

We initially sent out requests to several organizations receiving several NOs and some YESes with limitations. Then came the positive responses from leaders, who were very eager to make us feel welcome in their workplace, and even shared with us their daily professional life.

RDC INFORMATICS — Andreas Diplas

The first stop on our team’s #JobShadowing journey was RDC Informatics, which has been active in the IT sector for about 20 years and has its offices in Kolonos. Its initials come from the words Research — Develop — Consulting, which clearly state the values that the organization stands for.

We had the opportunity to meet Mr. Andreas Diplas, Digital Marketing Director. His initial studies were at the Athens University of Economics and Business, having a financial background. These studies have helped him a lot in his job, in the position he is in now, as he considers research and data analysis in marketing very important. Why did we choose him? We chose him, because he is a young man in a leadership position, who has taken over a new department in an already successful, in other areas, organization. As such, he faces a big challenge aiming to contribute to its successful development.

After we exchanged treats, we observed the workplace & the employees and took some pictures. Τhen, we had an interview with him, which lasted about half an hour. Mr. Diplas, although at first he seemed more hesitant and laconic in his answers, very quickly felt more comfortable and immediately our interview took the flow of a very interesting conversation. He now had a relaxed posture while listening to us attentively.

During our interaction, we learnt that he is quite a believer in the power of teamwork and believes that Emotional Intelligence is a desirable skill that allows an organization to grow.

Is he satisfied with his chosen industry? Would he recommend it to new graduates? What are the soft skills he has developed during his career? Does he seek feedback?

These were some of the questions we asked him. You can listen to the whole interview in our 1st Job Shadowing podcast episode:

“I believe that a leader is born, while a manager is made.”

“Without a tight-knit team you can’t achieve anything!”

“AI is an ally, not an enemy in the marketing industry.”

“Working in advertising is “test & error” (you have to do tests to see the impact).”

As the atmosphere was calm and friendly, we took the courage of shaking things up a bit! We asked the entire Digital Marketing team to follow the instructions of an experiential game based on trust, as well as team coordination to support each member. You can get a taste here:

“The ice was broken”... So, we asked each member in the department to describe in three words their Director, Andrew (since they call him by his first name). Hardworking, direct, cooperative… these are some of the adjectives they chose to describe him with! The impressive thing is that they all agreed on “calm”, which we can also endorse after the short communication we had with him.

Antenna Audio — Domnika Skreta

Next day and we move on to our second station, Antenna Audio headquarters in Marousi. This is a huge conglomerate, a member of the Antenna Group, which includes the radio stations Easy 97.2 and Rhythmos 94.9, as well as the SOUNDIS platform, which specializes in content creation and curation, offering the ultimate audio experience.

What did we do there? We followed in the daily routine of Mrs. Domnika Skreta, Head of Marketing, Communications & Digital Strategy. A woman who is trying (successfully or not, as she told us) to balance her personal and professional life, while maintaining a high-level position in such a demanding field.

Admittedly, this was a unique opportunity. Words cannot describe the intelligence, good heartedness and vast experience she generously shared with us. She went from the introspective field of art to the field of media and communication, cultivating soft skills, such as active listening and insight. She has been in the Antenna Group since 2012 and has held leadership positions for most of that time. She manages her team with empathy as her key, while considering modern technological tools as her ally. Some of the first information we managed to “squeeze out”…

Friday 14 June, 11.27 am: After the warm welcome, the coffee, introductions with the whole team and our tour in the offices and radio studios, Mrs. Skreta allowed us to be her “shadow” during a business meeting she had with an external partner for the organization of an upcoming event. What impressed us most: she constantly maintained eye contact showing dedication to the dialogue and she was smiling, fostering trust and an intimate atmosphere.

Then, she gave us an in-depth interview that had it all. Among other things… confidences, advice, emotion, teasing, humor!

What characteristics does she think a good leader should have and what professional advice would she give to our graduates? Are there social inequalities in the media industry? How does a female leader manage to combine the roles of wife, mother and employee at the same time?

In our 2nd Job Shadowing podcast episode, you can discover the answers to these and many other questions that our team asked Ms. Skreta.

“It’s a prerequisite to make mistakes, because it’s through them that we learn and grow.”

“Values for me are very important. Shared values bind the team together!”

“Eric Hansen (CEO of Ant1 Music) was a Leader with all capital letters as he knew how to give space to his colleagues.”

“Our personal lives should be more important than our professional lives (I stand for this but have not been able to do it).”

At this point, and bearing in mind everything she shared with us, if we could describe her in one phrase, it would certainly be “a restless spirit”. This is because, as she admitted, she likes to evolve and to constantly try new things. When you see a leader, who is open to those around her, enthusiastic about her work, but at the same time honest and approachable, you understand that she has not reached such a high position by accident. Also, nowadays it is considered rare for a person to admit his mistakes and weaknesses, especially in a competitive work environment. Yet she didn’t hesitate for a second to admit her weaknesses and embrace them.

At the end of our visit and after the microphones were turned off, Mrs. Skreta saved a personal advice and a wish for progress for everyone. Thus, our meeting ended in an atmosphere of emotion, but also of certainty that our paths will soon cross again as we are moving in the field of communication.

COMMON FINDINGS

Having had the experience of personal contact with these two leaders, we found that while they belonged to different gender and age groups and also had different studies and experiences, they had a lot in common in the way they act as leaders, as well as in the way they think in relation to organizing and developing groups.

Here are the most important things they have in common:

• Mistakes are acceptable and necessary to achieve progress
• The marketing department is a living organization full of challenges
• The leader in this area must always be one step ahead and alert to developments
• A leader is born, but can become better and better by cultivating the right skills
• Marketing is an interesting field for the professional development of young people, as it can be served through many different aspects.

To conclude…

From the whole experience we received only positives, as we drew inspiration from the leaders and felt more prepared for the professional arena that awaits us. For this reason, we would like to thank:

• Mr. Dionysis Koutsantonis, who put us in contact with the Digital Marketing Department of RDC Informatics, and Mr. Andreas Diplas
• Ms. Domnika Skreta for the opportunity of shadowing her in the offices of Antenna Audio
• Our professor, Ms. Dimitra Iordanoglou, who every time raises the bar of challenges higher and higher offering the knowledge through experiential processes.

It’s a wrap!

Our team, Momentum: Myrtokorizi, Μυρτώ Γκόρου, ΑΙΚΑΤΕΡΙΝΗ ΝΙΑΓΑΣΑ, kyriaki koutrouki, Basilikegrammatika