Unveiling the Tapestry of Leadership: A Journey into the Realm of Advertising and Event Management
In a world where creativity reigns supreme and ideas drive change, two separate worlds intertwine to shape the landscape of business leadership. With a curiosity for discovery as our guide, we embarked on our Job Shadowing journey to connect with the ideas of remarkable individuals moving in the fields of advertising and event management.
Our first stop could not be any other than a very successful advertising agency in Greece, “The Newtons Laboratory” — a field where creativity, strategy, and innovation come together for a good cause. Within the walls of this laboratory of ideas, we witnessed the evolving essence of leadership, from a company that was born in the midst of a crisis in 2011, and since then has continued to prove that it can meet any challenge in the field of advertising and change. Its response to each challenge is far from creative and focused, as demonstrated by the team’s Creative Directors, Mr. Sorotos and Mr. Dimitroulas.
Entering the world of leadership at The Newtons Laboratory, and more specifically the leadership that comes through the position of Creative Director, we discovered a world where the weight of responsibility and team empowerment coexist. The company’s Creative Directors, Mr. Sorotos, as well as Mr. Dimitroulas, helped us explore the pros and cons of being a leader, and we saw first-hand the challenges and rewards that come with this coveted role. Despite the multiple facets of the Creative sector, it became apparent that those who are leaders in this role have several traits in common in how they lead a team and handle situations.
Like any role, the role of a leader has two sides, with its difficulties, but also with its positive aspects. Leaders carry the weight of the bottom line, making difficult decisions that determine the future of every client partnership, the course of the team, and the entire company. The burden of solving problems often falls entirely on their shoulders, requiring delicate manipulations to maintain harmony within the team. However, the leadership role, as we were told, has its own benefits and satisfactions. A competent leader does not impose but wins respect and recognition from his team more easily because of his experience, with the ability to steer discussions in the right direction and prevent disagreements. Furthermore, the opportunities for personal growth through the role of a leader are many, due to the contact with a plethora of ideas from many different minds, different positions (with more or no work experience), with different backgrounds and stimuli.
But to stand in a position where one must always step forward, it seems necessary to have certain skills that will make one stand out. A leader must be able to communicate the reasoning behind his decisions and explain why an idea might be rejected, fostering trust and confidence among team members. Especially for people in junior-level positions, the leader’s attitude should be encouraging, as at this point, either team members will become stubborn for a better outcome and better ideas, or they will lose confidence from repeated rejections of ideas. By providing explanations for their decisions, leaders ensured that junior-level team members do not take professional differences personally, fostering an environment of growth and learning.
“It’s the business of rejection”
A leader’s intelligence is also judged by the ability to work with people who have better ideas and skills without a sense of competition, as it is perceived that the optimal decision for the team and the project is more important.
When asked which element is most important for a leadership position, empathy emerged as a key characteristic, allowing leaders to put themselves in the shoes of others, transcending the role of supervisor and adopting the role of mentor. After all, it is through empathy, by understanding more deeply the temperament of each member, that one can create a fertile ground to thrive and unleash any hidden potential one has. Drawing inspiration from team members and facilitating their personal growth becomes a shared goal, fostering a culture of collaboration and shared success.
We may have talked a lot about leadership and emotional intelligence during our visit to The Newtons Laboratory, but as future marketers, we couldn’t hide our excitement about participating in brainstorming for a commercial. In collaboration with Mr. Dimitroulas, the Creative Director, and a member of the Copywriting team, George, we thoroughly discussed our ideas and suggestions for setting up an advertisement — so what if half of our ideas were rejected? -.
“We respond creatively to the client’s needs, making fit the best idea we have for their brand”
As beautiful as the art of creativity is, often one can be called upon in this field to speak and advertise things, ideas, products, and people that one does not support, does not endorse, which is why the lines between personal beliefs and professional responsibilities are very thin. It is in these moments that the real test of professionalism and integrity emerges. Navigating this diverse terrain requires a delicate balance, where the creative mind must find a way to communicate authentically and bring out the essence of what is being presented while maintaining a sense of professional detachment. Through words and visual media, advertising professionals can overcome personal biases by stepping into the role of storytellers who bring stories to life while adhering to the ethical standards of their craft. And the takeaway from this conversation?
“Don’t get attached to ideas.”
Following our work in the leadership area, we encountered Giorgos Vardalahakis, who is actively involved with events. The company he works for is called Educativa and is all about events in an educational context. Practically, we are talking about large events, the aim of which is to bring potential students into contact with representatives of foreign universities. Thus, at the organized events, study advisors inform interested parties about study programs and life abroad.
We met George through an online meeting, but we felt as if we had actually met in person! He welcomed us with a big smile and happily answered all of our questions, with the conversation flowing effortlessly!
George has the role of Director in the events department, but beyond his role, he also deals with parts such as PR, Sales, Organization, and Planning (design), Communication with Public and Private Institutions, and Strategy. Under his supervision, there is a group of coordinators, who deal with logistics, since part of strategy and marketing is in George’s hands.
One of the first questions we asked him was how difficult the events really are. In fact, he himself answered us laughing that it is indeed a demanding industry, with stressful procedures. Someone who works on the event side works weekends-holidays-long hours-inversely relative to all other employees. Therefore, one needs to find a balance between working life and personal life in order to zoom out and rest. This, in addition to events, also applies to hospitality — you have to have a schedule within the unstable schedule.
Especially after Covid-19, the events department was greatly affected. Unprecedented situations have brought enormous changes, especially for an industry that has always relied on human contact and interaction. After the passage of the first days, it was decided to cancel all the planned events, but in a short time they were transferred with great success to the digital space. As in any case, there were positives and negatives. On the plus side, it was definitely the factor of accessibility. Their appeal was huge, especially in relation to previous similar events. Also, people with disabilities were able to sign up for the first time, as all it took was a click. On the downside, this click spoiled the participants’ experience. Especially after a year, the whole system started to tire the participants, who even said they didn’t want any more online events. So, the team decided to take a short break and came back with a live event in the fall of 2022, after a break of almost a year.
After an introduction to his role as well as to the events area, we returned to the leadership part since George is responsible for coordinating the teams and the entire organization of the events. According to George, the list between positives and negatives can vary greatly from person to person. He admits that he really likes to coordinate because it makes him feel very useful in his work.
He has the ability to create his own plan and has great autonomy while sharing and delegation help him a lot. On the negative side, he definitely said that one of the main ones is the stress that exists, but also that the leader feels the burden of responsibility if something goes wrong. But when something goes wrong, he always wants to empower the other person and help him to do the same action correctly. In the end, he himself takes responsibility if any member of his team does something that goes wrong. This tactic has its roots in HR & People Training, something he has done many times in the past and which has greatly enhanced his empathy. He believes that the role of a leader is to help others to do their job well and to reach their full potential.
Nevertheless, the events require the cooperation of many different people. Several times there are frictions and misunderstandings, which can be negative for the smooth running of an event. After a relevant discussion, George, as the leader of these groups, told us that he always tries to create personal relationships with the people in his group. If there is any tension, he intervenes in a mild tone without gathering all the colleagues in meetings. He strongly believes in the power of one-to-one and thus wants to help, creating a nice atmosphere without interfering strongly. He prefers to lead to the solution quietly with indirect guidance and encouragement.
As for how he selects people for his team, George told us that unfortunately due to the nature of his work, he is required to build the team and train the new additions in a very short period of time, which involves risks. For this reason, he tries to see who is ready to join the team while doing interviews. He gives great importance to the positive characteristics of everyone (soft skills) since he considers that the members of the team should complement each other.
Another issue he has to deal with is the management of volunteers and his main team. He believes that managing volunteers is more difficult, since volunteers are not paid and need strong motivation. In the case of volunteers, the rewards are recognition, personal & career development, etc. The main team, on the other hand, requires logistics, which are mainly undertaken by the HR department: payroll, bonuses, increases, etc. George told us that he considers it necessary to get to know the members of the teams, but also between the teams themselves. He himself follows the theory of Forming/Norming/Storming/Performing!
We also discussed a little more thoroughly how a leader can be a friend to his team members at the same time. George does maintain friendly relations, but many times he admits that they negatively affect work, explaining it to us with two examples. If someone is friends with his superior, even unintentionally, he can negotiate his tasks and not accept some of them. As for the person himself, he may escape from his clear boundaries, perhaps giving parts of his work to someone else or sending email outside working hours. For this very reason, it is important to establish rules between individuals and to stick to them.
During Job Shadowing, George mentioned the word brief several times. So, we asked him to further explain how he briefs. He puts a lot of emphasis on having a thorough brief in the Job Description since it is the first image the person has of what the job role is going to be about. The interview, as he said, is a form of selling between interviewer and interviewee. Another way to give a correct brief is with the on-the-job training technique. In that case, he shows someone a job, doing it with him. He believes that feedback should be thorough throughout the time someone works in his team!
George talked to us in detail about all aspects of the preparation and holding of the events, explaining each step. However, there is always the possibility of something unexpected happening. How do they deal with a possible crisis during the event? It definitely needs preparation.
The risks must be eliminated, so as to know more or less what can go wrong, using theories such as the Safety Assessment and the Issues Matrix.
Nevertheless, they always go to the events with optimism and positive energy and if something happens, they find solutions on the spot. He also talked to us about the firefighting technique in case of a setback during the event. All the rest (or whatever they can predict) must have ensured that they run clockwork. George as the person in charge should be available to intervene in a moment of crisis.