Agency Leadership Decoded: VML Indonesia’s Samir Gupte on supporting a culture of transparency

Formed from the unification of two prominent creative agencies within the industry – Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, VML has established itself as an agency equipped to support clients on creative brand strategies and transformation initiatives, all powered by deep data, marketing technology, and platform expertise. With this in mind, it takes a special type of leadership to ensure that all these capabilities are met and delivered proficiently.

For Samir Gupte, CEO of VML Indonesia, leading this agency is built on an approach that focuses on a culture of transparency, respect, an environment that motivates everyone to do better, and a leader that leads by doing and supporting at the same time. 

Making internal improvements

Elaborating more on his leadership philosophy, Samir says that the biggest barriers to growth are mostly ‘internal’, citing that the pain points are not so much about the work itself, but about the peripheral issues.

Whether it is interpersonal dynamics, clarity on what every individual or team needs to achieve, or making hard processes easier, Samir explains that his focus is ensuring that all those internal hurdles are reshaped to help people to do their best.

“We cannot possibly control or manage what happens in people’s lives outside the office. But what we can do is create a culture where people love to come to work to create the work they love. They need to be happy with what they are creating or contributing to,” he added.

Visualising and organising goals

One of the unique initiatives implemented by Samir to keep the team engaged is a ‘Vision’ workshop with their leadership team, which breaks down their goals and ambitions into a concrete, tangible and measurable road map which could be tracked every month.

Samir also shares that VML Indonesia has a ‘Rising’ Leadership Team initiative that prepares team members to become future leaders of VML Indonesia, bi-monthly town halls for progress updates where they discuss key issues, celebrate wins, and welcome new joiners.

Furthermore, Samir mentions that VML Indonesia focuses greatly on training by creating a ‘Business 101’ session to strengthen the business orientation for the team, open dialogues in the office with a special channel for people to ask questions and address concerns, and a ‘regional leadership development programme to provide larger exposure, and to learn from the other leaders within the region, which can be shared with the wider teams.

Prioritising quality execution

Talking about the challenges faced by VML Indonesia, Samir mentioned the rise of smaller agencies which positioned themselves as the ‘cheaper & faster’ alternative. “A lot of execution work did shift to these smaller local agencies, but we did not want to compete against these,” he explained.

However, Samir said that sticking to their quality of offering allowed for them to thrive within the current landscape where clients are now looking for business solutions that go beyond basic communication and execution.

“In the increased competitive scenario, clients want to know how to make their brands meaningful, differentiated and relevant to their audiences. Through VML’s offering connecting Brand Experience, Customer Experience and Commerce, we have been able to drive sustainable growth for their brands and in turn our business,” Samir mentioned.

Driving creative success

Reflecting on their approach, Samir shares that VML Indonesia has seen some great changes internally. There is now a stronger sense of ownership with everyone seeing a clear vision for the company and their roles as well as a positive and collaborative atmosphere in the workplace that promotes transparency, more meaningful conversations, and initiatives that really resonate with the team.

Through these improvements, VML Indonesia has acquired significant achievements during the last six months, being the first Indonesian agency to secure a Grand Prix award and the only agency from Indonesia to win a Cannes Lion for 2024. The Indonesian team also led and won an ASEAN-level pitch which was spread across eight markets, and their six month attrition rate has significantly decreased this year and well below the average of the industry in Indonesia.

Talking about how he approaches his way of leading, Samir shared, “First, if a person feels more confident and better about themself after interacting with you, and is inspired to do better, you have done your job. Second, not all conversations or meetings start well- but make sure to end all conversations on a positive note. Whether it is a difficult conversation or a critical feedback, focus on the positive impact that you want to achieve. Lastly, focus on the problem that you want to solve, not on the person or the situation.”