Tag: Agency Leadership Decoded

For Madina Kalyayeva, M&C Saatchi Singapore’s managing director, to keep a team engaged and empowered is simple – it’s all about looking no further than the team in generating and spurring innovation in creative work – trusting what each has to offer and share. 

“We tend to seek motivation from special programmes or coaches, while we neglect the talented individuals we interact with on a daily basis,” said Madina. 

As a female leader, there are three things that Madina encourages the most in her team: Seeing the good in change; keeping one’s network diverse; and learning to be comfortable with the unfamiliar. 

Being comfortable with the unknown

The digital world is ever-changing which means that brands and creative partners like M&C Saatchi are continuously placed in new and unfamiliar positions that demand them to adapt to change and drive inventiveness amidst making sense of the unknown. Madina said that considering this challenge, while best practices are good, it doesn’t serve well to stick to one thing for too long. 

Best practices are good, but not necessarily reliable as information flows faster than ever, and complex models are now required to evaluate possibilities. That is why today, in the digitally enabled world, we need to create new patterns and seek new opportunities.

Madina Kalyayeva, Manading Director, M&C Saatchi Singapore

In building up the sophistication and versatility of her team, the marketing leader strives to encourage members to make their network as diverse as possible. This is the same principle she adopts herself, and thus one of the key aspects of the kind of leadership she puts forth. 

She believes that the “diversity of thought” can be the very tool in coming up with effective creative-led solutions. 

Develop relationships with people who are outside of your comfort “friendship” zone, connect with those who are different and learn about similarities and cooperate with them to achieve a common goal. This can become a tool for a solution through the diversity of thought.

Madina Kalyayeva, Manading Director, M&C Saatchi Singapore

Strategic & insight-driven huddles

The MD of the Singapore team believes in beefing up the team’s talent and experience and actually tapping them in order to bring to fruition groundbreaking work. 

The marketing leader implements sharing sessions where once a month, a partner, client, or team member is invited to conduct a session about something they believe is exciting which could be anything under the creative and marketing domain, such as Discord training session, Metaverse Fashion Week walkthrough, 101 to Minting of NFTs, and Best Practices in Publishing, amongst others. 

Madina strongly sees the effective impact of these strategic huddles as they become a unique opportunity to learn from one’s peers, clients, and partners. It’s about encouraging team members to use the people around them and their network to the most potential, and constantly interacting and really listening to how they have solved a problem, initiated a solution, or suggested an impactful idea. 

“We all go home and put on a different role – this initiative allows one to show the wider team the other functions they take on and their interests outside of work and teach us something new,” says Madina.

Genuine interactions producing out-of-the-box thinking

As the world changes by the minute, it’s not only important, but crucial, to constantly think outside the box. Madina said that the insight-driven sessions have only borne good fruit upon their implementation. Besides the fact that it allowed the team to learn about each other’s outside-of-work interests and activities, the new things learned allowed them to view and put together proposals differently. 

“We started to utilise the networks better and welcomed more outside-of-the-box ideas from the junior team, as they often have the most diverse connections,” she shared. 

Madina said that in the desire of organisations to connect teams together, initiatives would sometimes feel forced, hence, turns to be counteractive. Therefore, the key is building authentic and genuine points of interaction. 

“Forced by management team activities to bond became unnecessary, and the teams started to also hang out outside of work and on weekends together,” said Madina.

She added, “In general, productivity increased as everyone became more familiar with and keen to learn more from each other.”

A growth mindset is always the goal amongst teams, but Virat Tandon, MullenLowe Lintas Group’s Group CEO, said that the path to it isn’t always smooth and straightforward. 

“Growth initiatives always create resistance from within as well as from the environment,” said Virat. But–this is the ultimate test for leaders – creating a resistance-proof environment towards growth.

 Virat says that while a growth-inclined culture is substantial for any company, creative firms which have a fast demand for innovation and ingenuity make it not just a need – but a crucial element within its team. 

A growth-driven firm thrives on inclusivity 

For Virat, the top management of creative group MullenLowe Lintas Group (MLLG), inclusivity and diversity are indispensable in the aim to maintain a team that is susceptible to change and continuous improvement. 

MLLG, in fact, has its own DEI Apex Council which is focused on the task of promoting gender equality and inclusion. Through its Apex Council, the agency plans to steer initiatives and changes aimed at shaping and embedding DEI in the DNA of the organisation. 

Virat said that the agency’s gender ratio for women at the leadership level stands at 31%, where few of its business functions carry the same. He said that what is transpiring at present is a result of none other than years of inclusive leadership, to which Virat aims to continue himself and in the future by giving birth to leaders that are passionate about growth and diversity.

‘Like a Boss Baby’ 

As a leader, Virat’s aim is to create more leaders with the right mindset, so that growth snowballs into even more innovative improvements within the team. This principle is at the heart of MLLG’s’ corporate initiatives such as one that’s called ‘Like a Boss’ and ‘Like a Boss Baby’. The two programs circle soft skills development and eye to develop in team members, early on, entrepreneurial and leadership skills. 

Aside from definitive programs, the agency makes sure that practice that puts a premium on expertise development and leadership building is deeply embedded in the agency. Virat talks about the importance of exposing team members to Indian and international festivals like SXSW and Cannes to provide intellectual and creative stimuli. Besides this, coaching is also made available for anyone who needs it to enable their growth journey at crucial junctures in their career. 

We have a culture of accountability not only towards numbers but also towards people and developing an attractive place to work 

Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group

More interestingly, the agency introduced a referral program that would give 2X referral bonus to those that are able to successfully help in hiring women, PWD, and LGBTQ+ team members – in line with their DEI imperative and the goal of leading with accountability and intent.

For advertising, more than most other industries, DEI is not just a humanistic issue, it is a business case. At the heart of diversity and inclusion is getting diverse thinking, diverse perspectives, thereby inspiring imagination and impacting societal change

Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group

Developing leaders comfortable with making a difference 

Virat shares that the agency’s DEI initiatives are bearing fruit where aspiring women leaders are becoming more emboldened to step up and take key roles within the organisation. Part of their mission in inclusivity and leadership building is appointing from within. 

Ultimately, Virat says the idea of leadership is not to develop more people like yourself but to foster people that are unique and comfortable in the difference they bring to the team. 

“Promoting a culture of learning and diverse growth journeys is good for any business, but crucial for a creative company like ours,” reiterated Virat. 

He added,“This might sound like a cliché and it is. But it’s difficult to practice. Unconscious bias is a real thing and leaders must proactively watch out for it.”

For Jacqui Lim, the CEO of Havas Media Group in Singapore, there’s nothing grandiose to excellent leadership where simply the values of good ‘ol humility and service are king. She says that a large part of the organisation’s culture stems from the top, and this means that the demand for transparency and accountability is higher from this level of the firm than anybody else. 

“If we are not transparent and hold even the most senior person in the organisation accountable to upholding the core values we stand for, we won’t be able to build motivated teams who truly believe in building their career with us,” says Jacqui. 

She said that in addition to active listening and transparent communication, it’s about “Exuding the right vibes.” What does this exactly mean?

Cultivating ‘meaningful work’ experiences

For Havas Media Group in Singapore, the goal is to nurture and create meaningful experiences within the team so that in turn, they are able to manifest ‘meaning’ and ‘substance’ through the work they do – a meaningful difference. 

As an agency network whose mission is to make a meaningful difference, we continuously strive to promote a positive work environment. All the initiatives we embark on for our staff are done with the sole purpose of creating a meaningful core to all that we do.

Jacqui Lim, CEO, Havas Media Group Singapore

Of course, in order to put forth notable work that shakes audiences, the agency must set up an environment that effectively breeds this ingenuity and Jacqui says that the Singapore team does this by prioritising inclusivity – where everyone has an equal voice – at all times. 

Regardless of how junior or new they are in the industry, we are often pleasantly surprised by their perspectives and ideas if we offer them the platform to be heard.

Jacqui Lim, CEO, Havas Media Group Singapore

This step pays off in multi-folds, shares Jacqui, as they cultivate a space of empowerment and inclusivity, where everyone has an equal chance to speak up and become more engaged and involved in the organisation’s journey.

‘Meaningful’ internal initiatives

When Havas says they aim to do meaningful work together, they literally mean being a team and engaging in valuable activities as a group.

One of the initiatives in line with this is pro-bono work. The aim is to marry multi-talented teams and their capabilities for a good cause to be able to give back to society. Doing ‘meaningful work’ also means helping to create a sustainable future together. One such activity is called Green Nudge where teams came together to clean up the Sembawang shoreline in Singapore and collected over 150kg of trash. 

Meanwhile, another initiative was the #OneDabaoAtATime where they encouraged agency members to maximise reusable containers for packing their lunches instead of disposables.

Jacqui said that while the agency has always had various employee initiatives in the past, the pandemic has taught them that more effort is required to promote mental wellness, work-life balance, and a sense of belonging. 

The collective of our initiatives are centred around achieving these larger objectives of providing motivation and appreciation to the people as teams and as individual.

Jacqui Lim, CEO, Havas Media Group Singapore

Keeping the Havas Village happy 

Havas Media Group is known for calling their integrated teams ‘Village’, and suffice to say, the Singapore village of the group is consistently being kept happy and empowered. 

According to its HavasSay Survey which serves as a report card after all the programs and initiatives are rolled out during the year, the agency has had a +35% overall improvement in scores across various categories such as sense of belonging to the agency, fairness, and confidence in the future, amongst others. The interactions among its people, in-person and online on the agency’s social pages, also show how the initiatives have taken effect to its Villagers having a happier and more fulfilling time at work, shared Jacqui.

She says that the key will always be walking with them and not ahead of them – the virtue of servant leadership. 

Be authentic and a servant-leader.

Jacqui Lim, CEO, Havas Media Group Singapore

For her, to be a servant-leader is to have the mindset of growing, learning, and thriving together with the team. “Only then,” Jacqui continued, “ will there be a sense of fulfilment and purpose for all that will invariably lead to a flourishing organisation. The heart always guides the mind to achieve greatness” 

Change. For Jiravara Virayavardhana, Ogilvy Thailand’s managing director, leading her people revolves around the only constant matter in this world – change. 

The 6-year MD believes that leadership is the ability to successfully lead people “to win over change.” Sure, this philosophy emanates from Ogilvy Founder David Ogilvy, but Jiravara as a leader, is taking this concept as her own, and adapting it to the contemporary challenges of her time. 

She says, ‘The bigger you are, the bolder you must become.’ More often than not, everybody rallies behind the smaller and nimbler teams, but Jiravara believes there isn’t any reason that the bigger firms can’t be as agile and sprightly when it comes to change. 

This is in the case of Ogilvy – as a large network agency with a global presence, the advertising firm is in an incredibly advantageous, rather than restricting, position to be a driver of change. 

Leaders must have the courage – to embrace the unexpected, to try the untested, and to charter the unknown territory – and they will surely conquer the furious tides of change.

Jiravara Virayavardhana, Managing Director, Ogilvy Thailand

Building the ‘the immunity for change’ 

The Ogilvy ethos couldn’t stress enough the power of flexibility and adaptability to change. As such, every move the global collective does is being aimed toward building ‘the immunity for change’ – that is, being equipped with a special combination of new and crucial skills in order to propel the agency in being the top of the competition against the never-ending unpredictability of the market and the industry. 

And who better person to lead this charge for the Thailand team than Jiravara. The leader is a veteran communications consultant and has been with the agency in Thailand for about two decades now. ‘The immunity for change’ principle is being held at the core of every internal initiative developed within the agency. 

Our initiatives come from the idea of how we can most effectively inject the ‘immunity for change’ into our people: we need to both stimulate their minds and nourish their souls

Jiravara Virayavardhana, Managing Director, Ogilvy Thailand

Data-driven team engagement

Marketing campaigns are now measured against their strategic use of data, and in Ogilvy Thailand, putting in place internal programs to keep the team highly motivated is no different. 

Amongst the agencies’ team initiatives is the ‘Super U’ program which was inspired by the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report and is built to equip people with the skills for the next decade. According to Jiravara, the program consists of workshops for every capability – from client service, planning, to creative departments. She shares that through it, the team is made empowered to think more sharply and analytically and do their jobs faster and more productively, and ultimately, help them stay ahead of the new developments in data, technology, and digital transformation. 

Of course, there’s to nurturing their creative geniuses while there’s also taking care of their wellbeing. For the latter, Ogilvy Thailand has what is called ‘Livewell@Ogilvy’. Aimed at nourishing their souls, the online toolkit reveals the science and principles of well-being that will benefit team members’ professional and personal lives; meanwhile, its ‘I Am Here initiative’ is a safe community for employees to raise their mental concerns and get peer support. 

Ultimately, Ogilvy lives out the principle that existing leadership is only meant to beget future innovative leadership. In line with this, the agency in Thailand has developed Diversity & Inclusion schemes such as ‘30for30’ – a leadership program that is designed to encourage and challenge strong female talent at Ogilvy to reach their full potential.

Most awarded creative agency in Thailand

Jiravara must have been hitting the home run with her team to make Ogilvy Thailand the most awarded creative agency in the country; the agency has recently been named Cannes Lions’ Top 3 Creative Agency of the Decade in the region. 

Jiravara says, “All initiatives are driven by data. We have a systematic collection and analysis of data to determine what issues have the most impact and need to be addressed first.”

On the performance side, she shares the internal programs have significantly improved the agency’s winning rate. People are able to complete difficult tasks faster and more efficiently and are able to generate more leads within shorter timeframes. Its clients have rated them 88% in service quality in the Vantage satisfaction survey and the majority of their top 20 clients have continued their partnership with the agency. 

Jiravara shares that despite these achievements, what’s most important, above all, is knowing that its employees are happy and proud to work at Ogilvy and highly recommends it as a place to work. 

Singapore – Oftentimes, we honour the collective genius of marketing and creative agencies against the backdrop of a groundbreaking brand campaign, but this time, we want to dive deeper.

The creative collaboration and process that these creative outfits immerse in is no minute feat, and we want to put the spotlight on the driving force that pushes for their success – the leaders.

There’s leadership and then there’s ‘unique’ leadership; and by this, we mean the agency chiefs that choose to let their ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking influence the way they lead and empower their teams. 

Called ‘Agency Leadership Decoded’, the series will be inviting the top management of leading creative agencies in APAC to share with us how they are innovating their strategies to keep the morale and engagement of their teams in tip-top shape. 

Through each story, we aim to let leaders reveal their distinct leadership philosophies and share how they are letting their passion and prowess in the creative shapeshift into one-of-a-kind corporate initiatives. 

Learn the interesting insights of the following leaders:

Jiravara shares about how she is helping build within teams the ‘Immunity for change’.

Jacqui lets us in on how they are creating meaningful experiences within the agency that enables them to cast meaningful difference for brands.

Virat talks about the challenge of leaders in creating an environment that is resistance-proof to growth.

Madina discusses how strategic and insight-driven huddles can make a difference in teams’ empowerment.

Thomas shares how the agency is creating success from within in order for the team to live out its mission of ‘creating connected brands.’