“Trust” has been a key words in digital advertising for a number of years now.
But it doesn’t have to describe just trust between an audience, publishers and advertisers.
Speaking for Beet.TV, research analyst Joanna O’Connell says it she sees female leaders in the business excel by trusting themselves and each other.
Believe 100%
O’Connell is an experienced advertising analyst, with two stints at Forrester, as well as previously acting as MediaMath’s CMO and AdExchanger’s director of research. She is known for deeply understanding dynamics in the digital marketing landscape.
An associate of Beet.TV, and interviewing executives at MMA Global’s POSSIBLE 2023 conference, O’Connell says she is “humbled” by the leaders she sees doing more than just throwing out empty words.
“Words like ‘resiliency’, ‘authenticity’, ‘trust’, ‘transparency’ … you can just feel in the conversations the group itself and with the conversations that I had with these leaders, that they lead with their whole heart and with their true authentic selves,” she says.
“They’re not afraid to take risks. They believe 100% in their people and in understanding their people as people. And they believe in growing their people. They believe in supporting each other.”
Learning from personal experience
As a female leader herself with over 20 years in the industry, O’Connell has experienced the weight of responsibility in her roles, including serving in the C-suite of a global advertising technology company.
She found the advice these female leaders would give to their younger selves particularly resonant, as she similarly considered such questions during her own career.
“Those were the kinds of questions that I myself thought a lot about when I was in a role of managing women and also being a leader to women even who were not on my team,” she says.
Fun @marketecturetv episode on the ground in Miami with @aripap.
Highlight of trip for me was snagging two of the smartest people in our space – @rishad and @joannaoconnell – for ‘person on the street’ interviews.
Check it!https://t.co/lVI1VPlsJq
— Eric Franchi (@ericfranchi) April 22, 2023
Trusting your voice
O’Connell says many of these leaders told her their younger selves were shy or didn’t believe their opinions were important.
However, the consensus among them was that the best thing one can do is to open their mouth and speak up, as their insights are indeed valuable.
This belief in oneself and the willingness to share one’s thoughts is crucial for successful leadership, says O’Connell.
You’re watching “The Best of the Badass Bosses,” a Beet.TV Leadership Series, presented by Integral Ad Science. This interview was filmed at POSSIBLE 2023 in Miami. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
