The year was 1974. My first day on a new job as a brand new graphic designer fresh out of the DAA Program at the University of Cincinnati. DAA because the ‘Planning” part of DAAP had yet to be added.

My coworkers and I gathered in the Art Department at a mid-sized ad agency, and awaited the appearance of our leader. The Art Director was a grizzled veteran of the agency business, one who could show us the ropes. Finally, I was in, ready to re-design the world. I will never forget his inspiring words that day:

“Gentlemen, consider today a race, and the winner keeps his job.”

What? No welcome to the team, here’s Bob who you can shadow for a couple days to get squared away, not even directions to the rest rooms.

Despite this warm welcome, I did manage to carve out a career, eventually founding and owning a 16-person Marketing and PR firm for 26 years. I also learned how to be an effective leader, not by emulating others, but by observing what worked, and what did not.

There is much discussion about how Millennials challenge many of today’s traditional business practices, so it’s not surprising that they are also challenging traditional, autocratic leadership. Challenging autocratic leadership is not new, and is not the private reserve of the Millennial generation. Read any ancient Roman manuscript, and you will quickly learn every established leadership hierarchy has been challenged by a younger generation. And yet, the world still hasn’t gone to hell in a handcart like my father predicted.

There are no rules to follow to become a good leader. Instead, there are principles that can guide you.

Inspire, don’t command

What are we trying to accomplish as a team, a tribe, or a business, and why is it important to each of us as individuals and the community? Your team will be comprised of individuals, each with different aspirations, ambitions, experiences and ideas. Embrace this synergy. Mentor collaboration.

Teach financial literacy

The millennial generation isn’t attracted to the money or recognition associated with leadership positions. Rather, they want to make a difference in the world and be a part of companies that care about more than the bottom line by supporting worthy causes in the community. This can only be accomplished if the company’s bottom line is firmly in the black.

Business decisions are made from necessity, not based on dreams. Educating your team on the financial aspects of business will help them understand why their participation is important. If you want to save the world, help earn the money that will enable it.

Teach your team to be resilient

The skills I learned earning a five-year degree stood me in good stead for the first twenty years of my career. Then, almost overnight, they became obsolete. Technology changed the world. Today, the speed of technology transforming business has accelerated to the point, the skills a student entering a four-year degree program will learn will be obsolete by the time they graduate. Whole industries will disappear, and others will emerge. It is as exciting as it is terrifying. The ability to handle the curve ball, embrace rapid change and thrive will depend upon a resilient mindset.

Embrace work-life balance in practice

Recently, we adopted a policy of unlimited vacation for all team members. I know, it sounds crazy. In point of fact, it empowers our team to self-govern themselves. I’m not following people around to see that they arrived ten minutes late or left ten minutes early. I’m not tracking who took off two hours to see a doctor, or who worked from home today. I am likewise not concerned with who worked until the wee hours of the night to meet a client deadline. I am demonstrating my confidence in the team to accomplish their work responsibly, and perform at the highest level. In so doing, it will also reveal those who do not.

Copying someone else’s leadership style doesn’t work. Being an effective leader requires both soft skills to inspire people, and hard skills to manage the business. Both require frequent examination.

As I write this, I’ve officially been with O’Keeffe for five months. Which is about the most appropriate time to write your own new hire blog, right? We’ll just skip over the awkwardness of writing your own digital introduction, and get to the good stuff.

I’m a digital marketing nerd with a background in sociology. I was introduced to the agency by a mutual friend and fell head over heels for the collaborative culture, opportunities for creativity, and the awesome clients. (Seriously – we have the best clients.)

What did you do in your previous life? 
I’ve spent most of my career in the B2B world as a team of one. Most recently, I led marketing for a small startup based in Toronto. I also have a random Master’s degree in Sociology (shout out to BGSU!).

If you could tell our clients one thing, what would it be? 
The more you tell us, the better our work together. It’s easy to ask for quick strategy and solutions, but better results come from that initial and ongoing discovery process.

What’s your best piece of advice for a marketer? 
Be hungry. We can teach skills, but I can’t teach you how to be creative, ambitious, and proactive. There are a million marketers, especially in Cincinnati. Show me your passion, enthusiasm, and creativity. And don’t be afraid to ask for things. I love coffee with marketing nerds, especially with recent grads. You’ll find that people are surprisingly open to that kind of thing.

What’s the last book you read? 
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. He’s absolutely my favorite writer, and he’s the reason I started seriously writing in high school. I met him in Irvine back in the day, and he was so supportive and friendly. Sedaris is the reason I pursued copywriting after graduate school. Hands down, the funniest, most human writer out there. I adore him.

What’s your secret marketing weapon? 
The American Marketing Association in Cincinnati. I connected with the board a few years ago, and have been involved off and on since then. Making friends with a bunch of marketers means that I have people to call when I break WordPress, when my lead gen strategies aren’t converting, and when I found a cool new platform and want to nerd out. That team pushes me, and has given me opportunities to hone skills long before I was able to use them in my day job.

Tell me your favorite metric to track. 
I’ll cheat and say two. Cost per lead and cost per conversion. I love analyzing success metrics for paid campaigns against their goals. Engagement is great and conversion is great, but if you’re spending more than a new customer is worth, it doesn’t work long-term. Too many people throw a bunch of money at an untested strategy and get frustrated when they’re not seeing the return they want. You have to know your tolerance for spend and what kind of conversion rates you need to get there.

Favorite word? 
Coffee is rather lovely.

Least favorite word? 
Leverage. I use it and hate myself for it. Really any $2 word when a $.10 word will do.

What profession other than marketing would you like to attempt? 
I wish I knew enough math to be an astrophysicist. I love space and I’ve always been fascinated by the stars. Quantum mechanics fascinates me, even if I have trouble following the equations.

What’s the best thing about our line of work? 
We get to have fun every day at work. It’s never boring, and it’s usually challenging. Also, the benefits. Work flexibility, beer on tap, and a good team.

Tell me two truths and a lie. 
I grew up sailing. I used to play volleyball. I know sign language.

You can read my full bio here or check out my LinkedIn profile here. And if you have any guesses about which statement is my lie, send us a tweet.