In this episode Dr. Nazif interviews Gianluca Ferruggia, General Manager at DesignRush, about leadership lessons from managing a global remote team. Gianluca shares his insights on building trust across different time zones, making employees feel valued, ensuring clear and effective communication, and adhering cultural sensitivity and inclusivity. He discusses best practices for scheduling meetings, preventing burnout, and leveraging technology for collaboration. Gianluca also highlights the importance of setting clear goals and expectations, professional development, and empowering autonomy and accountability in employees. Whether you’re a leader of a global team scaling a global business, or looking to improve your remote work strategies, Gianluca’s practical advice will be invaluable.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to build trust across time zones in remote work environments
- Why setting clear KPIs (key performance indicators) and goals from day one is crucial to long-term success
- The importance of valuing team contributions and offering meaningful recognition
- How to prevent burnout and promote work-life balance in virtual teams
- Best practices for scheduling meetings and managing expectations around availability
- How to practice and encourage clear, effective communication across diverse cultures
- Why active listening and feedback loops are essential for leadership
- Using the right tools and technologies (without tech overload) to boost collaboration
- Tips for managing a multicultural team with empathy and cultural sensitivity
- Balancing autonomy and accountability for high-performing team members
- How to align employees’ professional development with company goals
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- [00:00:00] - Episode Highlights
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 So I just want to ask, how do you build trust
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 across time zones when you work remotely? Sure.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:10 So first of all, we've been remote now for the
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 duration of Design Rush since we started. So
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 that was about a year ago, which was pre -COVID
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 as well. So we've been a whole remote company
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 and a global company from day one. It's always
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 a give and take. So I need to be able to give
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 trust as well as I need to be able. to receive
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 trust. I don't really like this hierarchical
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 structure where there are certain things that
00:00:33 --> 00:00:38 you can say or you cannot say to managers and
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 so on. So I do appreciate people that give me
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 feedback as well. It's important to communicate
00:00:43 --> 00:00:47 both positive and negative because the negative
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 as well can teach us how to not make the same
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 mistake again or how maybe to see different viewpoints
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 that can help to say something that You come
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 out in the wrong way in a different way. And
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 ultimately, it's the monetary rewards. If someone
00:01:03 --> 00:01:07 does a great job, someone is excellent, someone
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 can overcome big challenges, they also need to
00:01:11 --> 00:01:39 be rewarded also with facts. and get access to
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 expert articles and strategy guides on personal
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 and professional development and enjoy lots of
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 other exclusive features. Visit our website,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 activeaction .fm, for more information and to
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 explore all episodes. Don't forget to check our
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 merchandise for exciting goodies at activeaction
00:01:57 --> 00:02:01 .shop. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 Active Action Podcast. It's me, your host, Dr.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 Nazif, back again with another episode. with
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 another awesome guest. Just want to take this
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00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 So let's begin into our episode today. Today,
00:03:02 --> 00:03:08 we will be talking to GianLuka and we'll be talking
00:03:08 --> 00:03:13 about leadership lessons. from managing a global
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 remote team, which, again, Luca will share with
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 us through his experience. Just wanted to provide
00:03:19 --> 00:03:23 a bit background of who our esteemed guest today
00:03:23 --> 00:03:27 is. So, again, Luca is a seasoned digital marketer
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 with over 10 years of experience. Starting out
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 with PPC, he effectively expanded his expertise
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 to include search engine optimization, sales,
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 business development, and product. He is currently
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 the general manager at Design Rush, where he
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 leads a team of over 100 professionals. He also
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 oversees the business operation of Design Rush
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 and develops strategies that achieves business
00:03:55 --> 00:03:59 goals. In just a few years, he grew the company's
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 agency network to over 30 , making it one
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 of the leading B2B marketplaces that connect
00:04:06 --> 00:04:10 businesses with agencies. So I'm sure. Dear audiences,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 that Ganluka is going to share his words of wisdom.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 We can definitely benefit you taking those advice,
00:04:18 --> 00:04:22 especially if you're a managing team from a remote
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 place or doing that remotely. This episode would
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 be very helpful for you. So without further ado,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 let's begin this episode. Thank you so much,
00:04:31 --> 00:04:35 Ganluka, for joining today's podcast. How are
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 you doing this morning? First of all, thanks
00:04:37 --> 00:04:41 for having me here. Thanks, Dr. Nazif. And yeah,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 all good. It's a lovely morning. So yeah, pretty
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 happy to be here on your podcast. Thank you.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 Do you want to introduce yourself to the listeners?
00:04:50 --> 00:04:54 Sure. Yeah. Yeah, I've been in the world of marketing
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 for over 10 years now. That's also my background
00:04:57 --> 00:05:02 studies. I now I'm an expert in SEO because in
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 the last eight years or so in growing Design
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 Rush, I joined when we were three or four employees,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 started with a founder. And after a year or so,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:17 we're about 10 of us took over and grew a site.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 Basically when I was there at the beginning,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 the site had very little value and now we grew
00:05:23 --> 00:05:27 it to over 2 million in traffic value. Oh, that's
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 wonderful. Yeah, we did a good job there. And
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 that's basically professional has been my career
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 doing that. And privately and personally, I live
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 in Portugal. I'm Italian. Okay. About a year
00:05:39 --> 00:05:44 ago. And yeah, I'm happy here. So that's where
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 I probably gonna stay for a few more years for
00:05:46 --> 00:05:50 sure. Yeah. Thank you so much for that introduction,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:55 Luca. And so we will be talking about from your
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 experience in the business on how to. manage
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 leadership that you are able to do very successfully,
00:06:01 --> 00:06:05 as we heard, building your team, making it to
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 a global platform, connecting businesses to agencies.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 So I just want to ask you this question, because
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 when you're working in a remote environment and
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 working across different time zones, there are
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 people that need to connect across the world
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24 at different variable times. And there is also
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 when you like not. meeting people in front, not
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 face -to -face, remotely, that connection, how
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 you build it really matters. So I just want to
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 ask, how do you build trust across time zones
00:06:36 --> 00:06:40 when you work remotely? Sure. So first of all,
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 we've been remote now for the duration of Design
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 Rush since we started. So that was about a year
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 ago, which was pre -COVID as well. So we've been
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 a whole remote company and a global company from
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 day one. Also when people weren't really... Aware
00:06:55 --> 00:06:59 of how this works before COVID, it seemed a little
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 abstract to many people. So we've been doing
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 this for a long time and there's always to learn
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 and how to improve about working. In terms of
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 trust, I would say that at the beginning, it's
00:07:12 --> 00:07:16 hard to trust, right? So it's important that
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 both on both sides, the employer and the employee,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:24 there are clear KPIs and there are... If you
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 understand what the job entails and how you can
00:07:27 --> 00:07:31 invest in the job, it's more of a result -oriented
00:07:31 --> 00:07:35 approach where I don't want to be there and sort
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 of time how long are you in front of the computer
00:07:38 --> 00:07:42 or not, but rather we agree on goals, we agree
00:07:42 --> 00:07:46 on a roadmap, and we work through these tasks,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:50 goals, and everything that we set. Also, it's
00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 important that people are accountable and take
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 ownership of what they do. That kind of sets
00:07:56 --> 00:08:00 apart the great professionals from the ones that
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 are not on the same level or not the cultural.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 And so I would say that the very beginning is
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 the hardest to break through and to actually
00:08:09 --> 00:08:13 be speaking about trust. Right. If those few
00:08:13 --> 00:08:17 first months where the expectations are set.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:21 and both sides are holding their part of the
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 promise, right, on what we need to deliver. That's
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 where trust starts because at that point, the
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 employee in that sense, or even the manager,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 the team lead, will have more freedom and autonomy
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 because that's what we're looking for in our
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 employees, someone that can drive and be autonomous.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 And then over time, there is a strengthening
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 of this trust. And there is also, it's always
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 a give and take. I need to be able to give trust
00:08:45 --> 00:08:49 as well as I need to be able to receive trust.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:54 And this goes for me and for the employees. I
00:08:54 --> 00:08:58 really appreciate your thought that when you
00:08:58 --> 00:09:02 mentioned to build that trust when we are working
00:09:02 --> 00:09:06 in a different time zone. I know when you're
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 working with people, it's also important to build
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 those connections and make your employees feel
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 valued. What strategies do you follow? What do
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 you do to ensure that? Or how can a business
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 owner, when they're working remotely with their
00:09:21 --> 00:09:25 employees, can make them feel valued? Sure. Yeah,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 I think like anything, it doesn't matter if it's
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 a remote setup or if it's in the office, everyone
00:09:30 --> 00:09:35 will be feeling valued. So what is important
00:09:35 --> 00:09:39 is that we're saying when someone is doing a
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 good thing, If there is someone that is exceeding
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 at their work, I'm the first one to congratulate
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 the person individually also in front of everyone
00:09:49 --> 00:09:53 and acknowledge the work that they are doing
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 and the effort that they're bringing. I also
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 appreciate that's something I do, but I also
00:09:59 --> 00:10:03 like to receive. To be put on the same level,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 I don't really like this hierarchical structure
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 where there are certain things that you can say
00:10:09 --> 00:10:14 or you cannot say to managers and so on. So I
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 do appreciate people that give me feedback as
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 well. And that's sort of how I would like to
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 go on and set up the relationship that I have
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 with every employee. It's important to communicate
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 both positive and negative because the negative
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 as well can teach us how to not make the same
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 mistake again or. How maybe to see different
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 viewpoints that can help to say something that
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 you come out in the wrong way in a different
00:10:40 --> 00:10:44 way. And ultimately it's the monetary rewards.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:49 If someone does a great job, someone is excellent,
00:10:49 --> 00:10:53 someone can overcome big challenges, they also
00:10:53 --> 00:10:58 need to be rewarded also with facts. And that's
00:10:58 --> 00:11:03 very important. So that helps. Now also reconnecting
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 back to the different time zones, what we usually
00:11:06 --> 00:11:10 do is we work on sort of middle ground solution.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 And especially for me and the leadership, meaning
00:11:14 --> 00:11:18 I would say European times, because we need to
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 branch also Asia times and we need to branch
00:11:21 --> 00:11:25 American times. And then depending on where the
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 employee is based or their responsibility in
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 the company. They also have different timings.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:36 But ultimately, everyone overlaps for about four
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 to six hours. The managers are the ones that
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 overlap the most with me and with the rest of
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 the teams. And then each individual team, based
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 on their needs and priorities, have different
00:11:50 --> 00:11:54 times. But we never... When I have a situation
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 where an employee is going to be working completely
00:11:56 --> 00:12:01 on their own for the eight -hour shift, that's
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 not something I would do because it's important,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:07 as I said, communication. Communication, if you
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 have a problem, communication. If you need help,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 communication. If you need to bring something
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 up that is important to your team leader, manager,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 people need to be present and we need to have
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 enough time to be effective and work together
00:12:18 --> 00:12:22 as a team. So that's very important. Thank you
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 so much for those wonderful words of wisdom.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:30 And I also wanted to ask you one question. Working
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 remotely at different time zones sometimes can
00:12:33 --> 00:12:38 cause stress or burnout. Once that you're not
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 having communication from face to face, but you're
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 doing it online. But then again, maintaining
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 the different time zones that different employees
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 are in. What do you do to prevent that burnout?
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 Yeah, that's a good question because it's normal
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 and everyone knows that you end up working more
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 just because you're home and you're in front
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 of your computer and you don't need to commute
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 from place to place. We are all aware of the
00:13:04 --> 00:13:08 situation. I would say I'm the first one that
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 my employees to self -manage. That's important.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 Because with the different time zones, it's really
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 easy that a manager or even an employee reaches
00:13:18 --> 00:13:22 back to a manager. Without minding what time
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 it is in a different zone. I don't blame anyone
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 for this because I understand that it's day for
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 you. Probably you need to send a message. You
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 don't want to forget about something and now
00:13:32 --> 00:13:37 you just send it out. So I think for as much
00:13:37 --> 00:13:41 as we have rules in place and we have times for
00:13:41 --> 00:13:47 each department shifts and all of that. Being
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 able to self -manage, compartmentalize, understand,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:54 like, if I receive something, let's say, are
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 we saving a life, right? Is that something that
00:13:57 --> 00:14:01 you need to tackle right now? If not, just ignore.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 Because that's not important. If it's something
00:14:04 --> 00:14:08 important, then I do expect also that people
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 are responsible. So they understand if, do I
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 need to get off bed to do this? Probably most
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 of the time, no, right? So... It's about, again,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 self -managing and understanding. I keep repeating
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 this to everyone because, as I said, for as many
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 rules as you can set, you are in charge of yourself
00:14:24 --> 00:14:30 and you make your own decisions. Can you share
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 from your experience some of the best practices
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 for scheduling meetings and setting realistic
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 expectations for availability and response time?
00:14:40 --> 00:14:45 Yeah, sure. So, I mean, in general, I like to
00:14:45 --> 00:14:50 work with professionals that are relatively quick
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 on the trigger because we live in a world that
00:14:52 --> 00:14:58 is really fast moving and competitive. I do also,
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 when it comes to meetings, there are different
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 opinions on scheduling meetings. I prefer to
00:15:04 --> 00:15:09 have a chat that email and misunderstand each
00:15:09 --> 00:15:13 other. I understand there that other people would
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 say You can do this through an email, so you
00:15:16 --> 00:15:21 don't need to schedule a meeting. So I do try
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 and tend to be in the middle. If it's through
00:15:24 --> 00:15:28 email, I would. If I believe it's important to
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 have a chat, I'd rather schedule a meeting. Now,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 when would I schedule a meeting? When do I think
00:15:34 --> 00:15:38 a chat is important? When you start a new project,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 when you need to align with multiple stakeholders.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:46 Or when you need to have a checkpoint of work
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 that's been done for a week or two weeks, depending
00:15:48 --> 00:15:52 on what the task was. These moments are crucial
00:15:52 --> 00:15:57 in order to understand if expectations, perspectives
00:15:57 --> 00:16:03 are aligned. And so that's what I like to do.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 Now, when it comes to individual departments
00:16:05 --> 00:16:09 and the day to day. I also encourage every department
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 to start with a morning meeting and evening meeting.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 Why? Because it's sometimes what we call common
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 sense. It's not really like the same for everyone.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 And I realized that you might say, let's talk
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 about sales, for example. You want to look at
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 the pipeline and the clients that you're going
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 to have, you spoke to yesterday, you're going
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 to speak to today, if anyone replied, if any
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 new update on any deals. And even just going
00:16:36 --> 00:16:40 through the deals, each potential client that
00:16:40 --> 00:16:44 you are in talks with. Remind yourself at rehearsal,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:49 understand what is the deal that you have there,
00:16:50 --> 00:16:54 and even it can open you up to new opportunities
00:16:54 --> 00:16:58 or ideas, something that you haven't paid attention
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 to. And when you do it in front of multiple people,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:04 it could be your sales team. If you work in a
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 team, people can give you ideas. Your team members
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 can be like, hey, have you tried to do that?
00:17:10 --> 00:17:14 Or I did this, it works for me. So being able
00:17:14 --> 00:17:18 to cover it every day and every morning, it really,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 and if you're doing it focused, and if everyone
00:17:20 --> 00:17:24 in that room can really help you do a better
00:17:24 --> 00:17:29 job. So I really appreciate those tips and tricks.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 And I'm sure our audiences would also. something
00:17:32 --> 00:17:36 new and they can potentially apply those strategies
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 in their working with their employees as well.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:43 So really appreciate it. And Luca. I now wanted
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 to talk about the importance of clear communication
00:17:46 --> 00:17:50 because this is something that resolves around
00:17:50 --> 00:17:54 when we are doing freelancing work or when we
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 are working on a particular business with a team.
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 The clear communication process is very important.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 And because if you don't have clear communication,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:08 the employees won't understand what your expectations
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 are or they won't be just able to deliver the
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 work effectively. I want to ask you, can you
00:18:13 --> 00:18:17 kindly talk about the role of clear and effective
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 communication in remote teams? And how do you
00:18:20 --> 00:18:25 achieve that? Sure. So what I usually do, and
00:18:25 --> 00:18:30 it really helps, is... First of all, if we discuss
00:18:30 --> 00:18:35 a new task, I like to sit down and show it. So
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 I share my screen. I show exactly what I need
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 to do. Let's say I need to open an Excel. I need
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 to fill out with some data. I need to do a pivot
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 table. So I show what I need to do with the data
00:18:46 --> 00:18:50 that we have to work with. And then I ask if
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 it's clear, if there is any questions and the
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 person that should execute, the person that is
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 responsible for, ask them to do in front of me.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 So they print, share, and show me if they understood
00:19:02 --> 00:19:07 what they need to do. When that step is completed,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:12 I would expect to receive the task, let's say
00:19:12 --> 00:19:17 close to 90 % well done. Then of course, there
00:19:17 --> 00:19:21 is also that 10, 15 % that we go through the
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 same process I just explained a couple of times,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 and then we make sure that we are 100 % clear
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 on what the execution is. If I need a report,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 I would write the template of the report and
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 I would also fill it out, fill it out what I
00:19:36 --> 00:19:42 need and point out where each KPI number is being
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 sorted from and show them that as well. Other
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 things that are important, in my opinion, is
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 what I was mentioning before. If we need to start
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 a new task, I'd rather get everyone involved
00:19:54 --> 00:19:58 in a call, go through everything, ask questions
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 myself to people to see if they understood, have
00:20:01 --> 00:20:05 my team members asking me questions, and clarify
00:20:05 --> 00:20:09 any question that's important. Now, it's also
00:20:09 --> 00:20:14 important to communicate. changes that are happening.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 They could be in the company or it could be at
00:20:18 --> 00:20:23 the department or for a single person. It's important
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 for me to always explain from the start why certain
00:20:26 --> 00:20:30 things should be done in a certain way. And again,
00:20:30 --> 00:20:34 as I said, I'm open to people explaining their
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 point of view, their vision, their perspective,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 and then we get online. I think communications
00:20:41 --> 00:20:46 comes with listening as well. Oh, okay. Yeah.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 I'm sure. Listening is really important, right?
00:20:49 --> 00:20:53 Yeah. Yeah. So that's the thing. Being able to
00:20:53 --> 00:20:58 see what needs to be done to then listen, have
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 questions, ask questions. And many times I'm
00:21:01 --> 00:21:05 in situations where I have an idea of how to
00:21:05 --> 00:21:09 execute a strategy or project. And we'll put
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 everything down and then everyone is clear. Then
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 we start the execution. Maybe there are some
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 issues or problems that we didn't figure out.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:20 And in my instructions, of course, they were
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 not included because it was the first time doing
00:21:22 --> 00:21:26 it. So the team comes back and tells me, hey,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 we have all of these, let's say, blockers or
00:21:28 --> 00:21:32 challenges. We think we can do it this way and
00:21:32 --> 00:21:36 this way works. So also, damn. Being able to
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 come back to me and communicate that. And of
00:21:39 --> 00:21:43 course, me listening also and me to work together
00:21:43 --> 00:21:46 and say, okay, great. So let's do that. Right.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:50 That's important. Or what I consider clear communication,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 it's feedback as well. Working on a design for
00:21:54 --> 00:21:57 redesigning a part of the site, or it could be
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 marketing collateral material. Right. Also there,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:03 when you give feedback, you need to be clear.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:06 So if I'm opening up a site, I will tell you,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:09 Hey, look at this CTA here. Maybe instead of
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 being circular, it should be a box, a square.
00:22:12 --> 00:22:15 Do you want this color? I want this effect here.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:22 So being detailed with the feedback is also allows
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 clear communication again, in order to have the
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 desire, understand exactly what you need to execute
00:22:27 --> 00:22:31 on and be faster, be able. Of course, we work
00:22:31 --> 00:22:35 with the design team for many years now and each
00:22:35 --> 00:22:39 other as well. But it takes time to time and
00:22:39 --> 00:22:42 being clear on what you want as well as what
00:22:42 --> 00:22:45 other people want. So yeah, it's key. It's key
00:22:45 --> 00:22:49 for any company, clear communication. Thank you
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 so much for making us understand what the importance
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 is of clear communication. And most importantly,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 like how to do that, what expectations to set,
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 that would be very helpful for us. audiences
00:23:00 --> 00:23:05 i do want to now ask you about taking advantage
00:23:05 --> 00:23:10 of technology for collaboration so in this modern
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 era of technologies where we have so many softwares
00:23:13 --> 00:23:17 and essential tools to build our business or
00:23:17 --> 00:23:21 tools that will assist in managing our team from
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 a leadership perspective can you share how to
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 take advantage of the latest technologies for
00:23:26 --> 00:23:32 collaboration Yeah, sure. So I like to divide
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 this into two parts. One is the tools that are
00:23:35 --> 00:23:40 necessary to do our work. And another one is
00:23:40 --> 00:23:44 tools that we would bring on to improve the work
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 that we're doing. Okay. I think that's very important
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 to separate. Because let me tell you, like you
00:23:50 --> 00:23:54 need a CRM in order to build, right? There is
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 no more the time of... I mean, you can still
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 use an Excel, but you understand that it's not
00:23:59 --> 00:24:03 as effective and it doesn't update and it doesn't
00:24:03 --> 00:24:08 automate as much. So I could say HubSpot, but
00:24:08 --> 00:24:11 so many more tools, Salesforce and all of that,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:14 they help you with your outputs, managing your
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 output. And there are tools that are essential
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 to certain lines of businesses. Like for us,
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 we need to use tools like SEMrush to check our
00:24:22 --> 00:24:26 site performance. Right. Our approach is that
00:24:26 --> 00:24:30 whatever is essential, we need to have it. But
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 we're talking about a relatively limited number
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 of tools, right? A project management tool, a
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39 CRM tool, market analytics tools. Of course,
00:24:39 --> 00:24:43 Zoom, like in our case, we use Teams and Microsoft
00:24:43 --> 00:24:47 package. These are the basics to do the job.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 Then there are tools that can help improve the
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 quality of what you're doing. For example, I
00:24:51 --> 00:24:54 mean, nowadays everyone, we're all... in the
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 world of AI, as we know. So we're testing multiple
00:24:57 --> 00:25:01 tools that can help us with what we're already
00:25:01 --> 00:25:04 doing. Right. And the rule we have with Zenbrush
00:25:04 --> 00:25:08 is you test quickly, you see if it works. If
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 it doesn't work, you cancel the subscription
00:25:09 --> 00:25:13 right away. If it works, we include it or write
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 guidelines to use the tool or include it in our
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 current processes, guidelines, checklists, train
00:25:18 --> 00:25:23 the team and use it efficiently. If we come across
00:25:23 --> 00:25:26 a better tool, then we will switch, right? What
00:25:26 --> 00:25:30 I think is key here is don't waste money. Use
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 the tools that are necessary to your company.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:36 You can already be successful and run a successful
00:25:36 --> 00:25:41 business. If you want to try different things
00:25:41 --> 00:25:44 and improve the quality of your work or the efficiency
00:25:44 --> 00:25:48 or both, you must test, right? But this test,
00:25:48 --> 00:25:52 the worry there could be that You end up having
00:25:52 --> 00:25:57 a subscription to 30 new tools and you use three
00:25:57 --> 00:26:01 of them. So it's important to be organized and
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 to have a process. And that's the process we
00:26:04 --> 00:26:08 follow. We test quickly. We see if it can be
00:26:08 --> 00:26:11 integrated in a current process or not. Cancel
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 it. If yes, we update the guidelines and start
00:26:13 --> 00:26:17 to use it right away. Okay. Thank you so much.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:20 And that actually answers another. question that
00:26:20 --> 00:26:24 I had was how to actually use the right set of
00:26:24 --> 00:26:27 tools and how to make sure the team is also comfortable
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 using that. But you clearly outlined that as
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 well. And it's very important to understand which
00:26:33 --> 00:26:36 tools to use to your advantage. And then I like
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 the idea of not having so many tools with so
00:26:38 --> 00:26:41 many subscription fees associated with it, but
00:26:41 --> 00:26:45 use the right one. And if that works, then create
00:26:45 --> 00:26:49 processes. And sheets or tutorials or even like
00:26:49 --> 00:26:53 having those integrated by a coding process would
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 be really, really helpful for use of tools. From
00:26:56 --> 00:26:59 now, I would like to talk to you about cultural
00:26:59 --> 00:27:03 sensitivity and inclusivity because I feel this
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 is an important topic because when you're working
00:27:05 --> 00:27:09 with people from different cultures, you have
00:27:09 --> 00:27:13 to be acknowledging those and like respecting
00:27:13 --> 00:27:16 each individual's culture to feel. employees
00:27:16 --> 00:27:19 like more accustomed or feeling like more in
00:27:19 --> 00:27:23 a friendly environment and he shared like how
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26 managing a global team requires understanding
00:27:26 --> 00:27:30 of diverse cultures and work habits yeah sure
00:27:30 --> 00:27:35 i mean 100 it requires a lot of understanding
00:27:36 --> 00:27:39 First of all, I was being like enough to have
00:27:39 --> 00:27:42 lived in different countries, lived in four different
00:27:42 --> 00:27:45 countries so far. I lived in countries where
00:27:45 --> 00:27:48 they were also quite international. I mean, I
00:27:48 --> 00:27:51 live in the UK where you can meet a lot of different
00:27:51 --> 00:27:55 cultures for sure and other places like that.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:59 So I do understand that it's really important
00:27:59 --> 00:28:02 to first of all learn. So again, we go back to
00:28:02 --> 00:28:05 listening, right? And understand. other people's
00:28:05 --> 00:28:10 viewpoints and habits, right? How to do things.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:15 And with that, you're more tolerant as well,
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 because if you know the context of where certain
00:28:17 --> 00:28:21 habits come from, even if they are not in line
00:28:21 --> 00:28:25 with your culture, right? Like you might be more
00:28:25 --> 00:28:28 tolerant of letting certain things pass, right?
00:28:29 --> 00:28:32 That's very important. So within the company,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:36 what we do. what I do, but what we do in general
00:28:36 --> 00:28:41 as a company is also understanding that, yes,
00:28:41 --> 00:28:44 we have people all across the world. So certain
00:28:44 --> 00:28:49 people might be naturally more shy, right? Or
00:28:49 --> 00:28:52 within their culture or other cultures. In Morris
00:28:52 --> 00:28:55 law, there are religions, there are like different
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 ways of cooking food, as well as maybe talking
00:28:58 --> 00:29:02 to colleagues or to superiors within the company.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:06 We always need to be very mindful. That's why
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 I go also back to their communication because
00:29:08 --> 00:29:11 one of the first things that I do for any new
00:29:11 --> 00:29:14 employee that joins Design Rush, I like to have
00:29:14 --> 00:29:17 a chat with them. It's a brief call that I have
00:29:17 --> 00:29:20 with each single employee where I tell them,
00:29:20 --> 00:29:23 if there is anything that makes you feel uncomfortable,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 you don't know who to talk to. If you think it's
00:29:26 --> 00:29:29 your manager that says something that makes you
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 feel uncomfortable. But if you don't realize
00:29:31 --> 00:29:34 that they do not have an understanding and you
00:29:34 --> 00:29:37 don't feel they would make change, my door is
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 always open. Yeah. So it's important that because
00:29:40 --> 00:29:44 I have that understanding, I like my employees
00:29:44 --> 00:29:48 to come to me and tell me, hey, usually, let's
00:29:48 --> 00:29:51 say we don't, in our culture, we don't reply
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 to managers' feedback, even if we think he's
00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 wrong, right? So I think my manager is doing
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 this and that, but I don't know how to address
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 it. with the manager, right? So I'm there and
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 I said, well, look, tell me, because what we
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 can do is I can sit down with the person, maybe
00:30:05 --> 00:30:08 show them another viewpoint, maybe show them
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 that it's a different culture from their culture,
00:30:11 --> 00:30:14 right? So they need to take certain steps and
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 be able to listen and approach this in a certain
00:30:16 --> 00:30:20 way. These things are really important in order
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 to run smooth operations, a successful business.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:25 And then of course, take into account the people
00:30:25 --> 00:30:28 that we hire and we want to hire people. When
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 I say smart, not just smart at the work, also
00:30:30 --> 00:30:34 emotionally smart and understand that maybe you
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 might not know something, but you can learn about
00:30:35 --> 00:30:41 it. Right? I really appreciate that thought.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:45 And also I would like to know from you. Can you
00:30:45 --> 00:30:49 share some tips how to lead multicultural team
00:30:49 --> 00:30:55 effectively? Yeah, sure. First of all, understanding
00:30:55 --> 00:30:59 each one's strengths, weaknesses. You can also
00:30:59 --> 00:31:03 understand where to hire for certain roles, right?
00:31:03 --> 00:31:06 You might think, okay, there are certain areas,
00:31:06 --> 00:31:09 forward -facing and really upfront, and that's
00:31:09 --> 00:31:13 how they speak. Like I can think of, we hire
00:31:13 --> 00:31:15 a lot in the Balkans, for example, in Europe.
00:31:15 --> 00:31:20 Right. And we hire in South Africa as well. And
00:31:20 --> 00:31:24 usually these are people that are more outgoing
00:31:24 --> 00:31:27 or more open to a conversation. Maybe if you
00:31:27 --> 00:31:30 hire in certain areas of Asia, the people are
00:31:30 --> 00:31:33 more respectful and quieter, you know, and but
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 then they have skills, they are bilingual, they
00:31:35 --> 00:31:39 write in English perfectly. And so when you build
00:31:39 --> 00:31:42 the team, you need to be able to build based
00:31:42 --> 00:31:47 also on. strengths and weaknesses of each person,
00:31:47 --> 00:31:51 each area and all of that. When you come together
00:31:51 --> 00:31:53 and then it's important that the team leaders,
00:31:54 --> 00:31:57 the managers are trained and understanding how
00:31:57 --> 00:32:00 to work with a certain team member or with a
00:32:00 --> 00:32:03 certain team from a certain area of the world,
00:32:03 --> 00:32:08 right? And that's how they are mainly trained
00:32:08 --> 00:32:10 as well to understand. I can give you an example.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:13 We have a news team. That's made of writers,
00:32:13 --> 00:32:17 editors, editor -in -chief, et cetera. In that
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 team, there are five different nationalities,
00:32:19 --> 00:32:27 probably four different continents. So the person
00:32:27 --> 00:32:32 in charge of the team has been trained by me
00:32:32 --> 00:32:37 personally. It was on, you know, how to deal
00:32:37 --> 00:32:39 in certain situations with certain people because
00:32:39 --> 00:32:42 a writer. It could be from Portugal and it has
00:32:42 --> 00:32:46 a coach. Another rider, it's from the Philippines
00:32:46 --> 00:32:49 and another rider is from the Americas, right?
00:32:49 --> 00:32:53 And each one needs something different. So it's
00:32:53 --> 00:32:55 really important to understand those differences.
00:32:56 --> 00:33:01 And I do have a team that is quite international,
00:33:01 --> 00:33:04 meaning I do have team leaders, managers that
00:33:04 --> 00:33:07 have been themselves traveling and living in
00:33:07 --> 00:33:10 different places and understanding this. or wouldn't
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12 have the chance in their life, I'm usually the
00:33:12 --> 00:33:16 one to take charge of training them on this and
00:33:16 --> 00:33:18 telling them that they must come back to me with
00:33:18 --> 00:33:22 any sort of questions or doubts because I can
00:33:22 --> 00:33:26 help them decode certain situations and make
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 sure to say the right thing because sometimes
00:33:28 --> 00:33:32 it is understanding, in other words. I do ask
00:33:32 --> 00:33:34 the employees to also give me feedback on the
00:33:34 --> 00:33:38 other side because it's very understanding. I'm
00:33:38 --> 00:33:41 all for communicating, pick up and find a solution.
00:33:41 --> 00:33:44 I understand that some people would not be comfortable
00:33:44 --> 00:33:46 with that and that's why they're going to go
00:33:46 --> 00:33:49 through me to make sure that I'm going to protect
00:33:49 --> 00:33:52 them and the situation and make sure to address
00:33:52 --> 00:33:55 it with the manager in the right way. Thank you
00:33:55 --> 00:33:58 so much. That's wonderful advice. And I'm sure
00:33:58 --> 00:34:02 the different managers or different type of persons
00:34:02 --> 00:34:04 working in the leadership position can definitely
00:34:04 --> 00:34:08 leverage. advices from those. I really like your
00:34:08 --> 00:34:11 technique of having the conversation first, setting
00:34:11 --> 00:34:14 out some of those acquaintances and just having
00:34:14 --> 00:34:17 a bit of a friendly feeling. Just before diving
00:34:17 --> 00:34:19 into the work, I love that strategy that you
00:34:19 --> 00:34:23 shared. I want to ask you, it's important to
00:34:23 --> 00:34:28 set clear expectations when you do expect better
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 work problem -wise. So it is very important that
00:34:30 --> 00:34:33 the expectations are really clear. and what they
00:34:33 --> 00:34:36 need to do what they need to achieve could be
00:34:36 --> 00:34:39 outlined clearly i want to talk in this aspect
00:34:39 --> 00:34:43 now the need for setting clear goals and expectation
00:34:43 --> 00:34:47 from day one i feel is very important can you
00:34:47 --> 00:34:50 share your perspective on this or how someone
00:34:50 --> 00:34:54 can do better in terms of setting clear goals
00:34:54 --> 00:35:00 and expectation yeah sure so i mean this is something
00:35:00 --> 00:35:04 that we pay a lot of attention to. Of course,
00:35:04 --> 00:35:07 we also had a learning curve with this. But mainly
00:35:07 --> 00:35:11 what we do is from the very first touch point,
00:35:11 --> 00:35:15 which is posting the job ad online, we're sure
00:35:15 --> 00:35:20 to include the goals of the role as the responsibilities
00:35:20 --> 00:35:24 and the requirements. But three goals are really,
00:35:24 --> 00:35:27 really important because that set from day one
00:35:27 --> 00:35:31 clears expectations from that. We move on to
00:35:31 --> 00:35:36 the interview process where we repeat the goals
00:35:36 --> 00:35:41 and we actually provide more specifics on the
00:35:41 --> 00:35:44 goals throughout the process till the, of course,
00:35:44 --> 00:35:47 the last interview and the offer. When we send
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49 the offer, we re -include the goals there as
00:35:49 --> 00:35:52 well. Just to tell you how important for us to
00:35:52 --> 00:35:57 basically set clear expectations. And once someone
00:35:57 --> 00:36:00 joins, of course, These goals are outlying, but
00:36:00 --> 00:36:02 we are completely open to also listen to their
00:36:02 --> 00:36:05 point of view and if they would make any changes.
00:36:05 --> 00:36:07 And that's, of course, then it's a conversation
00:36:07 --> 00:36:10 that we can have. But then again, this connects
00:36:10 --> 00:36:14 back to then ownership. So if you're hired for
00:36:14 --> 00:36:16 a certain role, if you feel you can achieve certain
00:36:16 --> 00:36:19 goals, if you were raised on these goals from
00:36:19 --> 00:36:21 the very beginning, even before you actually
00:36:21 --> 00:36:24 were selected for the job, then we expect these
00:36:24 --> 00:36:28 goals to be achieved. And if... they are not
00:36:28 --> 00:36:30 achieved, we expect to see someone that cares,
00:36:30 --> 00:36:34 that is dedicated, someone that is willing to
00:36:34 --> 00:36:38 do what it takes to get to whatever goals the
00:36:38 --> 00:36:42 role sets for them, right? It's more of a mindset.
00:36:42 --> 00:36:46 And yeah, if we see that, again, common sense
00:36:46 --> 00:36:49 is really important. I always tell my team members,
00:36:49 --> 00:36:54 you might reach 80%, 90 % of your goal, but if
00:36:54 --> 00:36:56 you give it all. And if you're going to give
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 it all the next time for the next time, the next
00:36:58 --> 00:37:02 time you eventually going to reach 100%. It's
00:37:02 --> 00:37:05 just about how you set yourself either for success
00:37:05 --> 00:37:08 or for failure. And it's about consistency, right?
00:37:08 --> 00:37:12 Consistency is key. And of course, dedication.
00:37:12 --> 00:37:16 But dedication is the groundation of consistency
00:37:16 --> 00:37:20 and everything else, you know. Sure. For sure.
00:37:20 --> 00:37:23 For sure. I completely agree with that. And I
00:37:23 --> 00:37:26 really, really appreciate it. how the way that
00:37:26 --> 00:37:29 you think and how you emphasize like setting
00:37:29 --> 00:37:31 clear expectations are and the strategies that
00:37:31 --> 00:37:37 you follow clearly visible in the amount of success
00:37:37 --> 00:37:40 that your company has achieved. So I can correlate
00:37:40 --> 00:37:42 with that. I'm really glad to have this conversation
00:37:42 --> 00:37:47 today. I wanted to ask you a follow -up question
00:37:47 --> 00:37:50 on this. While a person is working with you,
00:37:50 --> 00:37:53 spending their time and dedication to build,
00:37:54 --> 00:37:57 your company's growth and reputation, I feel
00:37:57 --> 00:38:01 it's also important for that same employee to
00:38:01 --> 00:38:03 develop professionally for themselves. Because
00:38:03 --> 00:38:06 the more professionally they develop, the more
00:38:06 --> 00:38:10 development they put to themselves, they can
00:38:10 --> 00:38:12 deliver the same thing for your company. They
00:38:12 --> 00:38:14 can provide better outcome for your company.
00:38:14 --> 00:38:18 Can I ask you in this aspect, how to keep the
00:38:18 --> 00:38:21 team aligned with the company's objective, but
00:38:21 --> 00:38:25 also with their own? personal and professional
00:38:25 --> 00:38:31 development? Sure. Yeah. First of all, one great
00:38:31 --> 00:38:33 thing that we do here at Design Rush is that
00:38:33 --> 00:38:39 we are very much on top of new trends and that
00:38:39 --> 00:38:43 kind of makes us want to try and test new things
00:38:43 --> 00:38:47 and multiple things. And this goes for every
00:38:47 --> 00:38:51 department. Definitely when it comes to employability.
00:38:52 --> 00:38:54 and helping our employees increase their employability.
00:38:55 --> 00:38:58 We're definitely coming up with the latest best
00:38:58 --> 00:39:03 practices. It's actually, I have had a few employees
00:39:03 --> 00:39:05 that left, of course, as is normal though, and
00:39:05 --> 00:39:09 we are still in talks. And they told me that
00:39:09 --> 00:39:13 the skills that they learned and they brought
00:39:13 --> 00:39:16 with them from Design Rush to any other company.
00:39:17 --> 00:39:19 They made them look like superheroes when they
00:39:19 --> 00:39:22 arrived in these companies. That's wonderful.
00:39:22 --> 00:39:25 That's a very good testament of what we're doing.
00:39:25 --> 00:39:28 I'm pretty happy with that. And of course, when
00:39:28 --> 00:39:33 it comes to the company goal and vision, repetition
00:39:33 --> 00:39:37 is important. We are all human beings and we
00:39:37 --> 00:39:42 can forget here and there and lose focus. A lot
00:39:42 --> 00:39:44 of that, for example, we're paying a lot of attention
00:39:44 --> 00:39:47 to the content that we're producing at Design
00:39:47 --> 00:39:51 Rush Post, video, audio, but also reading content.
00:39:51 --> 00:39:55 And we want to make sure it aligns with our target
00:39:55 --> 00:39:57 audience, you know, our marketplace. So after
00:39:57 --> 00:40:01 all, we talk to our target audience agency owners,
00:40:01 --> 00:40:04 agency executives, and business owners and business
00:40:04 --> 00:40:07 executives. Or, you know, when it's a bigger
00:40:07 --> 00:40:11 brand, definitely like run C -levels, and yeah,
00:40:11 --> 00:40:13 everything we do, we want to make sure that speaks
00:40:13 --> 00:40:18 to them because we are an expert in helping them
00:40:18 --> 00:40:21 find each other. We have a lot of agency experts
00:40:21 --> 00:40:25 in our team that can talk to how agencies can
00:40:25 --> 00:40:28 grow as well. We have a lot of people that have
00:40:28 --> 00:40:30 run their own businesses or in C -level positions
00:40:30 --> 00:40:34 in our businesses, and we want to show businesses
00:40:34 --> 00:40:36 that we can help them. find the right agency
00:40:36 --> 00:40:40 partner. And not only because we cover a lot
00:40:40 --> 00:40:44 of top brands and top agencies and the latest
00:40:44 --> 00:40:47 trends. So yeah, what I'm saying here is that
00:40:47 --> 00:40:50 everything we do needs to reconnect our vision.
00:40:51 --> 00:40:55 And we do constant trainings with our employees
00:40:55 --> 00:40:58 from sales to marketing to content, product,
00:40:59 --> 00:41:02 et cetera, to make sure that that vision is shared.
00:41:03 --> 00:41:08 And ultimately, I rely a lot on my managers.
00:41:08 --> 00:41:12 I have more meetings with them than with the
00:41:12 --> 00:41:15 full team. And of course, with them, I make sure
00:41:15 --> 00:41:19 that their vision is aligning with the company
00:41:19 --> 00:41:21 vision. That's how we do it. Then, of course,
00:41:21 --> 00:41:23 we also have company meetings where we discuss
00:41:23 --> 00:41:27 all of this with everyone. However, when you
00:41:27 --> 00:41:30 speak to 100 people, you cannot. Make sure that
00:41:30 --> 00:41:33 everyone really is engaged in that conversation.
00:41:33 --> 00:41:37 So I do prefer smaller setups, starting from
00:41:37 --> 00:41:41 me with my head of departments, then with their
00:41:41 --> 00:41:45 team and that team that can be broken down into
00:41:45 --> 00:41:50 the middle management and the specialists. I
00:41:50 --> 00:41:54 really appreciate your thought on how not only
00:41:54 --> 00:41:56 you're working to strive for your company, but
00:41:56 --> 00:41:59 also thinking. but the well -being and also their
00:41:59 --> 00:42:03 personal development of your employees. It's
00:42:03 --> 00:42:07 often not possible to pay heed to what an employee
00:42:07 --> 00:42:10 per se needs to develop professionally, what
00:42:10 --> 00:42:13 tools and support they need. But you having those
00:42:13 --> 00:42:16 in mind really shows your appreciation for your
00:42:16 --> 00:42:18 employees. And I think that should be the benchmark,
00:42:18 --> 00:42:21 the best practice that employers of the leadership
00:42:21 --> 00:42:25 team should follow. It's always a give and take
00:42:25 --> 00:42:27 nonetheless. To be able to give to your employees
00:42:27 --> 00:42:30 and they need to be able to feel they are receiving
00:42:30 --> 00:42:32 in order to add value to the company as well.
00:42:32 --> 00:42:37 Give back. I want to ask you now about autonomy
00:42:37 --> 00:42:42 and accountability in employees. So can I ask
00:42:42 --> 00:42:46 you, dear Gunluka, how to empower autonomy and
00:42:46 --> 00:42:49 accountability in employees from your thoughts
00:42:49 --> 00:42:52 and just how to strike the right balance between...
00:42:52 --> 00:42:56 giving your remote team that autonomy and holding
00:42:56 --> 00:42:59 them accountable for the results that you would
00:42:59 --> 00:43:03 like to see. Sure. I think kind of touched on
00:43:03 --> 00:43:07 this previously, but what is most important is
00:43:07 --> 00:43:11 to understand again what your goals, what your
00:43:11 --> 00:43:14 role are, right? To understand how that gives
00:43:14 --> 00:43:19 you accountability. Right. Then the question
00:43:19 --> 00:43:25 is if you want to take ownership. So once, and
00:43:25 --> 00:43:28 that I'm saying this because fortunately or unfortunately,
00:43:29 --> 00:43:31 everyone is different and there are some people
00:43:31 --> 00:43:33 that eventually they're just not cut out for
00:43:33 --> 00:43:36 the role. And whatever role it is, you know,
00:43:36 --> 00:43:39 and maybe they'd be better at doing something
00:43:39 --> 00:43:43 completely different. They're just not good at
00:43:43 --> 00:43:46 a specific thing that they're trying to do. I
00:43:46 --> 00:43:49 know I'm not good at basketball, so I'm going
00:43:49 --> 00:43:52 to try something else, basically. It's important
00:43:52 --> 00:43:55 to be understanding of once you have ownership,
00:43:55 --> 00:43:59 then you need to be able to execute on what you
00:43:59 --> 00:44:03 agreed. And if for any reason you cannot execute,
00:44:03 --> 00:44:06 then there is communication and there is expectations.
00:44:06 --> 00:44:09 Because if you can align an expectation and communicate
00:44:09 --> 00:44:13 that properly at the right time, which probably
00:44:13 --> 00:44:16 will be better than later, there is always a
00:44:16 --> 00:44:19 way of sitting down, use common sense and figure
00:44:19 --> 00:44:24 it out again. Right? That's important. Now, when
00:44:24 --> 00:44:30 that process of accountability, ownership, alignment,
00:44:30 --> 00:44:35 and results works, that's where autonomy comes
00:44:35 --> 00:44:39 in place, in my opinion, which means if I see
00:44:39 --> 00:44:43 that a person is responsible, is executing, understands
00:44:43 --> 00:44:48 what they need to do, reports, communicates properly,
00:44:48 --> 00:44:52 all that stuff. Then they can be autonomous because
00:44:52 --> 00:44:56 at that point, you're setting the expectations.
00:44:56 --> 00:45:00 I usually ask for, it depends on the person.
00:45:00 --> 00:45:03 It could be a daily or weekly, two times a week
00:45:03 --> 00:45:07 report where I can get feedback on what is happening.
00:45:08 --> 00:45:10 What is really important for me is to look at
00:45:10 --> 00:45:13 the numbers. If I see that certain numbers don't
00:45:13 --> 00:45:16 align with our goal or vision, it's where I would
00:45:16 --> 00:45:21 jump on a call. and investigate further with
00:45:21 --> 00:45:24 a person if everything makes sense and it's moving
00:45:24 --> 00:45:26 forward and that's that's great because that
00:45:26 --> 00:45:30 person their next step would be to be a manager
00:45:30 --> 00:45:36 right or right or to lead a project not necessarily
00:45:36 --> 00:45:39 have a team but maybe have like a cross departmental
00:45:39 --> 00:45:43 project so at that point it's it's really about
00:45:43 --> 00:45:49 then being proactive and also out of the box
00:45:49 --> 00:45:53 thinker. And that's where you progress in that
00:45:53 --> 00:45:56 direction. And the more problems you can take
00:45:56 --> 00:46:01 away from me, the more, as well as creating value,
00:46:01 --> 00:46:04 right? The better it's for you. And I totally
00:46:04 --> 00:46:07 believe in that. I honestly hate, I really hate
00:46:07 --> 00:46:12 micromanagement. The problem with that happening
00:46:12 --> 00:46:17 is really when you realize that this person is
00:46:17 --> 00:46:22 either not doing the task, not listen in a different
00:46:22 --> 00:46:26 way, then it's more about sitting down, sort
00:46:26 --> 00:46:31 of realign expectations. Then really the problem
00:46:31 --> 00:46:36 is that many people confuse that, or not confuse,
00:46:36 --> 00:46:39 but rather than help, they put the wrong pressure,
00:46:40 --> 00:46:42 the wrong expectations on the person who's trying
00:46:42 --> 00:46:46 to execute that. Yeah, indeed. Yeah. That's when
00:46:46 --> 00:46:51 the micromanagement happens. And that's why we
00:46:51 --> 00:46:55 see that's a negative thing, right? I just say,
00:46:55 --> 00:46:57 if you can help me understand it better, and
00:46:57 --> 00:46:59 then I can do it better, I welcome that. Call
00:46:59 --> 00:47:02 it micromanagement or call it support or call
00:47:02 --> 00:47:03 it whatever you want to call it. When the frustration
00:47:03 --> 00:47:06 comes in and people are not able to get tasks
00:47:06 --> 00:47:09 done, and then you need to have multiple people,
00:47:09 --> 00:47:11 one person fully involved with doing your job.
00:47:12 --> 00:47:14 Then probably the other problems that need to
00:47:14 --> 00:47:16 be addressed, because honestly, no one should
00:47:16 --> 00:47:18 come to the point of micromanaging anyone, to
00:47:18 --> 00:47:22 be honest. For sure. Micromanaging has its merits
00:47:22 --> 00:47:25 and demerits. But at one point of time, if you're
00:47:25 --> 00:47:28 doing a regular thing and then you have to be
00:47:28 --> 00:47:30 taught each and every time what needs to be done
00:47:30 --> 00:47:33 and then involving other people to do that, it's
00:47:33 --> 00:47:36 not time efficient. Although sometimes if someone
00:47:36 --> 00:47:39 is not understanding a certain... They can reach
00:47:39 --> 00:47:41 out to their manager to get a better understanding,
00:47:41 --> 00:47:44 but it's also the expectation that they have
00:47:44 --> 00:47:46 that understanding in the next task, right? And
00:47:46 --> 00:47:49 that's a continuous building process. So I completely
00:47:49 --> 00:47:52 agree with you. Let's talk about your company.
00:47:53 --> 00:47:57 I'm really excited to learn about Design Rush.
00:47:58 --> 00:48:02 So let our audiences know what Design Rush is
00:48:02 --> 00:48:05 and what does your company do and how can it
00:48:05 --> 00:48:10 benefit others? Design Rush is a leading B2B
00:48:10 --> 00:48:14 marketplace. We connect verified agencies from
00:48:14 --> 00:48:17 web design, marketing, software, branding with
00:48:17 --> 00:48:20 businesses. They are looking for service providers
00:48:20 --> 00:48:24 and they're looking for these services. We generally
00:48:24 --> 00:48:28 focus a lot on the digital part. As I said, we
00:48:28 --> 00:48:33 have software developers, marketeers, web designers.
00:48:33 --> 00:48:37 Also, we cover other services like business services,
00:48:37 --> 00:48:42 you know, to outsourcing and all of that. We
00:48:42 --> 00:48:45 focus, we work with the US market. Our clients
00:48:45 --> 00:48:48 are mainly from the US and the brands that come
00:48:48 --> 00:48:52 to Design Rush as well. We offer two ways of
00:48:52 --> 00:48:55 connecting businesses and agencies. One way is
00:48:55 --> 00:48:57 through our directory where the business owner
00:48:57 --> 00:49:02 can go and see our best agencies, buy service
00:49:02 --> 00:49:05 and pick one of them. or reach out to multiple
00:49:05 --> 00:49:07 of them and then get proposals or through our
00:49:07 --> 00:49:11 marketplace, which means that you can come to
00:49:11 --> 00:49:14 us directly, submit your project requirements,
00:49:15 --> 00:49:18 and we will shortlist three to five agencies
00:49:18 --> 00:49:21 that meet the requirements and connect them.
00:49:21 --> 00:49:24 What we found our agencies really love as well,
00:49:24 --> 00:49:27 they, of course, they're looking for new clients.
00:49:27 --> 00:49:30 That's number one. priority, but what they really,
00:49:30 --> 00:49:33 really love, it's the recognition that they get
00:49:33 --> 00:49:36 through Design Brush. We have a panel of design
00:49:36 --> 00:49:42 experts. So reviewing our, we have a section
00:49:42 --> 00:49:44 that is called design awards. So basically they're
00:49:44 --> 00:49:47 reviewing the work of our agencies and they are
00:49:47 --> 00:49:51 promoting the best work and we do monthly awards.
00:49:52 --> 00:49:56 And we also are doing yearly awards. So the best
00:49:56 --> 00:49:58 of the month, we like to give visibility for
00:49:58 --> 00:50:02 30 days to a number of agencies. But also at
00:50:02 --> 00:50:06 the end of the year, we will award the best of
00:50:06 --> 00:50:08 the best and give them a long -term exposure
00:50:08 --> 00:50:13 for 12 months on our site. The last part of our
00:50:13 --> 00:50:17 site is our section trending brands. That's actually
00:50:17 --> 00:50:21 pretty interesting because we cover here. Everything
00:50:21 --> 00:50:25 that is related to marketing technology and growing
00:50:25 --> 00:50:31 brands. And here we give tips. We give the latest
00:50:31 --> 00:50:35 on what is happening in the world of brands and
00:50:35 --> 00:50:38 agencies. It's quite interesting because many
00:50:38 --> 00:50:41 of our readers can get inspired on how to grow
00:50:41 --> 00:50:44 their own business. You can learn about the specific
00:50:44 --> 00:50:47 marketing campaign that could work for your company
00:50:47 --> 00:50:50 or your goods. know the latest on let's say chat
00:50:50 --> 00:50:55 GPT video or visuals tools. Right. As well as
00:50:55 --> 00:50:58 we announced the best agencies that work on certain
00:50:58 --> 00:51:00 projects. So let's say that you're an healthcare
00:51:00 --> 00:51:03 company and you see that we're talking about
00:51:03 --> 00:51:05 the number of agencies that these expertise,
00:51:05 --> 00:51:08 you might want to check them out. Right. So yeah,
00:51:09 --> 00:51:11 pretty interesting. And also we give a voice
00:51:11 --> 00:51:14 to a lot of agencies that didn't have a place
00:51:14 --> 00:51:18 where to go. That's what I always ask our clients,
00:51:18 --> 00:51:21 right? I ask them, where can you go and promote
00:51:21 --> 00:51:24 your latest project that you landed with Nike
00:51:24 --> 00:51:28 or Reebok, right? Where are you talking about
00:51:28 --> 00:51:30 it? You won an award. Where are you going to
00:51:30 --> 00:51:33 share that? In this section, Trending Brands
00:51:33 --> 00:51:36 is really like their place where we can, we give
00:51:36 --> 00:51:39 them a voice so they can talk about themselves
00:51:39 --> 00:51:43 as well. Thank you. I really appreciate it, Gian,
00:51:43 --> 00:51:46 for it. sharing that and what your company does.
00:51:46 --> 00:51:49 And I really encourage our audiences to check
00:51:49 --> 00:51:56 out the website www .besignrush .com for audiences
00:51:56 --> 00:52:00 who are listening to this episode in an audio
00:52:00 --> 00:52:05 format. If you do have any questions or comments
00:52:05 --> 00:52:08 or want to know more about Design Rush, please
00:52:08 --> 00:52:11 feel free to... reach out to ganluka if you go
00:52:11 --> 00:52:15 to our website www .activeaction .fm and search
00:52:15 --> 00:52:19 ganluka's name it's g -i -a -n -l -u -c -a dash
00:52:19 --> 00:52:24 f -e -r -r -u g -g -i -a then you'll see luka's
00:52:24 --> 00:52:26 webpage over there which contains links to his
00:52:26 --> 00:52:30 socials and the website as well and his bio as
00:52:30 --> 00:52:33 well so if you do want to get in touch with him
00:52:33 --> 00:52:35 please feel free to do that through that thank
00:52:35 --> 00:52:38 you so much ganluka for joining today's podcast
00:52:38 --> 00:52:41 and i Really appreciate your valuable knowledge
00:52:41 --> 00:52:44 and advice that you shared with our audiences.
00:52:44 --> 00:52:48 Thank you, Dr. Nazif. And thanks for having me
00:52:48 --> 00:52:50 here on your podcast. So dear listeners, we were
00:52:50 --> 00:52:53 just talking to Gunluka. I hope you enjoyed the
00:52:53 --> 00:52:56 episode. And if you do find value in our content,
00:52:56 --> 00:52:59 please don't forget to provide us with a tip
00:52:59 --> 00:53:06 at www .activation .fm. Stay active, take action.
00:53:06 --> 00:53:09 I'll meet you in the next episode. Take care,
00:53:09 --> 00:53:30 everyone. Don't forget to subscribe so you never
00:53:30 --> 00:53:33 miss an episode. And if you enjoyed the show,
00:53:33 --> 00:53:35 share it with someone who might love it too.
00:53:36 --> 00:53:39 Oh, one more thing. Become our premium supporter
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