Maren Hogan, CEO of Red Branch Media and publisher of Marenated, the blog at Red Branch, comes to Labrador Leadership to talk with Bob about leadership and her own leadership journey. Her own experiences as a chief marketing officer highlight her emerging leadership skills that have brought her to the top of Red Branch.
Maren continues the conversation started by her article of the introverts in the workplace. Red Brach Media considers the I’s as the unsung heroes of the workplace and she wants to do anything to keep them comfortable and happy in the work place. She says they are great writers and speakers and leaders. The I comes from where you get recharged. You may not be this way when you are on stage.
Bob suggests that the Baby Boomers have a tough time as I’s because they are also digital immigrants. even the Gen-Xer’s after them can have troubled.
Open offices can cause problems for introverts so she has headphones for a while. They use Yammer as a chat platform, and many places that people can goo heads down.
Her background includes being a marketing officer for many companies while sitting on an exercise ball in her attic. Even as the CMO, she felt that her voice was not as heard. Starting Red Branch has seen much greater efficiencies by getting a space. She remembers visiting her Dad in a cube farm in Silicon Valley and was the model for her first space. It became too corporate and too straight laced, but it was a learning experience because now she knows what she doesn’t want.
She empathizes with people who were tasked with leading her in her younger professional days, characterizing herself as someone who had to be hit with a two-by-four to learn anything. One of her first jobs out of college was in a newsroom. The deadlines there helped her learn what worked for her. She knows that others are long term thinkers that work better on longer term projects without those deadlines.
Her advice to a new MBA today would be to be humble. She remembers at a paper when another person was brought in over her to be editor, and this is where she learned that life is a great teacher of experience and that is to be expected.
Respect is tough to get today if you don’t give it.
Reality Based Leadership by Cy Wakeman
Red Branch Media is headquartered in Omaha NE but has presence around the world.
Articles by Maren mentioned here include these about introverts and leadership titles.