Leadership Lessons with… Salonee Gadgil, Digital Director at Hawthorn Advisors

Leadership Lessons with… Salonee Gadgil, Digital Director at Hawthorn Advisors

In a conversation with Salonee Gadgil, Digital Director at Hawthorn Advisors, we delved into the dynamic world of digital leadership. Gain valuable insights on how the role of a Director of Digital has evolved, the key qualities of effective leadership, and the strategies to navigate today’s complex business environment.

Take a look.

What do you see as the key role of a Director of Digital and how has this changed from previous years?

I’ve worked in the digital content space for 15 years, and the only thing that’s been constant is change itself. Platforms, technologies, and methods of reaching and engaging audiences keep evolving, and it becomes our job as digital marketeers and creators to keep pace.

Social media tools become popular, then we forget about them. Algorithms change, regulations change, and in tandem, people change. However, what I have noticed as I’ve started working with more Gen-Zers (both within my team and within client teams) is an increased interest in the ethics and regulation around the MarComms tactics we use, and it’s a debate I welcome.

What do you think are the key qualities needed from leaders to thrive today?

Honest imperfection! The ability to make and own mistakes, and the strength to not shy away from revealing one’s flaws. From my observations, leaders who are able to openly talk about the downs as well as the ups, who admit to having got things wrong, and who take their team along the journey through challenges are respected and trusted more than those who strive to uphold an image of constant well-rehearsed perfection.

How has your leadership approach adapted to the economic uncertainties brought about by recent global events (e.g., pandemics, economic downturns, cost of living crisis)?

It’s easy to lead when the sun’s shining. But when it’s cold and rainy it becomes your job as a leader to keep your people warm and dry, and create an environment which is conducive to work. That may involve being more open to their flexible work needs, listening when need a shoulder to lean on, or putting in place corporate structures that help them cope with the challenges.

My approach to building and leading teams has been shaped by the realisation that 50% of my job has nothing to do with the actual job.  

Employees demands are changing beyond salary and benefits. What changes are you seeing and how can leaders meet these evolving employee demands and foster a motivated workforce? 

Across the board, I think we’re seeing flatter organisation structures, and more conversations about how to engage people from diverse backgrounds – whether that’s diversity of age, gender, access, ability and more.

Colleagues from within the PR, comms and marketing industry all report younger team members being invited along to working groups that shape policies, employee benefits, ways of working and more. The path to creating an inclusive workplace is simple – listen to everyone and meet in the middle, even if it’s temporarily uncomfortable.

With an increasing focus on workplace mental health, what innovative approaches have you seen the industry adopt to support the wellbeing of its employees? 

Today, there’s so much openness when talking about mental health, seeking help, acknowledging work stress, and more. Personally, supporting your team’s mental health doesn’t seem ‘innovative’ anymore. I’ve stopped being surprised when someone says their agency offers them duvet days or employee assistance programmes or extended lunch hours for those who need a run.

What digital skillsets do you think businesses will be looking for now and in the coming years? How is this influenced by industry trends and technological advancements?

A familiarity and understanding of AI tools. There’s simply no way around having a working understanding and staying up to date with the AI debate. This isn’t just an industry-level trend, but it’s a societal change.

As digital comms and marketing professionals, we started with understanding how to navigate the search ecosystem, and then social media algorithms. Now everything we put out there can shape and be shaped by AI. We’re moving from the ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ era and the race to being #Instafamous, to the age of feeding LLMs and other large data sets… Soon we might stop turning to Google, and instead just go ask AIs questions about the world. So, we’ll only care about being #AIfamous

How do you foster diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, and what have you learned from your efforts in this area?

Hawthorn has grown tremendously over the last three years – over doubling in employee headcount. We’ve been determined to grow into being a more inclusive and open workplace which attracts diverse talent.

To make this happen, we have a very active DE&I committee which scrutinises all policies, an annual internship programme for which we use a blind recruitment process and policies. It makes it a welcoming place for the neurodiverse, parents-to-be, returning parents, those going through menopause and more.

We represent 12 nationalities and speak over 15 languages between us, which is pretty cool for a firm for around 60. There’s always more to be done, but we’re on it.