Listen, Learn and Be Bold: Monica Taylor’s Tips for Account Management
Monica Taylor joined Hogarth five years ago as the global client MD to run the Nestlé account. Since then, she’s also worked across P&G, TCCC and Unilever, where she did a five month consultancy stint.
Two years ago, Monica was promoted to UK managing director, and most recently, moved into a joint global chief client officer role, alongside Satish Nair, which sees her partnering with key WPP agencies to retain existing, and win new, clients.
With over 25 years experience in the industry, Monica’s career has seen her based in New York, Paris and London, and she now brings this to Hogarth, helping clients with end-to-end content needs transform their businesses.
Speaking with LBB, she discusses….
LBB> How did you first get involved in account management and what about it appealed to you?
Monica> I first started working in advertising at a small agency based in Florida. It was the first job I had post university that really interested me.
I loved the creativity, the vibe, the energy, learning and understanding client business and, most of all, the fascinating collection of people. I felt that if I really wanted to do this, I needed to move to New York.
I moved without a job and after some determined job applications, I was offered a role at two high profile agencies.
LBB> What is it about your personality, skills and experience that has made account management such a great fit?
Monica> With an American dad and Swedish mom, I grew up in Miami and lived in Sweden in the summers until I was 18. My Dad was a PanAm pilot, and we travelled extensively. During my last year of high school, we moved to Berlin, and I went to University in Paris and Florida. We lived in Berlin during the time that the wall fell.
Having such a mixed upbringing and education and being exposed to so many different cultures fostered a curiosity, openness and a willingness to simply dive into all the opportunities and… herd the cats.
LBB> What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting their career in account management?
Monica> Listen, learn and be bold. Having a point of view and not only making decisions but learning from them (rightly or wrongly) are key drivers to success.
In the end, I was let go from one of the above-mentioned high-profile agencies, but I learned a lot from the whole experience and have no regrets. Now that I think about it, I’ve also been made redundant whilst on maternity leave. My final piece of advice is to be resilient.
LBB> Thinking back to some of your most challenging experiences you’ve had in your career, what do you think tends to lie at the heart of the more tense or difficult client-agency relationships?
Monica> I think with these sorts of tricky relationships, not truly understanding the problem coupled with a lack of confidence and trust, is invariably the crux of the issue.
LBB> And what are the keys to building a productive and healthy relationship?
Monica> Never be shy to ask every single question you have, even if you think they're ‘silly’. Ask what the acronym stands for! Ask why they do it that way! Ask how they make money!
You build trust by showing up being fully prepared, and when you don’t know the answer, own it, and then work on figuring it [the answer] out. Work to understand the situation from the clients’ and your colleagues’ point of view and consider, discuss, review and solve from a point of view that is wider than your own. Be focused and respectful of people’s time. Be positive and even fun, and funny.
LBB> What’s your view on disagreement and emotion - is there a place for it? What does productive disagreement look like?
Monica> My approach is to bring ‘the full me’ to work – which involves emotion, disagreement and many other things (including my lunch). To build a genuine rapport with people, I think you need to be upfront and come with a point of view. This may involve a disagreement or two, but with mutual respect and trying to understand the perspective of the other person, having a disagreement is usually a positive thing that leads to a deeper, and more nuanced, understanding of each other.
LBB> Historically, account management has been characterised as the mediator in an adversarial client and creative relationship - what do you make of that characterisation?
Monica> It’s neither true nor false. I feel that where account management, creative teams and clients most often go wrong is a consistent lack in understanding and clear communication. When you ask the right questions, you get a clearer view of business needs. I feel that disagreements are a natural part of a sound process, but that shouldn’t be adversarial or require mediation. But when mediation is required, I can handle that, too.
LBB> These days, agencies do so much beyond traditional campaigns, and that complexity can often be mirrored on the client stakeholder side too. What’s the key to navigating (and helping the client navigate) that complexity?
Monica> The key to navigating this complexity is to all agree on the end goal, ideally as specifically (and as early) as possible. Agreeing to, and sticking to, a plan with all the decision makers is vital. Things can go awry when there is a lack of clarity, and most often this happens when people are shy about sticking to the agreed plan.
It doesn’t need to be adversarial, but we all need to have the confidence to remind each other what we agree to and to push back when key milestones and timings are not being adhered to.
