Code and Theory’s Tara Bennett on Evolving Your Craft to Adapt to the Tech Landscape

Tara Bennett is a director of resource management at Code and Theory. She has spent over 17 years managing creative resourcing for agencies and brands across the US, supporting both teams and individuals in their agency growth and development.

Q> What is unique about having a culture that is a balance of 50% engineers and 50% creatives?

Tara> Because we have so many like-minded individuals at Code, it spawns a culture of community and interest for the evolving technological landscape. Code and Theory’s mix of creatives and engineers have given both an opportunity to drill down and become experts in the world of creative technology. I’m proud of the community and culture we have forged based on this shared interest among our creative and technology teams.

​Q> What should our teams be focusing the most on this year and how has it changed from last year?

Tara> We are in an ever-changing field. Our teams should continue to evolve their craft, their skill and their technological experience, in order to adapt to this new landscape we are finding ourselves in. AI is becoming more and more a part of our world and in order to stay relevant, we need to follow suit. We do an outstanding job of giving our teams the resources they need to learn and grow. We give them the time required to train up on this new tech so that we can continue to be at the top of our game at the intersection between creativity and technology.

Q> What’s the best way to keep staff motivated and working at a high level?

Tara> There’s no sugar coating it; we work hard. We have high expectations of our teams, and we produce amazing work as a result. And I think this is the driver - the work. The work we create and put out in the world for our clients is best-in-class creative and technology. It’s work we are proud of, and our teams are proud of. It motivates us to do better, create better, change as needed, succeed and continue pushing to produce the best results for our clients.

Q> What’s your biggest source of inspiration?

Tara> Honestly? The people. I love our people. They are talented, but they are humble. They are hard-working and they care about each other, and for me as a resource director, that is what matters. They are responsible for their teams, for their output and they take care of each other and want to help each other. I’ve never worked anywhere with such well-intentioned, thoughtful people. And nice! Everyone is super friendly! This motivates me and inspires me to work harder for them. To make sure everyone has what they need to be successful here, whether it be the projects they work on or the teams they work with.

Q> What is the one thing you’d tell your younger self?

Tara> Be patient with people because everyone is unique. That’s the beauty of this industry and of this job. We have so many individuals. Every one of them has different desires and aspirations. And it’s enjoyable to learn about them and see and help them grow through the opportunities you can give them.