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The iGaming Leader Podcast with Leo Judkins uncovers the human side of the iGaming industry's most successful leaders. Join us as we explore the untold stories, challenges, and triumphs of the executives shaping one of the world's most dynamic sectors.
Each week, we dive deep into conversations with C-suite leaders, founders, and directors from global betting firms and innovative startups. Our guests share their authentic journey to the top, revealing pivotal career moments, leadership philosophies, and personal strategies for sustainable success in this high-pressure industry.
More than just another business podcast, we focus on the crucial intersection of wellbeing and high performance. Discover how industry leaders maintain peak performance while managing stress, work-life integration, and team dynamics in an industry that never sleeps.
Whether you're an aspiring leader, current executive, or passionate about the iGaming sector, each 30-minute episode delivers actionable insights to help you thrive in this fast-paced environment.
Subscribe now to join a community of high-achieving iGaming professionals committed to making this industry not just successful, but sustainable for its leaders.
[00:00:00] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Every single person has value to add.
[00:00:04] Even if you are at the very beginning of your career, even if you haven't started your career and you're still studying, you have value to add because you are a couple of steps ahead of someone else.
[00:00:17] Welcome to the I gaming leader podcast, where we interview some of the most inspirational leaders inside of our industry. I'm your host, Leo Jenkins. And today I'm joined by a true marketing powerhouse. Someone who has transformed relaxed gaming's entire brand from the ground up Maria Hamon.
[00:00:37] Please join me in my interview with her, where we talk through her journey from FMCG to I gaming and what it really takes to build strong brands and strong teams.
[00:00:48] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Hey, Maria, great to have you here on the iGaming leader. Super excited to talk to you. I've been meaning to talk to you for a long time because I've been super inspired by your journey, and I really want to share your story with everybody here and all of our listeners. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:04] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Thank you so much, Leo. I am absolutely thrilled to be here and I'm super proud of you for starting your own podcast. Well done.
[00:01:12] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Thank you very much. I really enjoy that. Maria, I just wanted to kick off with, you like you've had such a fascinating career moving fordifferent industries and types of businesses. Could you maybe start with giving us a quick overview of. how you started out and how you ended up in gaming specifically.
[00:01:32] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Of course. Yes. So my educational background is in communications and psychology. . And then I did a dual master's degree between university of Malta and San Diego state, where I got a master of arts and integrated marketing communications, and also, master of science in business administration.
[00:01:50] My first role was actually a marketing executive position for a company called Eden leisure group. from that, I actually got asked to join a local agency in Malta, and I did brand strategy for them. I moved into the FMCG industry. And handled hair care and beauty brands for BJSOM and I got headhunted by Katina Media. I wasn't actively looking, but they reached out to me because they were looking for somebody to handle their corporate brand. at that point in time, there wasn't really anybody specializing in branding within the iGaming space. So obviously they looked outside it. And I was one of the kind of late bloomers, I guess, from the foreigners in Malta. And I am still in the iGaming space. Of course, from there I moved to relax and they hadn't gone into the casino or the aggregation space yet. So we really needed to build a corporate brand because there wasn't a strong one in place.
[00:02:50] So that was a very big project, including, all the messaging, all the corporate assets and images. We built the entire image bank that you see today on the website as well and then I shifted from there into a new department, that focused on product packaging..
[00:03:08] We're not looking as polished, so we really wanted to have a department that focused purely on those educational materials that went out to our partners. And then I moved into the head of marketing role and started to lead the marketing department, and now I am currently marketing director leading a team of 15 and we have restructured along the way of course to adapt to the growing team and everybody's strengths and solidifying remits and everything else that you need to do with a growing team and I couldn't be prouder of My career journey.
[00:03:48] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: I think everything that you've done, I've said it to you in person many times as well. You're such an inspirational person. And the fact that you've just moved through every single rank makes you so much more relatable. I'm really curious about What were your first thoughts when you entered gaming as an industry, it must have been quite a significant change from, the other industries that you've been in.
[00:04:08] What were some of the things that you noticed about it and particularities and the weirdness of it?
[00:04:12] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: I think of the point when I joined from a marketing perspective and especially from a branding perspective, the intentionality behind it, was not quite the same as Procter and Gamble or Coty that I was used to learning from and working with. Whenever we would have deployment, we would get a really nice brand book and a thorough guide and a solid deployment session.
[00:04:37] there would be quite. Rigid parameters, but necessary ones, not ones that limited creativity but that outlined the baseline fundamentals we needed to follow. that was something that I was surprised by when I stepped into iGaming that wasn't quite there yet.
[00:04:53] Of course, the industry has matured so much since then, But yes, I think that that would have been one of my biggest surprises at that point.
[00:05:00] Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. And, at what point did you feel, okay, this is an industry I want to be in. This is an industry that I want to be part of and I can actually make a change. Is there anything that happened or anything that you felt really hooked you into it? Honestly, it was just being part of that growth. I felt like I had so much to contribute from my previous roles, even though they were completely external to the industry. And that really motivated me. I think that anytime you feel you can add tremendous value is a driver in itself. Yeah. That kept me going.
[00:05:33] And then of course, as the industry evolved and matured I've been happy to be part of that growth journey, that's what hooked me in and kept me there. we also have such amazing people within the industry There are so many inspiring, highly ambitious, incredible people in the space, amazing communities superb events that keeps getting. elevated. Yeah, it's a very easy industry to love.
[00:05:58] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Yeah the thing is, it's also really fast pace, right? It's fast growth. you must have seen that leading your teams as well. People that come through the ranks really quickly yourself make a really quick progress. What was some of the maybe more difficult times that you faced in your career around, that progress?
[00:06:14] And I'm thinking about things like, feeling outside of your comfort zone imposter syndrome things that we all struggle with. Did you have any of those moments? What would they be?
[00:06:23] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: I'm quite, um, intrinsically motivated. I am very driven and I do tend to see the positive side of things, anytime you're starting a new role, taking on a new challenge, I mean, you do have those moments of self doubt there is a new environment, new people.
[00:06:42] You have to adapt. I guess that adaptability ishas always been a strength for me. I was born in Serbia moved to Botswana when I was one, grew up there in a very international community, then moved to Malta on my own for university, lived there for 14 years, then moved to Gibraltar.
[00:06:58] I think I'm just used to adapting and making the most of any situation I'm presented, but yes, everybody has those moments it's just about how you deal with them and work through them. there are situations when you fail, something doesn't go according to plan, you have a tough conversation with the manager.
[00:07:18] a client isn't happy with something you've produced, your team doesn't love the pitch you've given, or when there's pushback on an idea, all of those moments. But that's all character building, and you just take those lessons, and you move on, and you try to make the most of your next steps.
[00:07:38] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Really love that approach. You're really big for leading with the heart philosophy. And I want to ask you a little bit more about that. What does that mean for you? And what inspired that, to start with?
[00:07:48] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: I think it's the way that I've been brought up, I've been surrounded by love. I've been really lucky in that sense. I've grown up in a family that's been very encouraging and supportive. So I just Love passing that motivation on to other people. And it's always driven me. from every position in my professional career, I've looked at my managers for both the qualities that I like, and the ones that I perhaps wouldn't take forward if I became a manager myself, I didn't know at what point that would happen. it didn't actually happen for me until I became head of marketing. That was the first time I started managing someone directly and I got a whole team at that point. I was so excited to be able to help people learn and grow. It's such a honor to be able to do that. And I just, Think it's so important to have empathy. At the end of the day, people have their ups and downs.
[00:08:47] Everybody has a personal life outside of the office as well. Of course, people are professional and sometimes they don't bring that kind of stuff to work. But if you know that they have something going on, be humane about it and just say,
[00:09:00] look, take that day off, go get some rest, refresh. Come back. They'll be grateful. It's just a win for both sides. So apart from the mentorship perspective, which is very important to me, I have also grown people within my team with very rigid and driving, career paths, I think that's also very important from a motivational perspective, but I've also helped people from my team To move into other departments or other roles, because at the end of the day, it's also part of their career progress and we all have our ambitions.. If that's going to make somebody happy, then I think that as a leader, that's also something that you need to do as well. So it comes from a lot of places really.
[00:09:47] Background learnings, observations, just being kind and understanding.
[00:09:55] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Makes so much sense. I can, underline that because I hear it from people actually work for you. I've told you in person as well, you get a lot of respect from the people that work for you just want to dive into that a little bit deeper when you think about the people that have inspired you or leaders that you've worked with or people that you perhaps know and not maybe not directly worked with, what are some of the top qualities that, you know, stand out for you?
[00:10:18] What is what's important Yeah,
[00:10:21] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: As I said, I've actually taken learnings and have a lot of gratitude to every single one of the managers I've had throughout my career. I've even done LinkedIn posts dedicated to them and given kudos to them as well. I'm in touch with many of them to this day. Managers who have backed their team in the right moments. And it's also something that I do with my own team. I love to give my team good remits, solid remits, everybody to have ownership of their own area, basically treat it like their own business in that sense. But then when I do need to step in to support them, then I'm a hundred percent there. I've had. Numerous managers who have done that. And it would be like even just a single moment in a couple of years that you work for a company, but you remember that always. So I think that's, that's a big one knowing when to step in, even if you give a lot of autonomy, basically,
[00:11:21] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Yeah, I love that because it's not about what people say, right? It's actually about how people make you feel. That's what you get remembered for. And I think that feeling of supported nurses is so crucial.
[00:11:32] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Yes, And not everybody will ask for it. So it's also about knowing how to identify when somebody needs it, even if they don't request the support.
[00:11:41] That's such a great point from Maria because giving full autonomy is such an important part of developing high performance teams. And knowing when to step in. It's something that is really difficult. It's something that is challenging for most leaders. So if you're feeling that you're constantly busy, You're always firefighting and you have to manage two levels down all the time. They're more often than not.
[00:12:05] That's more about how we delegate and how we develop high-performance teams. But if that's something that you want some support with, please apply for the IBM. And lead a mastermind. It's a program where we work with leaders, just like you to help you live lead and perform. In a way that you can achieve sustainable high performance.
[00:12:25] If that's something that you want to join, please go to. Gaming leader.com. But for now, let's go back to this episode.
[00:12:32] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Hey, you just mentioned LinkedIn. I want to talk about that a little bit because I have noticed, of course, that you have recently really upped your um, your game on LinkedIn. I absolutely love it. You're sharing so much value and really speaking from your own expertise, posting daily, engaging a lot,
[00:12:50] you're doing a great job and, you're one of the few people in the industry including myself when I was still in gaming, are afraid of posting on LinkedIn because maybe you're seen as looking for a job or perhaps they are worried about not having anything to share or to talk about.
[00:13:06] Or perhaps they feel that it's just a totally fake place. full of, Oh my God, I'm so grateful for this thing. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on that and how your journey has been on profiling yourself more and getting yourself more out there, because it's been really impressive,
[00:13:21] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Thank you so much. And same to you. You have a very strong personal brand too. So it goes both ways, but I am happy to tell you a little bit more about how I have treated LinkedIn. So like many people until recently, I was. pretty much posting when something big happened, right? if I got a promotion, if I went to a great event, if I got published in media, in an article basically big milestones, won an award and so on.
[00:13:52] But at the end of September, I changed that. it was A little accidental at first because I was driving back from Spain and I was a passenger and I actually had an opportunity to listen to a podcast and I love podcasts but in a busy schedule I don't always have the time to dedicate an hour and a half to listening to a podcast from start to finish I actually had the opportunity to do that and I loved it and one thing that I've always done is been a Super avid note taker. I can write really quick notes. It's a little bit of a superpower. Even word for word quotes as people speak. that's what I was doing while I was listening to this podcast as well. And then the moment that it finished. I was like, you know what, I'm going to share this on LinkedIn because I think that other people need to hear these insights because they're amazing. And I just wished in that moment that I had someone that I was following who did that. So that I could have recaps and key takeaways of things that I missed. I'm not just two or three points, like a solid takeaway. So I did, and it got really good engagement and it kind of motivated me to keep sharing that type of educational content.
[00:15:12] So that's how it started really the more intentional side of LinkedIn for me and sharing. Education, inspiration, motivation, and everything that I stand for. So I don't know why I didn't do it earlier, to be
[00:15:28] honest, but I'm glad that I started now. And it's been amazing actually digging into all the lessons that I've learned over the years in my role. I really loved sharing them with people and it's just amazing how many people Approach you directly based on your content. one example is the words of wisdom that I was invited to at SBC summit in Lisbon. That was purely because of a post that I did. I got a podcast invite again, purely because of a post.
[00:16:02] I had people reach out to me asking whether I would mentor them, Appraise their CV, give them public speaking, coaching and so on and so forth. And these requests would usually be on the back of a specific post that really resonated with people. And
[00:16:18] in terms of people feeling afraid to start, I think that is important because you touched on something that a lot of people feel and that's that they don't have value to add. And that's something that I want to squash and get people to remove from their heads completely because every single person has value to add. Even if you are at the very beginning of your career, even if you haven't started your career and you're still studying, you have value to add because you are a couple of steps ahead of someone else. And whatever you share. Somebody else can actually learn from and resonate with. So that's what it's about.
[00:17:02] It's actually the most simple things that create the biggest impact and that mean the most to people in the community. So yeah, get started, share people are forming opinions about you anyway. So you might as well own the narrative, direct it, write what you want to write, understand what you believe in, understand what you want to actually stand for, and post that.
[00:17:31] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Sometimes the gaming industry is a bit secretive sometimes it's a little bit about, Oh, I don't want to give away my trade secrets.
[00:17:37] So how, how would you, how do you feel about that?
[00:17:40] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: I understand that, because of course you don't want to be revealing any, Information about your company that you shouldn't be. So of course you have to tread those lines very carefully, but that is not a barrier to starting because your content doesn't depend on that. Your stories are your own. You don't even need to reference the company that you're working for at all. You can just accumulate experiences into one post. And share those insights. You don't have to talk about a specific client or what your colleague did yesterday.
[00:18:17] So I think people just need to understand that is not what it's about. That's not what's necessary for your content to be interesting or to resonate with people. You can tell stories from your uni days if you're currently a CMO. People will still want to hear it.
[00:18:35] Because that's what they relate to.
[00:18:37] a lot of international CEOs and C level positions are the people that other people follow. And that is how people decide to engage with a company or actually make a purchase if they resonate with that person. Not only the brand. People want to follow people. Of course, company pages do well, but it is about the people behind them.
[00:19:04] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Yeah, absolutely. We were talking about it offline a little bit, right? It's a person to person business, people actually make decisions on who they do business with. And the more that you can show a face, the better, I think, I want to dive into that personality a little bit because one of the things I saw you do at SBC is, I went to one of your talks where you had a round table discussion with Nick and I saw you sat there with, pen and paper making notes, going through your notes. then you came onto the stage and, it all kicked off. I was super impressed by what you were doing, because every time there was a question
[00:19:34] you were bringing it back to the points that you wanted to make that you probably had prepared. beforehand. I'd love for you to talk about public speaking how you prepare for it, how you get over your nerves, And, how you approach it because it's a big thing.
[00:19:47] It's something that lots of people struggle with.
[00:19:49] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Yes, absolutely. We've all heard the common facts that more people are afraid of public speaking than even extremities like death.
[00:19:57] So it is. a nerve wrecking thing, of course. And I think that a lot of that pressure is pressure that we put on ourselves. At the end of the day, we're usually our biggest critics.
[00:20:12] And I think that's something people need to remember when they're actually going into a scenario like that. There is nobody in the audience. That's going to view you and what you're saying as critically as you are thinking in your head. So that's step number one. They will not judge you that way. So I think that's an important one to realize. And then the other one that I. Always mentioned to people is that you need to remember that at the end of the day you earned that seat You were invited there for a reason you have knowledge and insights to share and people want to hear them So I think even just remembering that helps to eliminate That's imposter syndrome slightly. And actually on the note of imposter syndrome, I mentioned it even on my panel, but on the panel that I was on right before that CMO, Bronwyn, Greg shared an amazing mindset shift that she learned from someone else. And that was actually to reposition imposter syndrome from something that sounds very clinical and very serious and very permanent to imposter moments. Which we all have. So it's just about working through that imposter moment. And I think that there are so many tools that can be used to make that happen. And nerves. Yes, everyone has them. Everyone has them. I can tell you, I have seen very senior speakers before they went up on stage. And Even they feel the nerves.
[00:21:45] So that is normal. Lean into it. Remember that nerves often feel the same as adrenaline. So just go up there, be yourself and do your thing. And when it comes to how I did my panel, that was actually my first time on stage since high school. So It's been a while. Like a solid 20 years. of course I did feel nervous and stepping onto Europe's third largest indoor stage as that first moment back on stage was, quite a big one. when I went into the CMO room, I had a little notepad because I only had five minutes between the two panel sessions. it was just my way of. regrouping my thoughts a little bit. So if I had actually shown you that notepad, It was. Super scribbly. I was just jotting down my thoughts and some points that perhaps I wanted to mention if certain topics came up. And then I genuinely just treated it like a conversation. I was up on stage with people who were presenting the operator side and different, areas of the industry.
[00:22:53] I was just listening to what they were saying Giving my take on how things are similar in the B2B space or how they differ and also just genuinely enjoying the process of learning about their world and their marketing functions. I was very interactive and know a lot of people hold back on that and I feel like they shouldn't because often you go to panels and it's like moderator asks the question pass the mic person speaks next person speaks and there's not really that. natural dialogue between the panelists. that's unfortunate because at the end of the day, it is a dialogue. It's a conversation.
[00:23:33] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: one of the things I loved about you as well is that you sent me a few WhatsApp messages asking for feedback
[00:23:39] and,you were very clear about. Also being very open to negative feedback, right?
[00:23:44] And it's one of the things that we all, do because we're polite or something that we don't necessarily address you know, the negatives that we've seen or improvement points that we've seen. So tell me a little bit about how you started that and what you would advise to other people because there's being nice and there's being honest, right?
[00:24:00] There's, for some people, that's two different things. So tell me a little bit more about your thoughts there.
[00:24:06] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: I've always been very open to feedback and actually craved it because apart from saying yes to opportunities that you get Honest feedback is one of the most valuable things that you can get. And I love any opportunity where I can get that.
[00:24:24] And like I said, this is my first time on stage in a long time. And I Didn't want people to praise me. If they wanted to praise me or give me some positive feedback, amazing. But I wanted a genuine appraisal and I wanted to know how the audience felt because ultimately that's what. You want to know right? You want to know that the audience enjoyed what you were saying, that they enjoy your content. It's the same thing on LinkedIn. It involves a lot of experimentation. You have to try different things until you understand what hits the mark with your audience. So I think it's about that. I'm very focused actually, even from a marketing perspective on messaging. That's something I'm always driving with my team, we have to make sure the message is spot on, super clear, and that it resonates with the audience. I asked quite a lot of people for feedback, and I was very impressed that I did a variety of feedback in terms of Things I could potentially do differently and things that people felt I did very well.
[00:25:29] And the most interesting thing, and actually something that I would love anybody stepping into the public speaking space to remember, is that observations from the audience vary dr a ma tic ly. Dramatically. So things that resonate highly with one person or that they think you're doing super well, someone else might not, and they might focus on something completely different. So when you're up there on stage. Don't try to impress everybody. Don't try to be everything for everyone, because that's just not possible. Be yourself, know that you're the expert in whatever you are representing, and yes, go out there and get feedback, and then pick and choose which feedback you would actually like to implement.
[00:26:20] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: The biggest thing I'd say about how you were asking for feedback is really hammering down on the fact that you're very open to criticism, right? And I think most people actually don't realize that they never get that because they don't specifically ask for it.
[00:26:34] And I also love your point about different I know you and I specifically had very different views on things that we saw on the stage and it's so true, right? It's that is just the lens that we see things through and that's all okay. Okay. I want to touch a little bit on, work life as well.
[00:26:49] If that's okay for you, we're both parents. We're both two kids, right? Expats. So tell me a little bit about balancing life and how that's difficult. Of course, school holidays. what do you do to find some sort of balance between a very busy career and With, being a parent as well and an expat. And not necessarily having that family support.
[00:27:10] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: All of those things are very real. And the thing that I tried to do is to be present. In whatever I am doing at that moment when I'm with my kids, I try to be a hundred percent mom mode and give them my all when I'm at work, I do the same. it is a juggling act in many ways.
[00:27:30] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: And especially when you have a more senior role and a very busy schedule during the day, then of course you do have to, Overcompensate and often work outside of your hours, one thing I have actually started doing this week, and which I plan to do moving forward is to try and carve out desk time in my calendar. It's something that I didn't do before. And what I was finding. Was that I would have back to back calls every single day. I would be answering Slack messages and trying to give everybody all the feedback and support that they needed, because I try to do that in super real time and as quickly as I can. And then of course, if I had any bigger tasks I would be doing them. At night, usually, once the kids are asleep or something like that. So I think carving out some desk time is not a bad one because it's the only way to block it out in your calendar. Otherwise, if it's a free slot, people can book a meeting, right? Time blocking is one of the most powerful things. having appointments with yourself where you're actually doing that, what you call this time is so crucial. even the running around and back to back, just fries you, and then you turn up to the most important work with, with the prime brain, and maybe not as energetic as you would be if you would have blocked out a little bit of this time. So.
[00:28:46] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: But I think, yeah, like I said, it's about being present and it's about being flexible. Like you said, there are school holidays. Of course, you know that. You need to plan out your leave to accommodate, those times. And we love going on holiday, during those moments, especially in summertime.
[00:29:03] So yeah, you just work around it. It's a balancing act. But I think, again, like with anything, if you approach it with a positive mindset and a can do attitude, you know that you can make everything work, right?
[00:29:15] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: that's just what I do.
[00:29:16] Yeah. Love it. Really love it. Okay. Looking back at your your career. what, what, What are some of the what's maybe the most pivotal moment that you've experienced? Lesson that you've learned that has really shaped who you are today and how you show up for your team.
[00:29:32] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: There hasn't been one moment. I think it's been a series of moments that has compounded, accumulated, and made me who I am today. And, Shaped the way that I see things and the way that I lead my team. there have been numerous career highlights. one of them was launching Aussie hair in Malta.
[00:29:57] Is it, I was still in my FMCG role. That was amazing. I loved Aussie. And it was something that I was fighting for. I was like, look, this brand's already in the company. Let's get it to Malta. it launched and was a tremendous success.
[00:30:08] So that was a big highlight. Then of course, getting an award like positive role model of the year at the women in gaming awards. That was also a huge career highlight as well. And actually the category meant a particular amount to me because like I said, I've. Always have that objective. Like That's always been a big why for me. Just being able to inspire and being able to be a positive influence for people in my team, for people who I manage, for my family. So that was just really touching, unexpected and incredible. And of course, being able to stand here and say that I manage a remarkably talented, hardworking and driven team of 15 is just. A massive win too. So yeah, there've been a lot of moments, positive moments. And of course there have been a lot of lessons, like I mentioned earlier in the podcast too. And you just learn from them and keep going. You need to learn to say no. You need to learn to have tough conversations. Those are all parts of growth.
[00:31:20] And I think they come with experience.
[00:31:23] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Yeah. So learning to say no and learning to have tough conversations 100 percent true. how can you practice these types of skills? Maybe as you come into a leadership position, how do you help your team with it? Because very often somebody gets promoted, they're thrown into a role and then good luck sink or swim, right?
[00:31:42] how can you help and support managers progressing with those, those difficult conversations with saying no, with managing time, with managing priorities? How do you help your team with that?
[00:31:53] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: Usually, when somebody moves into a more senior role, there is a bit of handholding in the beginning, Of course, it's part of that mentorship. It's part of that support. So there have been a lot of times when. There's been a request, for example, for me to step in and have a bit of a harder conversation or push back on something, be the bad cop. And I'm super happy to do that for my team, but then, of course, I do speak to each of them and I try to guide them and to empower them to believe in themselves. Because ultimately they know their area and they're in a particular position because they deserve to be there. And often, of course, when you work in a service department, like marketing, you have stakeholders, but those stakeholders don't always have visibility on what you are doing from A to Z, your comms pipeline, your budgets, and so on.
[00:32:52] If you are the owner of a particular remit and you have visibility on those things, or you know how pressured your schedule already is and how unrealistic a deadline is, then of course, like you need to be willing to help because that's our job and that's what we want to do. But you also need to know how to say, Actually, that's really not possible.
[00:33:16] We need a little bit longer for that. Or, you know what? I'm not sure about that idea. That's not actually something that's gonna deliver much ROI and so on and so forth. So I do try to coach my team, to, Just believe in themselves, trust their guts and be empowered to have those conversations too.
[00:33:37] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Love it. Really love it. Okay. you've gone from executive marketing executive all the way to where you are today. Super impressive. If you could go back to maybe a few years back, what kind of advice would you give yourself? if you'd look at three year younger Maria, what would you tell yourself?
[00:33:54] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: I think the most important thing when you are starting out is to remember that everybody started somewhere. Everybody's been in your shoes before and you often look at people in senior positions or with 200, 000 followers on LinkedIn or whatever you are focusing on at that point in time.
[00:34:13] And sometimes you can. Beat yourself up or push yourself down and think that you will never get there or that there's blocker X, Y, Z, um, of you. those are the self, Doubt moments that we have. And I think my advice to anyone would be that They should just remember that all those people were there in their shoes at some point. Not many people go from uni graduates to. CEO. mean, Of course there are exceptions and that does happen to some people, but that's not a typical career trajectory.
[00:34:53] So you need to take small steps, be consistent, and those small steps will compound and lead to really big results everyone can do it. I genuinely believe that if people apply themselves, if they work hard, if they act consistently, if they deliver, if they. Work passionately. They have a positive outlook, a positive mindset. They can achieve anything.
[00:35:19] leo_1_11-22-2024_131244: Love it. Thank you very much, Maria. Fantastic talking to you. Thank you so much for sharing, sharing your story.
[00:35:26] marija-hammon_1_11-22-2024_131244: My pleasure.
[00:35:27] Wow. What a great conversation with Maria Hammond. I really enjoyed that and I think it left all of us with three key takeaways. The first one is that it's so important to lead with hearts and to give you a team full remit and accountability for the areas that they are responsible for. It allows them to feel ownership and create almost a business of their own within that remit so that we only need to step in and should only step in when we really need to support. Many of us do that way too early or way too prescriptive in how we feel the work needs to be done.
[00:36:04] And that makes us our own biggest bottleneck. Right. We want to step out and give a remit and then only support when it's truly needed. So that was a great insight. The second thing was how important it is to understand that every single person has got value to add. I speak to so many people who feel this imposter syndrome or how Maria reframed it as imposter moments where perhaps we feel that we are the most junior person on that table, or we don't fully understand the area that we're responsible for yet. But that's true for everybody.
[00:36:40] We're all kind of figuring it out as we go along and understanding that all of us are valued to add, regardless of where you are in your journey. Is super important in your journey to high-performance leadership. And then the third is about this personal branding, right? I love how she's turned her superpower of making notes into adding tons of value on LinkedIn. I would highly recommend following her on LinkedIn.
[00:37:04] She's got some great content that we can all learn from, but this is important for you as well. Right? Personal branding is such an important skill to have as a high performance leader in today's day and age. So understanding what to share and turning your superpowers into something that perhaps someone needs that. That is a few steps behind you is crucial. So those were my three key takeaways.
[00:37:28] Uh, I'd love to hear from you what your takeaways were. So if you have some feedback, please leave a review on wherever you listen to this podcast. It helps other gaming leaders, like you find this podcast as well, and I'll only take you about five to 10 seconds. Now next week, we're speaking to Mike De Graaf who is the chief compliance officer at bet comply.
[00:37:49] He's got an incredible journey. He, had a stroke at 33 years old from working so hard and he's transformed his life. And he talks us through what some of his key non-negotiables are for maintaining high performance while also managing his health and wellbeing. Super powerful conversation. So please make sure you listen to that next week.
[00:38:11] And I hope to see you there. Take care.
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