Women and Leadership — Jen Scheel

For Women’s Equality Day on 26th August, we spoke to women across our network about their experiences and where they want the experience they’ve gained to take them in the future.

In this interview, we hear from Jen Scheel, SVP, Digital Activation at Amnet.

‘What have I learned?’ is such a loaded question - I’ve learned and re-learned how to be a great employee, employer and overall good human. Working in our industry requires persistence, organization & a little grit. Dentsu Aegis Network has given us all the platform to succeed but we must be as internally driven by success in order to really shine.

Over the years I’ve learned to be quiet (which if you know me is incredibly hard) in some situations and be the loudest in others (something that is easy to achieve).

I’ve learned to follow-up and do what I’ve committed to, even if that project or task has really turned into a beast, you’ll be noticed for this I promise. Simply said, hard work pays off.

I’ve learned to control the decisions I can, and follow along with the ones I cannot control. It’s a far more enjoyable life when you’ve acknowledged what you can and cannot influence.

Adding humanity and humility into your work is not a sign of weakness. Compassion is needed in the workplace and great leaders are compassionate.

I’ve celebrated professional growth of those close to me, and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your team shine. Hard work pays off.

Embrace all the professional development you can fit in. I’ve learned so many things from my peers in the sessions, countless tips on ways to lead and various perspectives on what leadership looks like. I’ll let you in on a secret; it comes in many shapes and sizes, there is not a one size fits all approach.

I’ve found over the years to earn autonomy you must be confident but not reckless, smart but not shrewd and ambitious but not pushy. There are very fine lines, in fact those words above are all synonyms. I’d take an ambitious moniker over pushy any day.

As I’ve grown throughout the years, I’ve found taking calculated risks is required in order to successfully lead, I had an early manager who pushed for me to stop seeking validation for my decisions. It was that early direction that helped shape the leader I became and likely improved all my relationships with other leaders in the future. Follow your gut.

I’ve learned you’ve never really stop learning, each day here is so incredibly new; the challenges change, my priorities shift, my day can get turned upside down by a single email or note. I love the chaos of leading through constant change. I’ll leave you with this final note; hard work pays off.