Deidre Lodwig, Managing Director of MTN United, said: “There will come a day when we no longer have to fight for our space.

Deidre Lodwig, general manager of MTN United, an agency serving 17 markets in Africa, is looking at how women can finally stop fighting for their space. Photo courtesy of her.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to look back at the women who came before us, fought for us, and paved the way for us.

“May we continue to do the same for our daughters and future generations, and hopefully one day we will no longer have to fight for our space,” she said.

What inspired you to pursue a career in your field?

I got into marketing by accident. I would say that I didn’t choose marketing, but marketing chose me. When I graduated from high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be, so my dad encouraged me to study communications.

I ended up graduating with a Bachelor of Business in Corporate Communications, with Marketing and Sociology being my favourite subjects.

I stayed because I developed a deep interest in understanding people, understanding what drives their behaviors and choices, and finding creative solutions that help brands resonate and sell.

Now, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a woman in your career and how did you overcome it?

Have a seat at the table. Women are taught to speak for themselves through work, and so we get stuck in an endless cycle where we work our ass off to show for it, which only makes us good at our jobs but doesn’t give us a platform to lead.

Yet, it’s difficult for us to advance ourselves or stand up for our rights the same way as men, mostly because of bias and internal factors.

What helped me was realizing that women need to be sponsored. Find someone influential to speak for you and give you a platform to be heard.

I guess this was my way of fighting the system. Finding someone who would open the door, give me a seat, and let me present my case.

I have been fortunate to have had men and women do that for me at different stages of my career, and it is my mission to give back.

As a woman, how do you view leadership? What do you think are the key qualities of an effective leader? What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of being a woman?

To me, the most important leadership quality is empathy. Understanding that the people you lead have different goals and require different levels of support.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. I live by the mantra that people will only follow you as far as you are willing to go. Leadership is about clearing the path. Period.

I don’t believe in putting people in positions where they can’t perform at their best. It demotivates them and it frustrates other people.

My leadership strategy is to ensure I have great staff who understand their roles and responsibilities, can do their jobs with some guidance, and know when to escalate if support is needed.

My job is to ensure a clear vision and a clear mission.

I credit my feminine intuition and natural nurturing tendencies for helping me. My team is grateful for the support, validation and trust I have given them.

The downside is that there will always be prejudices against women in terms of temper, emotions, and ability to be held accountable, but I’ve learned that with perseverance and sincerity, these prejudices can be overcome.

What initiatives or projects are you most proud of and why do you think they were successful?

Over the last year, my challenge has been to bring efficiency, consistency and integration to the MTN United teams across 17 African markets.

The aim of the work was to ensure high-quality, results-driven creative output for a well-known brand that caters to the needs of a diverse consumer base on an economically challenged continent.

While each team accomplished what they were required to do, there was a lot of duplication of work and inconsistent execution, and it was not aligned with what MTN needed to achieve.

So, very simply, we formed a Pan-African Brand Council where all the strategists and creatives (about 153 people) from different agencies across the continent participated and they presented their work to each other with the sole purpose of sharing, discussing and evaluating briefs, strategies and creative executions.

There are no egos, no sensitivities or fears, no market or creativity that is better than the other.

In doing so, we have created a community of creative professionals from across agencies who collaborate, co-create and drive the spirit of one team, united under one mission – to create the work we are most proud of.

In an industry as competitive as ours, where people value their ideas and their work is a reflection of them, achieving this level of unity and full effort is no easy feat.

We achieve this through consistent narrative, inclusivity and representation across all markets, and by simply providing platforms and getting out of the way.

What advice would you give to other women aspiring to succeed in your industry?

1. Recognize your allies and lean on them for opportunities. You can’t walk this path alone. You need good people to push you, be honest with you, and open doors for you.
2. Prepare yourself. When you present your work, make sure you have evidence. Show results. Understand the data and insights that drive your proposal. Do your homework. That way you won’t be questioned, and that way you can build trust.
3. Don’t be silent. If you have a thought, a question, an opinion, share it. Everyone wants you to stay silent and go with the crowd. Don’t.