The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley (lead image) took home the Executive Leader category at the recent Women In Media Awards. In this guest post, Alley reflects on her distinguished career and the leadership learnings – good and bad – from it…
How does a homegrown indie agency owner win the coveted Women in Media Executive Leader award? Up against some phenomenal women with even more phenomenal careers, it was a humbling acknowledgement that’s for sure. I like to think it’s testament to the long game that leadership is. You can’t learn how to inspire, motivate, care for, and encourage a high performing team overnight. There is no one course you can attend. It is a rollercoaster filled with joy and pain, successes and failures.
For those who don’t know, my journey into media was sidetracked from my dream of becoming a journalist when my father started The Media Store in 1997 and needed a receptionist. I was soon replaced to shift into the Research team where I had the absolute privilege of sitting under the smarts of Peter Musgrove for many years, learning to interrogate data and uncover insights (and keep my questions punchy as he sure could talk!). I kept been drawn to the psychology of human behaviour, so it didn’t surprise anyone when I dropped down to part time to complete my counselling post grad and work with domestic violence survivors and youth for over 10 years.
My TMS family then saw me marry, do more study, and make four phone calls on the side of the road as I could no longer hide my vomit-inducing pregnancies. As my boys grew older, it felt right for me to lean into a career-stretching season, and this was when I embraced the formal role of people and culture which I absolutely loved.
When we opened our Melbourne office, I stepped into a greater leadership remit, eventually becoming the COO and enjoying the complementary leadership style of Stephen Leeds. When Dad decided to retire, it was an obvious choice to restructure The Media Store, setting up a new entity with Stephen. As I am not one to sit still, it wasn’t long after that I leant into the newly formed indie body, the IMAA. Here I found a community of SME agency owners who had shared experiences, longed to be given a shot on pitches and together could address some of the industry issues that we couldn’t do alone.
So, my backstory is not glamourous, it’s a 25-year commitment to my family’s agency all whilst learning and upskilling in human behaviour and contributing to the industry I love wherever I could. It is not wavering from my values – being ethical and people focused – firmly founded on my Christian faith.
Post the recent win, a kind comment was made that in my dress I looked like wonder woman. I have since reflected on this. Whilst I am proud of this leadership journey I’ve been on (and the generous birthday dress from my husband), I am definitely no wonder woman.
I do wear lots of hats as most women do. Being a mother of four boys, owner of an agency and Chair of an industry body means that I drop balls like you wouldn’t believe. I am that mother where I’ve had to befriend the admin staff, so they prompt me to complete permission notes. I am the one who spills coffee on the white shirt so must sweat all day in the blazer I don’t want to wear. I don’t always meet my team’s expectations, despite my best intent.
I have a habit of overusing my empathy strength and in doing so lose my own voice in conflicts. But as I grow older and wiser, some may say, I am becoming more and more comfortable with the uncomfortable, with not having to have it all together but to lead from my strengths but also my superpowers of vulnerability and genuineness. As a peri menopausal woman, I know no other way to be. Life is complex enough, it’s time to be ourselves. It’s actually what our team wants to see. It models to them that it’s okay to not always be buttoned up but to bring their funny stories, their learnings from mistakes, their ideas, their quirkiness to work and together have fun all whilst doing outstanding work for clients.
