Thank you to the 1,400 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 questions!
I hope reading
7 Questions with Corrie
helps you in your leadership.
Cheers,
Jonno White
7 Questions with Corrie
Name: Corrie
Current title: CEO & Founder
Current organisation: Untapped Digital
Corrie Jones is the founder of Untapped Digital, the social media agency for ambitious brands. Since launching in 2016, Untapped has worked on social media content, strategy and advertising campaigns with clients around the world including Virgin Startup, NatWest, Kawasaki Engines and Omaze. Corrie has spoken at conferences such as General Assembly’s “Talk Data To Me” in London and SEMrush’s Global Marketing Day in New York. Off-stage and behind the scenes, Corrie has also managed live social media at a number of high-profile events, including with the BBC and the British Royal Family. In 2018, she was nominated ‘Female Entrepreneur of the Year’ by TMC.
Passionate about supporting women in business, Corrie hosts the chart-topping podcast Self-Made Women, where she interviews entrepreneurs and high-flyers to find out how they got to where they are today and what advice they would give to others on a mission to succeed in their industry.
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1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?
Feeling like you have to always know the answer can be challenging - until you realise that it's just a feeling, and in reality no one can have all the answers. The most you can have is empathy for your team and a strong vision to lead on.
2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?
I used to work for a university, managing their social media for student recruitment campaigns. I realised that I was craving a faster pace and more freedom by working for myself, so I took the leap in October 2016 to start the business. I was already working for a couple of clients alongside my 9-5, but it was still a big adjustment and steep learning curve to quit employment totally and run a business.
3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?
This looks pretty different pre-covid and post-covid! In typical times, I'd be in the office with the team or around London for meetings in the day, and at a networking or speaking event in the evening. Nowadays, we're all working from home and we're lucky enough that we can still deliver our client services virtually. I try to break up the day with a walk to get out of the house, and will always batch my calls back to back rather than have them scattered through the day.
4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?
Make difficult decisions quickly and trust your gut.
5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?
The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. Very useful book for thinking bigger (literally 10 times bigger!)
6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?
At Untapped, we like to empower everyone to feel like a leader, whether they're managing another member of staff or leading on a project. I think everyone should be given the autonomy and trusted to lead, and it builds a culture of being proactive and happy to get stuck in. Also we automate a lot of admin tasks, which means there's more capacity freed up for the team to work on creative tasks (rather than something which an app or software could put together for us).
7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?
My most meaningful times are when I've seen people in the team grow and develop themselves, or when we've made a big impact on a client's business. It's great to see the business grow in numbers, but I feel the most meaningful growth when it relates to people and their positive feedback.