“Show up where it matters,” Mari Docter from PHD

Meet Mari Docter. As the Head of Analytics at PHD, her extensive experience in data, technology, and analytics helps her support major clients and produce innovative work. Her campaigns have won awards like the Gold Effie, and her hard work has allowed her to work with companies like Coca-Cola, Discover, and Walgreens. Her experience spans across audience measurement, local media analytics, and technology innovation. 

At CES this past January, Mari sat down with Jocelyn Hudak, Senior Director, Content and Digital Marketing, at SiriusXM Media in our Pass the Mic booth. Together, they discussed how showing up in times that matter and as the kind of leader your team deserves can change the trajectory of your career.

Listen to the full interview below, and then check out some highlights from the conversation.

You have to show up.

Highlight: “You always have to show up. I'm not saying you always have to be super polished. But you do have to show up, and you have to deliver that value… Show up where it matters. Show up organically. Show up authentically. And do the work.” - Mari Docter

Adapt or don’t.

Highlight: “With all these changes—AI, and all these consolidations, and all of these agencies—change is constant. So adapt or don't. If you're going to survive in this industry, you have to adapt. You have to learn to roll with it.” - Mari Docter

Invest time in relationships.

Highlight: “We live in such an instant world, we forget that these things take time. We need to invest in relationships and invest the time to garner and harness those relationships.” - Mari Docter

Be the leader your team needs.

Highlight: “My leadership style has changed over the years. When I was a practice lead for a certain account, I had to show up differently. I had to be more of a practitioner day-to-day. Whereas now, I'm in this department head leadership position, and I have to be a little bit more crafty. There's a lot more politicking. There's a lot more collaboration with the other practice leads. And I think that's how your career can shift over time—by being the leader that you are, depending on what you're doing." - Mari Docter

Find mentors organically.

Highlight: “I do think that it has to be organic. It cannot be forced—otherwise it's not mentorship. Your boss doesn't have to be your mentor. When I was younger in my career, I was like, ‘Oh, maybe my boss will mentor me.’ No, it's whoever you connect with. It's whoever has the same values as you. And I think mentorship has to come from that organic trust that's built throughout.” - Mari Docter

Connect with others authentically.

Highlight: “I connect best with people when their walls are down, and when there are ways we can be vulnerable—those vulnerabilities help me at least connect to different people. But it also takes some trust. It's trust plus vulnerability. It's all those things, and it can be found in a multitude of ways. And in our industry especially, it's a slow roll. You start slow, and then you get deeper and deeper until you feel like you've really connected with that person because your walls are down and you trust that person.” - Mari Docter

Showing up for yourself, for your team, and for the business will set you on a path to success. For more inspiring conversations like this, check out the Pass the Mic page.

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