Leading with Heart: Rachael DeRossi Of The Marketing Dept On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership
An Interview With Pirie Jones Grossman
Allowing team members to be themselves and speak courageously — Our team members don’t fit into a cookie cutter profile, we are all unique. Allowing people to be themselves encourages creativity and growth that we just wouldn’t get if we wanted everyone to be like us. I encourage my team to push back and initiate kind conversations with anyone on the team, regardless of their seniority.
In today’s dynamic world, the concept of leadership is continuously evolving. While traditional leadership models have often been male-dominated, there is a growing recognition of the unique strengths and perspectives that women bring to these roles. This series aims to explore how women can become more effective leaders by authentically embracing their femininity and innate strengths, rather than conforming to traditional male leadership styles. In this series, we are talking to successful women leaders, coaches, authors, and experts who can provide insights and personal stories on how embracing their inherent feminine qualities has enhanced their leadership abilities. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Rachael DeRossi.
Rachael DeRossi is the Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at The Marketing Dept., a full-service digital marketing and branding agency. Before co-founding the agency, she directed marketing teams, shattered sales goals, and burst through glass ceilings. Today, The Marketing Dept. works with electric cooperatives, telecoms, and businesses throughout North America. Rachael has learned from mentors, colleagues, and experience that the most important part of being an entrepreneur is building a culture that is bold and grounded, where relationships are at the forefront, but accountability is queen.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about authentic, feminine leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path? Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
While not a specific moment, I’ve noticed that a common thread throughout my career is how embracing seemingly unimportant tools have turned into big opportunities. Early on, I started treating every experience (even the crummy ones) like a learning tool — and that has made all the difference. Even in work situations where the culture was challenging and I felt underappreciated, I made a decision to grasp information and skills no matter what. These skills all proved to be useful in the future and many times were the reason for career progression. It’s all about reframing the ick into opportunity.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
When I founded The Marketing Dept. with my business partner, Laura Sanders, I knew we needed to create and nurture a rock solid company culture that would help us make business decisions and hire great people. Sure, we provide exceptional digital marketing, branding and design services, but so do a lot of other companies. We’re different because we’re doing so with wisdom, courage, heart, and a little bit of sass. We engaged Chad, our culture consultant, from the get-go and work hard to constantly reinforce our people-first culture. Because we put culture first, we’ve been able to build a badass team of marketers who feel empowered to take risks, enjoy learning, and consistently push themselves and the team to their best.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
This is a great question because being a great leader isn’t just about managing people, self development plays a huge role. I’m constantly working on myself as I push the team toward our business goals. The main trait that has gotten me this far is grit, but I’ll add the caveat that it is heavily balanced by humility. Nobody has ever built a successful business by giving up when things get tough. I’m obsessed with data and committed to the process — doing things the right way, even when it takes longer, costs more, or the first few iterations fail. I do a ton of research to create measurable goals. Then, I start with the end in mind, outline the steps that must be put in place to get the team there and then push non-stop until we achieve those goals. Leading with vision, and fostering a culture of where team members are inspired to be a part of that purpose and role in that vision is critical. Even when the day-to-day is crummy, intentional commitment to the bigger vision keeps me focused and energized for what lies ahead. I know that all of the hard work and growth will be wildly worth it in the end. In order to do this, I need to exude authentic confidence. I’m darn proud of our team and our work and I can bring that confidence into any client meeting.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.
We’re very intentional about our culture and purpose for this reason. Anytime I am faced with hard decisions, I weigh them against The Marketing Dept.’s defined purpose, values, and tools. This process guides me toward the right answer — one that will ultimately help the team achieve our vision. It’s a constant dance between the day-to-day and the big picture, but vision always wins. With that in mind, I’m able to have hard conversations with team members or say no to a client, because even if I care about them, I know the situation isn’t within the bounds of our purpose, which detracts from the culture and innovation that is required to achieve our big-picture goals. In our culture, we talk about having kind conversations, which are being able to address any sort of curiosity or frustration with anyone on the team as long as it’s coming from a place of love instead of fear.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a personal experience where embracing your unique leadership style, which might not align with traditional expectations, led to a significant positive impact in your organization or team?
As an on-purpose leader, I know vulnerability and courage start with me. It might feel counterintuitive to share stories from my personal life or areas that I need to work on with my team, but doing so only makes our team stronger. When I lean into vulnerability, it gives the team permission to open up about the things that really matter to them, and we’re able to show up for each other in more ways than just hitting deadlines. More than just a team that’s pushing A+, a term that comes from a Miick tool that we use to say, “doing the best we can today, until we can do better tomorrow,” we have intentionally nurtured an environment where we all genuinely care about each other in and out of work.
In your journey as a leader, how have you balanced demonstrating resilience, often seen as a masculine trait, with showing vulnerability, which is equally powerful, but typically feminine? Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?
I’ve been told I come across very confident, which comes from a genuine belief in my capabilities and the talent and determination of our team. Because I know how badass we are, I don’t let myself get pushed around by the competition or clients. A lot of this comes down to data. Every decision I make as a strategist and marketer starts with and is backed by data, both quantitative — the cold, hard numbers, and qualitative — understanding what motivates each of our clients. At the same time, I value vulnerability in the workplace. Being vulnerable is how you connect with people. I’ve had hard conversations with clients about the reality of their marketing goals in one moment and then connected with them about our families the next. Life is about balance; business is about balance. Do I always get it right? No. But putting myself out there every day and committing to being humble enough to learn from these failures, I’m able to accept the process and hold my head up high going into the next round so I can move our team toward A+.
As a woman in leadership, how have you navigated and challenged gender stereotypes, especially in situations where traditional male-dominated approaches are the norm? What strategies have you employed to remain authentic to your style?
Every interaction we have, whether with clients, team members, or investors, comes down to culture. We choose to engage with people of any gender who act in accordance with our purpose, values, and tools. That might sound idealistic, because obviously I can’t choose everyone I interact with, but we can be very intentional about who we choose to work with. When I inevitably come across a hard personality, I usually chalk that up to that person working through their own insecurities and I’ll leave them to that.
How do you utilize emotional intelligence and active listening to create an inclusive environment in your team or organization? Could you share a specific instance where these qualities particularly enhanced team dynamics or performance?”
We’re very intentional about creating a safe space for our communication. We encourage everyone to speak up no matter who they’re talking to. We also use and teach a Miick tool called 7–45–48 which says that how people receive information from us is 7% what is said, 45% from body language, and 48% from tone. If I’m in a meeting and I see that a team member’s body language is off, I’ll reach out to them after to make sure everything is okay and to see if there is anything I can do or if it’s something they can own. On the flip side, if I walk into a meeting tired or cranky, I let everyone know, so there is no meaning making that my body language is a reflection of their performance. Having these conversations immediately helps our team avoid slipping into drama. This ensures I am showing up and owning my impact in building an energizing and innovative culture where ideas flow freely and often, real friendships are formed, and we crank out some seriously cool work. Listening to our team members’ words and body language helps me do that.
What role has mentorship played in developing your authentic leadership style, and how do you communicate authentically to inspire and empower both your mentors and mentees?
The leadership style of one of my mentors in particular, Shane, has directly shaped our culture at The Marketing Dept. He taught me how to guide mentees through growth not through judgment, but with kind accountability, to encourage people from the heart, and to recognize people in detail when they perform well — he would often stop in the moment and recognize an employee for their achievements. This may sound basic, but employee appreciation is missing from a lot of work environments, and not caring about your team members is a sure fire way to fuel turnover. Shane also taught me that caring includes both encouragement and holding people accountable — he was very straightforward when there was an issue. Holding a team member accountable doesn’t just impact their behavior, it also creates a safe and equitable space for everyone.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Leading Authentically As A Woman Will Affect Your Leadership”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.
1. Being vulnerable — At the beginning of each of our team meetings, we have a check-in question that often encourages discussion of a challenge we’re having or something we’re not feeling great about. This encourages self-reflection and also creates a space where people feel safe to fail, because in the end that’s where the growth happens.
2. Showing up with love and leaving fear at the door — Whether we’re aware or not, every human approaches every situation through the lens of either fear or love. Operating through the lens of fear simply has no place at The Marketing Dept.. Approaching everything, no matter how tough, with love makes for an authentic, caring, and productive work environment.
3. Having kind conversations — In my opinion, this is one of the most important tools in our culture and in authentic leadership. If we need to have a tough conversation about work product or attitude, we’re able to address it right away, from a place of love. When initiating a kind conversation, my intention is to present it in a way that does not give life to shame or blame — it’s more about asking questions about choices, naming behavior, and re-establishing our standard of expectations and accountability. This approach nips the drama in the bud and allows us to move A+ on our work.
4. Creating a safe space that encourages diversity of thought — By nurturing safety in our environment, we encourage our marketers to fly high, push their own boundaries, be bold, and take calculated risks. If they fail, that’s okay, we just stop and ask: what did we learn that’s going to help us push A+ next time?
5 . Allowing team members to be themselves and speak courageously — Our team members don’t fit into a cookie cutter profile, we are all unique. Allowing people to be themselves encourages creativity and growth that we just wouldn’t get if we wanted everyone to be like us. I encourage my team to push back and initiate kind conversations with anyone on the team, regardless of their seniority.
Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?
Yeah, for sure. Research points to the very intuitive fact that if employees feel valued, they will be more productive. As a leader, it’s essential to find the balance between accountability and empathy. People’s lives are real and it’s important to acknowledge them and give them grace for what they’re going through, but we’re also here to get a job done. I usually approach this with an authentic conversation: How can I care for you? How can I support you? What are the next steps?
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
One of the tools we use at The Marketing Dept. is Miick’s Intention vs. Impact. This exercise requires self-reflection — what was the intention behind my actions, and what impact did it have on the world around me? People often skirt accountability behind the guise of good intentions, but if the impact is harmful, the intention doesn’t really matter. This concept extends far beyond the workplace into personal relationships, environmental consciousness — you name it.
How can our readers further follow you online?
I talk about my leadership journey on LinkedIn. The Marketing Dept. also provides expert insights through digital marketing tips and communication strategies for electric cooperatives.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Leading with Heart: Rachael DeRossi Of The Marketing Dept On The Power of Authentic Women’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.