Leadership means to fail, learn and rise again: Ankita Vazirani

Celebrating the contributions of women in the PR sector, exchange4media PR & Corp Comm is running a 'Women Achievers Series'. It will feature the journey, success and achievements of some of the top women leaders from the Public Relations and Corporate Communications fraternity as well as emerging women leaders of the industry.

Today’s 'Emerging Leaders' series features Ankita Vazirani, Co-Founder, Media Mic. An experienced Public Relations professional with a demonstrated history of working in the public relations and communications industry, she is silled in Corporate Communications, Press Releases, Marketing, Journalism, and Media Relations. She holds a Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication focussed on Communication, Journalism and Related Programs from Amity University.

Excerpts from the interview:

Now that the industry is opening up workplaces and resuming operations from the office, what are the initiatives, measures and precautions that should be adapted/ taken to ensure a smooth transition?

It has been a tough and uncertain time for people across the world, as humans what we can do best is be empathic and compassionate towards all. Employers need to be forbearing of the fact that adjusting to the ‘new normal’ will take some time as will returning to work. Workplaces should aim to create a safe and positive environment - both physically and mentally - for their employees. The pandemic has killed the old hustle culture and created a new one, where mental and physical health is of priority. As such, employees should be allowed the flexibility to work at their pace minus the burden to deliver and hustle. 

The last 20 months have been trying for every professional, especially with the hybrid working model. How did you strike a balance between office work and household duties?

Because the lockdown happened so swiftly, I don’t think any of us were fully prepared for what was to come. The biggest obstacles to overcome were time management, meeting deadlines along with taking care of the household. In my household, we divided our duties equally, made a to-do list, followed a routine and helped each other out without mixing office and family time. We encouraged our team to draw the lines between work and life.  

Women have been carving a niche for themselves and paving the way in the communications industry for the next generation of women leaders to follow. Tell us about your achievements and your contribution to the fraternity.

We (Saumya Sharma and I) started Media Mic in 2018 with a young, diverse and talented team consisting mostly of women. Our main aim was to be the voice of the brand/company and support other start-ups to promote the entrepreneurial wave in the country, especially for women. We have a close-knit network spanning across 25 cities and have served 35 clients across verticals as varied as SaaS, Healthcare, Luxury, NGOs and Public Offices in the past three years.

Media Mic is a new age Public Relations Consultancy. We believe that ‘No One Plan Fits All’ thus the communication strategy for every client is customised according to the brand’s image, needs, audience and budget. We enable brands to create a niche for themselves with our well-defined integrated communication services from Media Relations, Brand Building, Brand Consulting, Influencer Marketing, Social Media Management to Crisis Management, Vernacular PR and PAN India PR. We want to bring about a change in the PR industry by making it analytics, data and deliverables driven. Ours might be a startup with a limited budget, we never let that impact the work we deliver. 

What are the roadblocks that you have had to overcome to reach where you are today? What, according to you, are the makings of a leader?

I am a working professional and the founder of a startup in a country that is still warming up to the idea of female entrepreneurs in the industry. At the start, it was hard for everyone, including clients, candidates, and employees to trust me with their business. Time and again, we had to prove our worth as an organisation by delivering the best in terms of coverage and building a brand. The hardest roadblock was working with a limited budget and as publicists, we made it happen regardless of funding and delivered the best service for every client. We had to let go of a lot of campaigns because the client ‘liked the idea’ but ‘didn’t have the budget for it.

Leadership means to fail, learn and rise again. A lot is riding on the shoulders of a leader and one cannot afford to be demotivated. A leader should know the intricacies of decision making, teamwork, hard work and consistency. The key to good leadership is having the right attitude, clear vision, and passion for work. A leader is compassionate, adaptive, empathetic and welcoming to change. Education qualification, position and power don’t make leaders!

What would be your advice to the young generation?

There is so much to learn from this generation but my advice to them would be - do not follow the herd and be overwhelmed by the competition; be brave and take risks. Make the most out of the opportunity at your disposal, develop skills and continue learning. Don’t let unhealthy standards of success demotivate you, we each have our journey and you will do just fine. Be passion-driven and ask for help where you must. It is necessary to build a strong foundation at an early stage and I have always emphasized teaching our trainees and working closely with them by giving them the right mentorship and guidance.