Eimear McManus is Director of Digital Works Agency in London. She started her career in marketing 6 years ago whilst at the University of Limerick. She built up a freelance business with clients in the U.K. and found herself travelling back and forth to London weekly, meeting clients. At the end of 2017, Eimear launched Digital Works and they are now working with brands across the globe including the U.K., Ireland, U.S. and Switzerland.
Under what conditions do you get your best work done?
I get my best work done when I write down the ideal end result multiple times in my diary. So every second or third day I’m reminded to keep working hard and trust the process. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and find it effective because each day I see that goal, I hold myself accountable.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Stop worrying about what people think because everyone is battling their own insecurities. If you’re passionate about ANYTHING be it in sports, tech, farming or accounting, follow your passion and aim for a career in that field. Don’t do something you don’t love. You will regret it when you’re older.
What qualities do you believe are the most important to be a leader? If not all these qualities come naturally, do you have any tips on how to cultivate them?
Compassion: having the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understanding why people behave the way they do. Showing your peers that you genuinely care about them will produce better results than if you weren’t compassionate.
Bravery: Not hiding away from problems and tackling them head-on. Tip: put yourself out of your comfort zone (naturally we would think the worst of that situation) but we can learn that things are never as bad as we think and thus, it will give you confidence when you do face a challenge.
Time management: You can’t be a successful leader unless you can manage your time efficiently.
If you were designing a leadership program for schools what would you focus on?
- Presentation skills
- Group challenges for creative & strategic thinking e.g. setting a challenge for groups to launch a company right from registering the business name, recruiting, marketing, payroll and accounting.
- Crisis management: problem-solving
- Building confidence in students
- Showing them how important it is to give praise
- Teaching them how to accept constructive feedback – feedback (positive-negative) is a gift and so many of us still can’t take it
- Teaching them that it’s okay to try and not succeed in everything
- How to control their emotions when presented with different situations
Resources I recommend
Podcasts: How I Built This, The Art of Charm, The Tim Ferris Show, The School of Greatness, Masters of Scale
Audiobooks: The Chimp Paradox – Prof Steve Peters
Books: How To Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie, What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School-Mark McCormack.
