Coming from an advertising background, before ultimately specializing in ‘programmatic buying’, Isabelle Lambert arrived at Mediabrands seven years ago, joining its team of programmatic experts. Today, Isabelle is the department’s Managing Director, sharing her expertise with other departments within the company. “While programmatic still seems a bit mysterious to some people, we take the time to understand our colleagues’ needs, to understand their specific media and to explain to them in simple terms what we can bring to the table. All this is done with a view to providing a level of support and understanding, working towards a common goal and growing as a team.”
Isabelle believes that this spirit of mutual support is no accident, that it is firmly rooted in Mediabrands’ DNA.
“We work hard, but always with our colleagues’ well-being in mind. We help them by making sure they enjoy a good work-life balance, no matter how many hours they work. There is a real spirit of trust and mutual respect.”
Proud of her team, Isabelle states: “A team’s greatest strength is its level of cohesiveness. My job is to ensure my team’s well-being, to get to know the people involved. I try to be a good listener who is always there when needed. People can tell me anything, although there are different ways of saying things, of course. For my part, I try to be as transparent with the team as possible. This is very important to me. The ability to point out when things are going well, as well as when they are not, is a real strength. While we might not always agree, it’s always important to bring these things up at the right moment. Timing is crucial. I try to be there for them, while remaining as fair as possible.”
Mixing it up
Even though she is very open to what her colleagues have to say, Isabelle is often teased for one particular linguistic trait. “I’ve mastered the art of mixing up expressions. I never seem to know exactly how to use any one particular expression. As a result, I often end up with expressions that don’t quite make sense. It just comes out when I talk, much to people’s amusement. Then, of course, they tell me that I’m wrong again before correcting me.”
Not that she is afraid of learning, being especially driven to expand her knowledge of digital operations by communicating with and receiving input from her colleagues. “I like to learn something new every day. Just to be surrounded by people who allow me to discover new things is very inspiring. In an ever-changing technical environment such as ours, there’s always something new to discover. It’s fair to say that, over my seven years here, I’ve learned quite a lot. I think that this is undeniably one of Mediabrands’ core strengths. If you want to expand your knowledge in order to go places in your career, they’re keen to help you achieve this. There really is an ethos of helping people in their development, listening to their aspirations and trying to give them the means to achieve them.”
As it happens, learning and discovering new things also plays a significant role in Isabelle’s life outside work, whether it’s passing on the joys of personal development to her daughter, travelling or even coming up with a great recipe. It’s not surprising that, at work, Isabelle really enjoys how diverse her role can be, despite not being particularly fond of certain mundane tasks. “It’s true that I don’t like repetitive tasks all that much. However, there comes a point when you just have to do it. That’s fine, just as long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time. After all, these are just ‘drops in the ocean’ compared to all the interesting things that I’m doing every day.”