GreenBook Future List Spotlight: Hannah Marcus

If you could go back in time to when you first started your career, what advice would you give to your younger self?

I wasted a lot of time when I was younger grappling with imposter syndrome – I’d want to tell myself that there is no ‘secret answer’ to how to be a semiotician or a researcher; what you learn from the people around you is as valid as any official training course.

Also not to stress as much about finding the ‘perfect’ job – it’s the unexpected twists and turns that have brought real value and excitement. After all, I’ve found my perfect job and it literally didn’t exist two years ago – so how could I have planned for it?

I think this is something I’ve had to keep learning – having really been struggling with the uncertainty that’s come with a global pandemic, I’m still trying to get to a place where I don’t feel like I have to control everything – so this is advice for my future self as well as younger.

 

Who is your career role model or source of inspiration?

I am constantly in awe of all of the incredible women that I work with every day, both within my company and outside of it. My Director, Sophie, is definitely one of my role models – she keeps our entire company running whilst championing flexible working (from another country!), supporting everyone’s personal goals, making sure people get to work on things they find interesting, and helping a start-up develop and grow in new ways – plus she has two children at home.

I’m also very inspired by my sister – we used to work in research together and she knew that strategy was a much better fit for her, so she just went out and found that role. She never accepts any limitations and takes on each new challenge and responsibility with a confidence I always admire.

 

What do you think the key characteristics or qualities of a leader are? How does this play into MRX?

I think self-awareness and empathy are very important characteristics of a leader – and are just as important for finding really interesting insights as they are for leading a team. But I think empathy is a very easy term to bandy around – I think if you tell people they need to be more empathetic, people who are already carrying a lot of emotional labour panic and try to do more, whereas people who are not just carry on as they are. This is why self-awareness is also important – and being really aware of how to communicate with the people you’re leading, and understanding the difference between intentions and actions.

 

When did you know you wanted to enter a career in insights, and what inspired you?

I did my first internship at a semiotics company when I was sixteen – which is why I’m so passionate about our industry providing paid internship opportunities, and trying to reach people who might not have the kind of opportunities I did. (We’re currently working with Drive Forward, a really wonderful charity who work to help care leavers gain business skills and employment – I’d recommend checking them out).

I have always loved researching culture and I was really inspired by just how interested everyone was in that environment, in any topic, whether academic or pop culture. It is this mentality, of being interested in everything and seeking out that exciting moment when you discover something new, that I’ve always sought out in this industry

 

What’s a fun fact about yourself that would surprise people to know?

I used to be a keen but very untalented ballroom dancer