Carolyn E Stebbings: Transforming Businesses and Brands through New Age Technologies and Data

Code Worldwide exists to help clients invent a new future for their marketing through data and technology. The company's global team's capabilities include digital strategy and technology consultancy, data engineering, marketing sciences, and marketing technology. 

Code helps brands build a vision of their business transformed by technology, enabling them to release the value of their data assets to create a more empathetic experience for their customers. The company's work in content intelligence is market-leading and uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to measure, predict, optimize, and automate the performance of brand content. Code builds solutions for brands that scale as their ambition scales. 

The company's award-winning intelligent marketing operating system, adZU, is used across the world to deliver hyper-personalized experiences at scale. Code is the driver of data-led, technology-powered consultancy across the RAPP network, OPMG, and the wider Omnicom Group.

Making of a Strengthened Leader 

Carolyn E Stebbings studied fine art & textiles then changed jobs every 12-18 months for 6 years after graduating to find her niche. She has always loved problem-solving, people, and what drives them, building teams to deliver innovative solutions and having a strong POV. All traits put her in a strong position for her current role as Managing Director, Code Worldwide where no two days are the same.  

At Code Worldwide, Carolyn leads on client relationships at the same time as ensuring the company is operationally fit as a business. She helps bring the right teams together. Carolyn mentors and coaches those around her as the company develops tomorrow's leaders. She needs to be many things to many people within Code, the RAPP Group, the company belongs to, and then up into OPMG & Omnicom beyond. Carolyn has to be a consummate politician balanced with a direct no-nonsense tell it as it is leader. 

As a leader in the technology industry, the lessons she passes on continually are: 

Be fair: Always seek out both sides of the situation – without it, you don't have all the facts and will make poor and unfounded decisions.  

Be honest: Remember not everyone is ready to hear what you have to say – if you are delivering constructive criticism, ensure you are clear and that you make time to explain.  

Be empowering: Let people fail – they will be stronger for it.  

Be vulnerable: Serve the people that work for you by showing your human side, respect them, listen to them – it pays back tenfold.

Surmounting the Challenges of Gender Diversity 

Describing the hardships, she encountered during her journey, Carolyn said, "If I'm honest as an optimist I've often faced any challenge head-on. As a woman, early in my career, I found I wasn't heard where a man's voice was. I was told I was being overly emotional when I was showing the same passion about a project or a situation as a male colleague."  

According to her in all cases, one should not get drawn in. She advises to stay calm, pick up the incident later if one doesn't feel strong enough in the moment – but most of all she suggests people to call it out for themselves or others with a considered response.  

Further, she asks people to "Relate it to how it made you feel not the specifics of the situation which can be argumentative e.g. "you made me feel like I didn't exist" I found this stopped the perpetrator in their midst and had my opinion openly asked for." 

Vital Attributes of Transformational Executives 

In Carolyn's vision, the vital attribute that every transformational leader should possess are – to be respectful and listen to others and value their opinion no matter how busy one is, to be honest as sometimes hard stuff needs saying, and one should not shirk it (It's how you say it not what you say), and to be empathetic and by being authentic and fair one can inspire, motivate and celebrate as an inclusive team.  

Driving Data-Driven Innovation 

Code has built strong data and tech capabilities over the years and it continually reviews its products and services to maintain the agility and expertise to offer to its client base. For both streams, the company helps its clients identify the true business need and then work with them to create organic solutions that can scale as their businesses do. Using a combination of POC, insight, and customer success underpinned by an agile work ethic, Code is able to iterate and deliver best-fit solutions. "Data is the key advantage in this race, used well, it ensures that the experiences we help build are the most empathetic – right content, right context, right consumer," says Carolyn. 

Living Up with the Advances of Modern Technology 

Data and technologies are changing business, the economy, and society. With that comes a huge ethical responsibility. Done in the right way amazing things can and will be achieved with new products and services through end–to–end digital experiences. Moreover, she adds that these technologies also allow the David's of this world to compete alongside the Goliath's – as the power is in the creative use of the data, now that the ability to compute and store data is a thing of the past. This offers up a new kind of leadership one that needs to be nimble, entrepreneurial, and collaborative; One that is solutions-driven not all about the organizational hierarchy.

Futuristic Ethos of Code Worldwide 

The ethos at Code is for constant evolution in an industry where nothing was as slow as yesterday. The company will invest in AI, ML, and automation as the need for greater strategic communication skills and empathy with the consumer is needed. Code will continue to educate, re-skill, and up-skill its current colleagues as the demand for data-driven solutions prevails and grows; not just depending on recruitment as the supply pool is finite. Carolyn states, "Data is the advantage but only if the insight unearthed is used to drive transformational change. It is our responsibility to show how the outputs can deliver distinct, recognizable, and tangible business impact." 

Words of Wisdom 

Carolyn advises budding leaders to be their true selves and follow their intuition while embracing the traits of 'a can-do person'. She says, "Even when you are terrified inside put yourself forward – it's never that scary in reality and you learn loads. Get yourself a coach and a mentor. Look to those around you that you admire and just ask – those that are leading well love to offer a helping hand but often aren't asked."  

According to her, upcoming leaders should always look for both sides to a situation before acting – as a leader some will look to influence you negatively – so be sure of your facts. "Remain true to the authentic you – don't try to be someone you aren't – you'll gain more respect," says Carolyn.  

Empowering Leadership Beyond Pandemic Crisis 

"We have yet to see the full global impact of Covid19. I believe our industry will see more focus on the beneficial uses of AI, ML, Cloud, MarTech and the transformational changes they can bring to everyday lives," asserts Carolyn while talking about the role of leadership in the current pandemic crisis. In turn, leadership will be expected to be more kind. Drawing on the attributes of listening, authenticity, and respect to be more empathetic leaders. Leaders that are innovative and inclusive, take people with them by truly empowering them, moving from a command and control to a more accessible style of leadership. It is a new leadership for a new world in these hyper-connected times. 

In addition to this Carolyn sees that Diversity & Inclusivity will continue to be paramount. In an industry that is still overrepresented by men, we need diverse teams so that solutions are more representative of the real populous. To quote Frida Polli, CEO of Pymetrics "Can you imagine if all the toddlers in the world were raised by 20-year-old men? That's what our AI looks like today. It's being built by a very homogenous group."