Misa von Tunzelman is UK Lead Director – Marketing & Communications at commercial and residential property company JLL. Before joining the company Misa worked for accountancy firm EY and started her career in Marketing at the Imperial War Museum. Misa is an active member of CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing), is passionate about professional services marketing and has a keen interest in the diversity agenda.
“…I’ve always worked in male dominated, relatively traditional industries and in that environment it is tempting to adjust your style and personality to fit, but if you do that you sell yourself short and the company you work for misses out on a valuable different perspective…”
Starting out in marketing – from “make do and mend” to corporate professionalism
I started my career in a small and busy marketing department at the Imperial War Museum. We were working with a small budget and subject matter that is not everyone’s cup of tea so we had to be really creative to get visitors through the door. It was hard work but a wonderful grounding in all aspects of marketing and really kick started my career.
From there I moved to EY which was on a totally different scale, again I was fortunate to work with some inspirational people who helped me to grow and learn and enabled me to test out ideas and strategies. The experience of “make do and mend” at the Imperial War Museum and corporate professionalism at EY gave me a great base and the fast pace of growth at JLL has enabled me to grow my career as the firm has grown and evolved.
Accelerating my career with CIM
I had been working in marketing for a few years when I decided to study for the diploma. I went into the qualification because I wanted the strategic and academic background to inform my work and it has paid dividends. It increased my confidence and my ability to tackle new situations.
The membership really helped me when I first started in a standalone role in the Capital Markets department at JLL and did not have the safety net of the EY Marketing infrastructure behind me. I was a big user of the advice service at that time!
Diversity of thought – particularly important in marketing
I think diversity is important to any organisation, there is now a huge body of research showing that diverse organisations are more successful and I don’t find that particularly surprising. Innovation happens when you bring together diverse ranges of experience and perspective. This diversity of thought is particularly important in marketing where success is dependent on understanding your customer’s point of view.
Don’t sell yourself short
The greatest challenge I face at work is the same as every other marketer – differentiating our brand and services in a crowded market. If you mean the greatest challenge in the context of diversity would be having the confidence to be myself at work. I’ve always worked in male dominated, relatively traditional industries and in that environment it is tempting to adjust your style and personality to fit but if you do that you sell yourself short and the company you work for misses out on a valuable different perspective.
Just do it. And have some fun!
Just do it. Have confidence in your own abilities, seek out supporters within your organisation or outside of it and have some fun!
Having said that, I’ve learned a lot from many of the younger women I meet coming through now. They have the confidence that comes with the expectation that they will be treated equally in the workplace. I also feel that those of us in more senior positions have a responsibility to make sure our workplaces live up to that expectation.
The glass ceiling – any closer to being shattered?
I’m a glass half full person so I would say yes absolutely! There is still a way to go but there numbers are increasing and the more women who get into those positions the more role models there are for the future.
One thing I have noticed which I think is a good sign is the fact that today when I talk about diversity and inclusion with colleagues I am very rarely having to justify the business case, that is a given. The agenda has moved on to look at how we change culture and behaviour to achieve our diversity and inclusion goals.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/jll
