Rowena Millward was announced as the facilitator of the Mediaweek Academy last week.
The global leadership and marketing consultant brings over 20 years of industry experience working client side in marketing in Australia, APAC, North America, and globally with Procter & Gamble, Neutrogena and Johnson & Johnson.
Millward will complete the remaining four classes for the 2023 term before re-launching a new format in 2024.
She spoke to Mediaweek about her approach for the remaining four sessions, redesigning a new format in the new year and bringing her and what attendees can expect.
Making the Mediaweek Academy “fit for purpose for the industry”
Millward shared that she looks forward to taking on the Mediaweek Academy and redesigning it as a program “fit for purpose for the industry.”
While there are so many different skills required across media and the media industry, Millward explained that she aims to focus on the skills that cannot be easily built in the current industry and skills people feel they need but don’t know how to get.
“I’ve identified a couple of different areas around that, like understanding the client side better,” she hinted.
Reflecting on the industry’s current state, Millward described it as complicated with a wide range of specialist skills. However, she noted that when career pathing, there is an excellent opportunity to learn cross-functionally
“But that takes a lot of structure and design to make that happen equally for everyone,” she said.
Millward shared that career pathing is both a passion and a space she has done plenty of work in.
For the Mediaweek Academy, she said: “How I’m designing the Academy is also going to support what people need as they go through certain levels in their career.”
Millward on her approach to career education and development
Millward is a two-time best-selling author, and her 2022 book Uncomfortable Growth® – Own Your Reinvention is a leading program helping executives navigate career and life crossroads to create their next chapter.
She also leads OMD Elevate (OMD’s client engagement program), is part of ADMA’s Education Advisory Committee, is a founding mentor for The Marketing Academy and is on the faculty for Thought Leaders Global.
Millward explained that while education is a component of career development, the space boils down to three key aspects: “what you know today, what you need to learn for tomorrow, and what you want.”
“All three of these are important, and the one I think is critical for people to start thinking about what they want.
“The caveat I would put onto that is, when you’re younger in your career, be open to exploring a lot because you only learn what you like, or don’t like, by doing.”
“You don’t know what you don’t know. But as you move up, you learn very different skills. So, what got you promoted the first time, you’ll need completely different skills to go to the next level up.”
Millward said that she would look at how can these three aspects align so that attendees can have clarity on what they already know, what they need for the next step and what they want.
“That’s critical to ensuring people thrive in their roles,” she added.
What to expect from the upcoming Mediaweek Academy sessions
The Mediaweek Academy still has four classes for the remainder of the year, and Millward shared that she will be “bringing my own flavour” to the sessions.
“I’m a big believer in making it practical and experiential. It’s fabulous that we’ve got people coming in to share their insights. But I’ll also be book-ending that with my capability content.
Millward noted that her approach to the sessions would include a bit of theory to explore how attendees can apply their learnings in conjunction with practical work.
“I want people to be able to start to think about how do they do this, how do they apply it, how do they get better at it because then it’s realised.
Millward also noted that she will share her insights and experiences. “That will spice it up in terms of providing an experience that people can reflect on themselves but also think about how to apply it and what they can do the next day,” she added.
Looking ahead to the remaining sessions, Millward called it an excellent opportunity to learn and explore ideas in four valuable topics. She also noted that the remaining sessions will provide a sense of what will come in the future.
Millward added that she is working hard on redesigning and revamping the Mediaweek Academy program so that their learnings continue on the job.
“I’m reaching out to people across the industry at all levels to understand their greatest challenges and how we will help them. The value you get is not just about a course. It’s actually about what skills you can bring back the very next day,” Millward concluded.
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Top image: Rowena Millward