50 Leading Women: Tina Young
In honor and celebration of our Women’s Division‘s 50th Anniversary, we will be spotlighting 50 Leading Women making an impact, raising their voice, and leading the next generation of women in the workforce and Plano community.
Introducing, Tina Young, CEO & Founder, of Marketwave. Tina grew up in Plano and went on to graduate Cum Laude from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Tina single handedly founded her company Marketwave in 1998 and has since grown to a team of 11. Tina has more than 30 years of experience in branding, advertising, consumer and B2B marketing, and a broad spectrum of digital strategies. Prior to starting Marketwave, Tina was a partner at GTT Communications, an Austin-based technology public relations firm that was acquired by Edelman Worldwide. Tina is a servant leader who believes in helping others meet their goals and she invests in her team and clients for long-lasting relationships. She is a charter member of the Dallas Conscious Capitalism chapter where she joins other business leaders who recognize the power of business to make a positive impact on people and the world by having a higher state of consciousness about a company’s purpose and culture. She currently serves on the board of directors for the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Women’s Business Council Southwest, Communities Foundation of Texas for Business and the American Marketing Association. Outside of work, Tina enjoys spending time with her daughter, Emma, and husband, Mike.
1. Describe your leadership style and how you lead others.
I am a conscious capitalist with a servant leadership style which means that I focus on helping others grow and thrive, putting purpose and values at the center of decision making and operate with a mindset of continuous learning and improvement.
2. How can women develop their leadership skills in the workforce?
The largest professional development leaps I’ve made in my 33-year career have been when I stepped up to a challenge that was out of my comfort zone. And having a female mentor in those moments was critical to my success. Having someone in your professional circle who will challenge you and nudge you to be your best self can help you build new skills and grow as a leader. Good mentors are not just encouragers, they share their wisdom, hold you accountable and challenge your status quo thinking to help you advance.
3. What are the most important decisions you make as a leader?
My most important decisions center around people matters – hiring, onboarding, retention strategies and nurturing our culture so that we have a high-performance, purpose-driven team that takes great care of our clients, our community stakeholders and maintains a growth mindset.
4. What has been one of your biggest joys as a leader?
Seeing our work make an impact on our client’s positive brand reputations, talent strategies and sales growth is my greatest joy, and this success has landed us on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies list and helped us gain recognition in the industry with a Marketer of the Year award from the American Marketing Association.
5. What has been your greatest career disappointment? What did you learn from it?
There are plenty of disappointments and setbacks on this entrepreneurial journey but one of my biggest was when our largest healthcare client had a leadership change that resulted in us losing the business after 12 years of outstanding work. I learned that our sales pipeline has to be nurtured constantly and called upon to help backfill contract losses like this, and that cross training people on my team is an important way to ensure that we can shift resources to other work and avoid having to do layoffs when significant financial events happen like this.
6. What strategies could be used to promote inclusion in the workplace?
Expanded and intentional recruitment strategies to ensure the talent pool of candidates is inclusive is extremely important and setting up career paths that allow not only for advancement opportunities but new learning and leadership opportunities that include more diverse employees. And diversity includes ethnicity,
gender and generational categories when companies are doing inclusion the right way.
7. What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?
Have a point of view. And the best way to develop a POV is to be informed, ask questions, seek different perspectives and don’t be afraid to speak up.
8. What advice can you give to the next generation of female leaders?
Be brave, be coachable, seek wise counsel and do something uncomfortable in your work life each week.
9. Who inspired you and why?
One of my favorite mentors, who is also a wonderful friend now, is Brenda Jackson, who was the former Chief Customer Officer at Oncor. She encouraged me, challenged me, shared her wisdom, taught me to read the room, showed me the value of investing in relationships, and sponsored me to other leaders at a time when my “rank” and role didn’t necessarily put me on those radars. The servant leader that Brenda was across her career and now in the community is a model and inspiration for the kind of leader I hope to be.
10. What do you want to be remembered for?
Shining a light wherever I am to encourage and develop the difference makers, innovators, and conscious capitalists who care about business as a force for good in this world.
