Leadership lessons: Our chat with Paramount's Vicki Goldman

Women In Mobile series host Maria Lannon, VP of Account Management Americas at Remerge, speaks with Vicki Goldman, the Director of Marketing at Paramount Streaming under the Media Acquisition and Services Team. During the Apptivate podcast, Vicki talks about her career, how she ended up Paramount, and the challenges of managing a team.

Vicki Goldman went through a plethora of jobs before landing in the mobile space. While not always a straightforward path, she’s glad about the destination.

“I started my career in e-commerce marketing doing affiliate marketing. After a few affiliate marketing jobs and other marketing roles like social and even a 6-month internship in Israel, I landed at CBS interactive running the affiliate program. The team was small, and I began stepping into the mobile position.”

Almost two weeks into the job, she moved into mobile marketing; it’s been seven years now, and she hasn’t looked back. Early on, she started working on what’s now considered vanity metrics, such as installs or subscriptions. Upon reflection, Vicki realizes how far she’s come as her future-looking mindset has her strategizing beyond traditional methods of user acquisition and what metrics matter most.

Before CBS, Vicki worked for a company that crashed fairly quickly. While there were some indications of an imminent shutdown (like the sister company going under), Vicki was hopeful to at least get her last paycheck. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. But what she did learn were a lot of lessons.

“Even though the writing was on the wall, we were all sort of hopeful. Unfortunately, I was put in the difficult position of telling my boss, who was hiking a trail with little reception, that the company had gone under,” shared Vicki.

“At the time, a good friend of mine who is a career coach recommended that I go to networking events as soon as the next day. So, I was busting myself. Almost every night, I was attending a networking event.”

And it worked. Vicki found it extremely helpful and started getting everything from leads and phone numbers to names and email addresses. After her former company crashed, Vicki was adamant about working at a stable and well-known company, and she succeeded.

“Eventually, a recruiter reached out to one of my friends who wasn’t available for the position and forwarded me the opportunity. Everything worked out in the end, and I began working at CBS,” says Vicki.

Vicki discussed her daily challenges in the fast-paced world of streaming and what strategies help her achieve success. Specifically, on the subject of conflicting priorities, Vicki emphasizes how being organized is vital, and to that end, her team uses Asana to manage and track assignments. Vicki also values using one-sheeters with all campaign details - this way, anyone interested in learning about a specific campaign can see its goals and latest status.

“One thing I do that I feel is crucial is having one-sheeters for campaigns because we do so many different things that can get confusing. So this is helpful, not only for the onboarding but for helping to present things to vendors, so you don’t have to repeat things all the time, and to have everything laid out for you.”

Another strategy Vicki relies on is the use of her calendar. Setting reminders for work and personal items helps her stay on top of her deliverables, manage her workload, and establish personal time to avoid overloading.

“When I show other people my calendar, they often wonder when I have time for work, but a lot of it has to do with learning to delegate and having a great team to do that,” shares Vicki.

Currently, Vicki is leading a team of 3 employees, and she’s found the role empowering and a great learning moment for her. Vicki focuses on creating opportunities for her teammates because personal growth is important to her, even though it can be challenging. One of her biggest obstacles is learning to delegate, as sometimes it’s easier or faster to “do things yourself.”

“I think it’s imperative to be a supportive boss. I have a supportive boss who takes time to have 1:1 meetings and cares about my growth, so I try to do the same with my team. I encourage them to go to networking events and webinars, and also help them get exposure with other teams at the company.”

For many, networking is about attending events and meeting people, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about creating opportunities for your growth and future. Vicki shared that she is shy and that making networking a key strategic goal was tough at first.

“I think stepping out of your comfort zone is vital. If you go to a networking event with a group, you will naturally gravitate towards them, but if you go alone, you will be more likely to talk to other people,” mentions Vicki.

As both Maria and Vicki recognize, sometimes we forget that given the opportunity, people at networking events, and overall for that matter, really want to help and enjoy when others seek their advice.

“I think it’s all about being authentic and treating people how you want to be treated,” says Vicki.

Nowadays, competition is fiercer than ever, and the same goes for retaining talent. With nine people on her team, Vicki is not only focused on managing her day-to-day but also on managing her team's growth and retaining them as employees.

"Especially now that we're not doing in-person interviewing, it's even harder to get to know someone in a 30-minute slot. It isn't easy finding candidates right now. Even when I feel we're offering a good paycheck, the truth is, it's very competitive. It's like they're interviewing you too, and you want to give a good position," shares Vicki.

With Paramount being such a big name, not every candidate is there for the right reasons. Both Maria and Vicki agreed that it's all about finding the right person who is willing to learn because you can teach everything if the other person has the right attitude (even if that means having to burst someone's dream of stepping into a movie set!)

Maria mentioned that some of the best people on her team don’t have a mobile background and that this is not a blocker. She shares that as long as they are hungry, want to learn, are curious, and ask questions, that’s what makes them so great for the role.

“Because mobile is so new, you’re not going to find a candidate that meets all requirements,” shares Maria.

After a string of not-so-great bosses, Vicki found it more challenging to grow in the beginning of her career because she didn't have anyone mentoring her or encouraging her to speak up.

"In my past few jobs, I've had strong women bosses, which is great because they really take time to get to know you, and now I'm trying to do that with my direct reports," said Vicki.

Both Maria and Vicki recognize that while doing one's job is crucial, it's also about going above and beyond just checking off a daily task and continuing to build your network. Vicki talked about attending networking events such as "The Forum" after the pandemic, a virtual workshop about empowering your career. Vicki was nominated to the event by a vendor she works with, proof that it's essential to keep building those relationships.

Finally, the conversation shifted to how female leaders can encourage women to speak up and have a voice. From Vicki's perspective, she favors writing things down and keeping track of accomplishments or what you want to say during a meeting, which goes a long way in helping you feel prepared. As part of a nonprofit organization, Vicki encourages women to speak up, feel comfortable joining the room, and have their voices heard.

Listen to the full Apptivate episode with Paramount's Vicki Goldman.