Navigating Challenges and Cultivating a Visionary Culture in the Agency World - Monica Langin - S2 Ep.14

In this episode, we are joined by Monica Langin, the President of Visionary. With nearly three decades of work experience, Monica is known for her direct communication and problem-solving skills. Originally from a delightful town in southwest Iowa, she has dedicated 20 years to Visionary, progressing from a project manager to her current role as President. In this conversation, she discussed the importance of building strong client relationships, overcoming challenges during COVID-19, and the process of hiring and evaluating cultural fit during recruitment.

 

Discussion Points - 

• What's some sort of bogus strategy, or misconception, do you want to set the record straight on? 1:34
• What is the monthly ‘Visionary Day’ that you guys do in the office? 13:25
• Tell us more about how you organize and celebrate the epic holiday party at your company. 19:54
• How do you set the budget for cultural building activities? 24:39
• As you've traveled up the ranks, what challenging moments made you pause and work through them? 25:57
• What is that one thing that makes you feel that you're doing something great? 31:29
• How do you evaluate the right cultural fit during the hiring process? 32:29
• How challenging is it to find the right talent for technical roles in the Midwest, given that coastal regions often attract professionals? What strategies do you use to attract skilled individuals to your company in this region? 37:11
• What is exciting you about the future? 41:30

 

Show notes -

• It's (visionary day) is a very important day, from my perspective, because it's a tool that I have leveraged to bring people back together. 13:43
• Something that is very visionary about ‘Visionary’ is that when we're together, the things that we share, the personal relationships, obviously, but the knowledge that's shared across the team, just by accident, is impressive and outstanding. 15:56
• We set a budget like everybody else's, we have a fiscal year, and we set that budget at the beginning of the year. And we try to stay as close as possible. 25:00
• We had one of our best years ever from a sales standpoint, and everything was going great just before the pandemic hit. However, when the pandemic struck, everything slowed down, and we faced a long period of uncertainty. It was a little terrifying to navigate through that. 26:11
• The one thing that makes us feel we are doing something great is that anyone, even our youngest, newest employees, can be in a room with other visionaries or customers and have a great idea, the ability to say, "I'm listening to you. I hear your problem. And I have a solution. 31:37
• Culture is very important to us. So when we hire people, we try very hard to involve different individuals. It's not always the same people involved in the interview process, but rather those who will be working with or reporting to the candidate. We strive to mix it up so that candidates have the opportunity to interact with different team members and experience the diverse perspectives within our company. 32:55
• We already had a remote work policy, but initially, we were not keen on hiring people from outside our region. However, we have now changed our approach and realized the benefits of being open to candidates from anywhere, as long as they are the right fit for the company. 39:29
• What I think draws people to us locally is our vibrant company culture. We offer 80% coverage for health benefits, provide bonuses, and host an amazing holiday party. While we work hard, we also know how to have fun. 40:13
• I am very excited about the next generation of the Visionary. Thrilled, beyond belief at the leadership team. I couldn't do any of this without the people who work with me daily. 42:07

 

Myth-Busted - Midwesterners ride cows to the school. 

 

Links -

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-langin-40ab607/ 

Company website: https://visionary.com/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/monicalangin/?hl=en 

 

Show Credits - 

Host - Varun Bihani & Jessie Coan

Produced by Bobby Soni 

Edited by Priyanka Sharma 

Content by Aakash Damani, Yashika Neekhra