Takeaways
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Full Transcript:
Amy Evans (00:00.88)
So welcome to Women in Sales Leadership. I am so excited about today's guest. just, I'm gonna confess right away that she's a friend of mine. So, and I'm so lucky that she's one of my friends. So let me introduce you to my friend, Alexis Hambrick. So Alexis is an absolute powerhouse in the world of media and marketing. As a vice president at Warner Brothers Discovery,
Alexis (00:10.414)
you
Amy Evans (00:28.436)
She's led major growth initiatives, built high performing teams and driven strategies that fuel billions in revenue. She really knows what it takes to lead at a very high level. And today she's going to share her real story behind her incredible journey with you. So Alexis, thank you so much for being here. Welcome to the show.
Alexis (00:52.354)
Well, thank you for that wonderful welcome. I'm going to bring you everywhere to introduce me from now on.
Amy Evans (00:57.136)
No problem. I can do it. I would do it for you anywhere, anytime. Absolutely. Yeah. So Alexis, I would love for everybody listening to get to learn a little bit more about you and hear more about your story. So yeah.
Alexis (01:02.478)
Sounds like a plan.
Alexis (01:13.848)
Sure, sure, let's see. I grew up in Massachusetts in a small town outside of Boston, right on the water. Had a very idyllic life growing up. When I went to college, I went to Union College in upstate New York in Schenectady. I decided that of all things, I was going to become a Russian major because at some point I was going to translate for the sick Russians. That was my plan in life, which I'm sure my parents were thrilled with.
So I was also very independent and tired of my small town, small school, so wanted to do something different. Did a term abroad in Moscow, which was really pretty great. Got to learn a lot about myself, a lot of independence, doing things on my own and exploring a city by myself in a language that, quite frankly, I never mastered. And then when junior year rolled around, all of my high-powered finance friends,
were starting to get internships and then subsequent jobs right after early senior year. And here I was like, well shoot, what have I done? I got this Russian major, which I never really mastered. And here I am. So fortunately I had a connection with a company called Turner at the time. My uncle worked, he was a cable guy. And so he helped me get an interview. He said, I can get you an interview at Turner. And I said, the salad dressing guy?
I thought he meant Paul Newman, you know? So I went down to Turner in Atlanta. I interviewed and didn't get the job. I was actually told that the job had just been given to somebody, but come on down and interview anyway. And I was like, okay. But back then, AirTran gave $50 flights to students and said, sure, why not? So I met the woman who became a mentor of mine and
Amy Evans (02:42.938)
Perfect.
Alexis (03:09.582)
She called me and she said, you know, the job's already been offered to somebody, I'll let you know if it falls through. And sure enough, about a week later, she called and she said, the person didn't accept the job and we would love to have you. So that was the start of my career. And that was 25, almost 26 years ago at Turner. And through a series of acquisitions and mergers, we became, I'm gonna forget one of them, but we were Turner.
Amy Evans (03:23.472)
Wow.
Alexis (03:39.394)
we became WarnerMedia, then we became ultimately Warner Brothers Discovery. So lots and lots and lots of changes over the 25 years, handling, know, starting off with brands like CNN and TNT and Cartoon Network, ultimately morphing into HBO and now Max, which is what I do now. So now I am the VP of Partner Marketing for Max, and I work with
providers, distributors to help sell Macs on their platforms.
Amy Evans (04:13.296)
my gosh. Okay, so I'm just gonna confess right now that Alexis is my friend that knows everything about pop culture and what's happening like in TV and on streaming and she gets to rub shoulders with famous people. So she's very, very humble about it. But I have to say that you're the person that knows everything about what's going on in the streaming world. I love that about you.
Alexis (04:31.939)
Ha!
Alexis (04:39.138)
Well, I mean, I'm so lucky. do this really awesome. I get to be part of this really awesome industry where it is part of pop culture. I mean, what is everyone talking about right now? Parker Posey in the white lotus, right? And I was lucky enough to be a part of the junket where our press, our distribution partners, people like Comcast and Apple interviewed Parker Posey. And so I attended virtually. So it's really cool to be a part of those things. And I, I don't take any of it for granted. It is such a,
Amy Evans (04:49.848)
Yes. Yes.
Alexis (05:08.694)
a blessing to be involved in such a fun, fun industry.
Amy Evans (05:12.62)
my gosh. Well, I want to ask all about famous people that you've met. we might save that to the end if we've got time. I might surprise you with that question. I'm warning you in advance about the surprises. OK. Sorry. Thinking. Thinking about that. a couple of things I noticed. As you were describing your career journey, I heard you mention it. You said you had a mentor in your career. in speaking with the people that I coach,
Alexis (05:23.404)
All right, I'll have to start thinking of all the people.
Amy Evans (05:41.232)
and the executives that I consult with. Mentorship is almost always a theme and then there's always people who are really wanting more mentorship than they typically have. So I would like you to share for our listener, share about what your mentorship experience was about and what an impact that was for you and your career.
Alexis (06:09.164)
Well, I am a huge advocate of mentorship. It is something that is so very important to me. And I think it's so important to me because I've been so fortunate to have really great mentors in my past. And there's two kinds of mentors, right? There's the formal kind of mentor where it's a program that you're set up with a curriculum. Those are fantastic. I've been a part of those on both sides. But there's also informal mentors. And some of my bosses, I've considered my mentors.
people in a different department that, you know, I ask out for coffee and then that relationship just blooms over time and they start to get to know you and can give you some really great advice. I think that anyone that's lucky enough to have a mentor, especially early in their life or have many of them, sort of have a responsibility to give back as they get older and become more of a leader to help guide some of these young.
women and men, I've had some men mentees, but typically for me it's been women. And it's just, it's actually more fulfilling to me as a mentor, I think, than the mentees get out of it. There was a period of time where it just sort of fell off my radar and for whatever reason, business priorities changed and it wasn't as much of a focus and I didn't have that. And...
I didn't even realize how much I missed it until it came back into my life and I was like, this is the piece that I've been missing. This is what I really love to do.
Amy Evans (07:40.548)
Yeah. You shared with me about a mentor that had a really big impact on you.
Alexis (07:47.142)
Mm-hmm. I have had a lot and I've had a lot of impacts, but I've been probably thinking of Pat Falatico. Shout out to Pat who helps run a mentorship program in Atlanta called Path Builders. And Path Builders was a program, it was a year long mentorship program. So every month for a year, I met with Pat as a mentee and she was outside of my industry. She at the time worked for IBM and she also met with my boss.
Amy Evans (07:49.198)
Yeah.
Alexis (08:14.894)
to understand what were some of the challenges that I had. And I think what I shared with you is as a young person growing up at Turner when I was 22, I was very self-deprecating. I was sort of apologetic coming into media. I'm sorry, but I was the ditzy blonde. I was the punchline of a lot of jokes. I liked it. I leaned into it. didn't upset me or anything, but.
it became my brand, it became who I was. And so that was a roadblock for me in developing into a leader. And so Pat, after meeting with my boss at the time, Heather, they said to me that I need to own my power. And that I think is the single most important piece of advice that I have ever received in my career. And at the time I was like, what does that mean?
What does own your power? I have no idea what that means. And they were like, well, we can't really explain it to you. You just sort of have to figure it out. I was like, okay. So it took a long time. It took about six months. But after a while I said, I get it. This is what they mean. I need to be, rise to the occasion, have a stronger point of view, sit at the table, know that I can take up space and that what I have to say is valuable.
Amy Evans (09:11.312)
You're kidding.
Alexis (09:41.45)
It was like a light switch after that. That was the turning point in my career and it is definitely the piece of advice, not everyone needs that advice, but a lot of women who are lacking in confidence, that's the piece of advice that they need.
Amy Evans (09:56.72)
Well, and thank you for sharing that. I know that all of us need that kind of mentorship. I need it right now today still, right? I still use. I have coaches I've got mentored. You can mentor me, Alexis. I would love that. I'd be honored. And I appreciate what you shared about you feel like the people that you're a mentor for, that you feel like you get more out of the relationship than.
Alexis (10:06.702)
I'll be your mentor.
Alexis (10:11.662)
You
Alexis (10:24.037)
I do, hands down.
Amy Evans (10:25.646)
Yeah, say more about that.
Alexis (10:29.356)
I think, well, my most recent mentee, I won't mention her by name, but she was also in Path Builders. So was a year long program with her. And she came into the program sort of just bummed, just bummed out. She wasn't being seen. She wasn't getting where she wanted to go. And just, you know, after meeting her and seeing what she was going through together, we just, just developed a plan to gain more confidence and
helped her realize how much value she brings and elevate her a little bit so that she was more of a strategic, viewed more as a strategic thinker rather than the doer. Gosh, she blossomed so much this past year. I mean, you could just see it. It was so wonderful to see. She even did a dance performance at the retreat, like a karaoke dance performance in front of the whole company. It was a requirement for like initiation, which sounds so strange to me, but.
Amy Evans (11:26.704)
Okay.
Alexis (11:27.054)
Yeah, so she did. mean, she just it was amazing. And so just seeing that, you know, and I know I had a small part of that. I know that she did all the work, but seeing what she was able to accomplish just made me feel so great for her. So that's what I love.
Amy Evans (11:42.96)
I hear you. I absolutely get that. there there is something about bringing and sharing your gifts and your journey with others who are young who just almost everybody I know did need a little encouragement. Right? Somebody to have faith in them. And to say, Hey, look, I see your gifts. I see it right there in front of you. And if
Alexis (12:02.541)
Yeah.
Yup.
Amy Evans (12:12.552)
You could just kind of let go of some things that are keeping that you from seeing it, then the minute you can appreciate that for yourself, you're just gonna be even more unstoppable than you already are today.
Alexis (12:23.702)
Yeah, it's amazing how much we can see that, you know, when people could see in me that I couldn't see in myself. And there's another woman who was also really amazing. she just, she's incredibly smart, incredibly smart, like had her master's from Columbia, I think. And she was just painfully shy, so shy that she would break out into hives when she started talking in front of a group.
And so we started working together and one of my, you'll hear me say one of my big things is visibility. You've got to be visible. And I don't want to be annoying, like, you know, you have to keep your camera on, but seriously, keep your camera on because that's how people know who you are. And my other thing was always, if you're going to start, if you're starting a meeting series, you've got to say something the first or second meeting. Otherwise you become the girl who never says anything, right? And then it gets harder and harder to say something. So.
Amy Evans (12:53.967)
Mm-hmm.
Alexis (13:16.374)
in working with this one woman who was so shy and she had her camera off all the time. She was also stunningly gorgeous. And like, can you not use this to your benefit? Like have your camera on, you are so pretty. And so after some time, she kept her camera on and she started saying something in the beginning that was organic, not forced. And over time, you could see that she finally was like chiming in on the conversation. She was bringing her point of view. She had opinions.
People started asking her. I mean, it was amazing. It was amazing to see. All she needed was that encouragement and that push.
Amy Evans (13:52.142)
I love it, I love it. I'd be curious to know, bet I can like feel the question that the people listening right now would have is, A, I bet they're gonna start looking up your group Pathfinders that you've mentioned a couple times. Yeah. And then the other thing is, know, for somebody to, Alexis, for somebody who's not,
Alexis (14:09.814)
They should.
Amy Evans (14:22.33)
doesn't have a mentor today and isn't quite sure how to go about it or wants to think about doing that. What recommendations would you have?
Alexis (14:31.144)
here's the thing. People want to be sought after. They want, like, if you were to reach out to someone and say, I'd love to meet with you, people think that that person's too busy or they don't want to help or, you know, why would they want to meet with me? No. If someone reached out to me and said, hey, I'd love to get to know you, I would love that. That is, you know, that is so flattering and I don't know anybody that would not...
have time for somebody. I would say, know, here's what I would say actually. So when I talk about networking, networking is really important to me. And I think about it in three circles. I'm sure somebody taught me this. But if you think about that inner circle, that's your board of directors, right? So that's the people that would go to bat for you no matter what. You want strong connections in there. Those are your people. Those are like when they say,
You know, Alexis is up for the promotion. They say, she's amazing. We want her, right? Then you get this outer circle, and these are the people that are like acquaintances that, you know, they like you, but they're probably not going to like, go to bat for you, right? But they like you. And then you get this outer ring of people that don't really like you, don't really care about you, whatever. So let them go. But the people on the inside, those are the ones in that second rung that I would cultivate.
and I would try to get to start a mentoring relationship. And it's, you know, it's as easy as saying, hey, I'd love to get to know a little bit more about your background. And networking is so important. You have to do it when you don't need it. If you do it when you need it, you just reek of desperation. Nobody wants to meet with you when you're just looking for a job. But if it's really organic and authentic and it's just, hey, I'd love to learn a little bit more about you. And then if it feels good, if it feels natural, then it's...
Amy Evans (16:09.008)
you
Alexis (16:25.452)
I really enjoyed this conversation. Could we meet again? And then it just couldn't develop from there. Or you could be completely honest and say, I'm looking for a mentor. Would you be open to that?
Amy Evans (16:35.952)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I tend to agree. I love that. I love that encouragement to be fearless about it. I think that's correct for the people who are in a position to mentor you. They are likely not too busy or even if they are, they may know somebody really awesome who would have time to spend with you. Yeah.
Alexis (17:04.084)
Absolutely. Yeah, they might have someone on their team who's looking to develop their mentorship skills. You know, it might not be them, but they might have someone else that it would be a win-win for both of you.
Amy Evans (17:16.228)
Yeah, yeah. And to me, think I said this earlier, I think mentorship isn't just for the, you people who are early in your career. think mentorship continues on as we were all going to be going through continued changes were at different life stages. We are still encountering things that are new. And all of us are growing, you are growing and having
the voice of a person that's been there before as a guide who is just third party, selflessly being helpful to you, right?
Alexis (17:55.854)
And they can see things a little differently that you can't see. know, they're going to see that, there's that girl that you think is your best friend, but she's clearly being competitive with you and maybe you're not seeing it. You know, like they'll see things for you.
Amy Evans (18:00.058)
Yeah.
Amy Evans (18:08.323)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You and I also spoke about, and I think this is a topic that you could spend a lifetime figuring out how to do the right way. Or maybe there's not a right way, but like more of it and properly. And that is delegation. You told me that you feel that you have figured out things that work for you for delegation.
Alexis (18:37.526)
Much to my team's dismay, I have. Now I remember when I was a young, I was in a program called, I think it was called Rising Leaders or something, and I went to this program and I said, I just can't figure out how to delegate. I don't know how to do that. And no one really could tell me how. Again, I think delegation is one of those things that you have like an aha moment and all of a sudden you're like, I got this.
Amy Evans (18:39.408)
Well, yeah.
Alexis (19:06.694)
And I imagine there's a thousand books I'm delegating, but I don't know that you ever really know how to do it until you do it and it feels right. So yeah, that was something that I struggled with early in my career and I fortunately got really good at really fast, so quickly that people on my team turned my name into a verb and started saying, I got hambricked.
Amy Evans (19:29.104)
What would that mean if someone said they got hand-wrecked? What are they talking about?
Alexis (19:30.753)
in a very loving way.
Alexis (19:34.924)
That means I told them to do something for me. So I just dumped a bunch of junk on their desk, probably.
Amy Evans (19:41.648)
Yeah. Have you in your learning how to delegate, have you found some things that worked, like didn't work so well in experimenting and learning?
Alexis (19:51.246)
I always had a rule that, okay, so you know how people have like to do lists and there are some people who love a to do list and they'll just write on the to do list to have the to do list, right? I always, my rule of thumb was always like, if you can do it in five minutes, just do it, take care of it. Don't even put it, don't spend your time putting it on the list. But for those things that do have to go on the list, I think that you're also, you know, getting help gives a couple of things. It someone else a chance to do, do something to step up.
Amy Evans (19:57.391)
Yeah.
Amy Evans (20:07.408)
Mm-hmm.
Alexis (20:20.446)
And it also expands the way that could be done. I could do it this way, but maybe so-and-so on my team might do it this way. If you're going to delegate, you also have to be okay with that and you lose control, which is very hard for control freaks, which I can be. So you have to be okay with doing it the other way, letting your friends do it or your team do it. But yeah.
Amy Evans (20:36.72)
Me too. Yeah.
Amy Evans (20:46.404)
Yeah. One of the things I, I think I went to like a two day long leadership training and there was one thing and you know, if you, if you spend two days in a leadership training and get one thing, maybe it's worth it because this is the one thing I got. And it was on delegating and the question to ask yourself about for control freaks like me, right? To help identify.
Alexis (21:09.613)
Later.
Amy Evans (21:13.228)
if something can be delegated. And the question that I learned in that training was, am I the only person who can do this? Yeah. And if the answer is yes, then hello, I need to be the one doing it. If the answer is no, then it's time to find somebody else who can do it. Yeah.
Alexis (21:22.754)
Right. Right.
Alexis (21:33.518)
Yeah, for sure. And another way to look at that is you sit down and you figure out your hourly rate. How much is the company paying you per hour? Right? So say, say it's a hundred dollars per hour. Is this task worth a hundred dollars an hour or is this really worth $70 an hour? Right? Like how much is this task worth? And then when you start thinking about that, it can
Amy Evans (21:41.58)
Amy Evans (21:54.234)
Uh-uh.
that about that way.
Alexis (21:59.412)
it can make you feel badly for not delegating. Like, why am I spending the time on this if this company's paying me for that?
Amy Evans (22:05.634)
Mm, I love that. I love that. So I'm going to a couple more questions for you. one of them is, is there, beyond the networking and the mentorship, is there anything else that you would share with? Talk to my listener, Alexis. What would you share giving advice to someone who's earlier in their career? Or maybe even at a point where
They're not early in their career, but they're ready to start growing again. What comes to mind to you of something you would say to keep in mind?
Alexis (22:38.157)
Mm-hmm.
Alexis (22:42.242)
I would say that you don't have to grow within your career to keep growing. I think community service and just community support, it looks like, doing things in your community can really help you grow in ways that are even bigger than you could at work because you're given bigger responsibility. Tasks or jobs are outside of your current scope where you can really develop.
those skills. I also think that that's a great place to practice leadership because oftentimes if you're volunteering, you're given a seat at the table that you might be at the seat of the seat at the table with, you know, CEOs or people from other organizations who you're all equals then you're all the same level and your idea is worth the same as the CEO or the head of a foundation or something else from this other group, you know.
And so it builds that confidence and it helps you understand that you do have great ideas and you do have value to bring. Even if you're not able to show that at your current role in your current job, those are, those are great options. And also they're really fun to be involved with your community. It's, it's another thing that fills you up. You know, you feel like you're giving back and I think I can't
I can't say enough good things about being involved in your community. I was on a board in Atlanta that I loved, I'm sure you went to events with me, for I think eight years. It was called Horizons Atlanta that underserved children. It was a summer learning program. And it was just such a great experience because I was on the board with the heads of schools from all these private schools and all these foundations and big corporations.
And eventually I was probably like 33 and I was, well, I'm definitely doing the math wrong if I said eight years. So I was a little bit older than that, but I was the head of the executive committee. So, you know, I had a big role on this board and I was young. And so with really influential people around Atlanta, was an awesome opportunity.
Amy Evans (24:57.658)
Yeah, my gosh. I'm so glad that you brought that up. I think that's an absolutely hidden gem of opportunity for growth, development, and you're going to meet some really amazing people. And of course, most importantly, the fulfillment of bringing something back to the community. All right, so I warned you was going to do this. I feel like I have to now because I set everybody's expectations. I was going to ask about this. So.
Alexis (25:03.0)
Mm-hmm.
Alexis (25:15.363)
Yeah.
Amy Evans (25:23.728)
Do you have some like favorite celebrities that you've met or rubbed rubbed with like?
Alexis (25:31.426)
Well, since we're living in a virtual, since we were living in a virtual world, I haven't been in person with many, but I'm on virtual junkets a lot. You know, one that I loved, and of course she didn't meet me. I was a lurker in the background, but just walking. But somebody who I was so impressed with was Jodie Foster. She was, she was just, she plays a lot of darker roles. And so the face that you're seeing is sort of like a,
Amy Evans (25:35.609)
Right.
Amy Evans (25:39.364)
Yeah.
Amy Evans (25:49.989)
Wow.
Alexis (26:02.382)
just a darker, darker role. don't know how to describe it, but she was so bright and happy and her eyes were sparkling and she's smiling. And I was like, this is amazing. This is the side of her that you don't see in the movies as much. And she was just this really positive ray of light. And I really loved seeing her. She was great. Yeah, I'm trying to think. I don't know. have to think some more, but these junkets are really fun to participate in because
Amy Evans (26:22.522)
So cool. Anybody else?
Alexis (26:30.466)
I'm a fly on the wall in these interviews. And then when they turn the cameras off, then they're just talking with their staff, which is always very kind and benign. Nothing's weird. But it's just neat to see people in their own environment.
Amy Evans (26:45.014)
I it. love it. Well, Alexis, you have been speaking of kind and sparkling. I'm so grateful for the time that you spent today and for this really excellent insight and advice that you have for anybody who is curious about how do they continue to grow, how do you continue to develop and learn how to become more comfortable and confident in delegating.
So thank you so, much for joining today. was such an absolute pleasure to have you. Thank you so much.
Alexis (27:18.488)
Aw, thank you for asking me. I appreciate it.
Amy Evans (27:21.36)
Yes, alright. Well, I'll let us go. Thank you.
Alexis (27:25.262)
I
