An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
You can reach a broader audience for your products or services when you have a diverse team that can help you understand things from their unique perspectives. We all have a story to tell, and all of our experiences are unique to us and our communities. Being authentic in your messaging when trying to reach out to new markets is key.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sohini Mitra.
Sohini has spent the last 20 years immersed in trade shows and events. Her background includes clients in the healthcare, technology, consumer products, and gaming industries. She has also been instrumental in helping build and empower teams. “Together, we can make anything happen” has been her go to motto.
In this role, Sohini manages the activities of Non-Enterprise Account Management, Meetings & Events, XM-IQ and the Experiential Production departments as well as supporting and managing the overall Account Management business process.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
The funniest story is that for most of my life until about 5 years ago, I was pronouncing my last name wrong. I had no idea I was doing that until about 5 minutes before going to present an RFP submission. Turns out my parents thought it was cute when I learned how to say my name as a toddler and just let it slide. One of coworkers brought it to my attention and when I asked my dad — he confirmed I was saying it wrong. What I took away from that is that family loves you no matter what. They are always in your corner!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
I have learned that when people show you who they are, believe them. It’s always great to give people second chances, even third…but at some point, you have to see if people are trying to walk all over you and take you for granted. Know your worth!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I am grateful to my mother. She showed me from a young age how to be strong and speak my mind. She supported me in all my goals and was my biggest cheerleader.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We have a very entrepreneurial spirit where creativity and out of the box thinking is applauded. Everyone here is willing to help each other out and that family mindset is what gets us through, even through this unprecedented time!
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m currently working on a lot of internal processes and procedures and even though that might not seem exciting, I am excited about it. It will help all my coworkers streamline their work processes and help us exceed expectations all around.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
As a woman of color in a leadership position, I try to be a good role model for the next generation. If you can see it, you can be it and I hope that if I can show even just one youngster that nothing or no one can stop you from being the best you can be, then I have accomplished my goal.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. You can reach a broader audience for your products or services when you have a diverse team that can help you understand things from their unique perspectives. We all have a story to tell, and all of our experiences are unique to us and our communities. Being authentic in your messaging when trying to reach out to new markets is key.
2. Having a diverse team shows your employees that the company is dedicated to creating an inclusive workforce which will lead to higher employee satisfaction and retention. We all know all the time and effort it takes to onboard new employees. When employees are happy and there is internal growth, that helps keep costs down and makes employees want to stay with you longer.
3. It’s been shown in many studies that the younger generation overwhelmingly believes in social justice and causes. Being able to share a mission of a diversification, equitability, and inclusivity will define your corporate identity to help you distinguish yourself from your competitors. So many retailers now are sharing stories of minority owned business they work with to show their consumers they are serious about helping with representation.
4. Innovation increases. Diversity comes in many shapes and sizes. One overlooked area are the career changers. Augmenting your team with folks outside of your industry, people who have been out of the workforce for some time, or people who have lost their livelihoods due to a global pandemic can recharge your team and get the creative juices flowing.
5. Having a broader candidate pool means you will have a higher chance of finding talent to help propel your company forward. If you constantly go to the same well for water, you will always get the same water. Try following the rainbow to a new babbling brook. Who knows what sort of talent you will find!
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
Listen. It’s that simple. Listen to what your employees are saying. They are the reason you are successful so instead of telling them what you think is best for them, listen to what they have to say. Whether is having flexible schedules, to helping with childcare — if you listen to what your employees need, they will be more productive for you.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
Understanding that with a large team comes a lot of different personalities and different needs. There won’t be a one-size fits all answer. You have to learn to adapt your managerial style to each individual. Now that’s not saying you have to have different rules for everyone, you just need to understand how to help each team member thrive.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
I am a huge fan of Shark Tank and the last few seasons they have been bringing in some Guest Sharks — so honestly anyone on the Shark Tank panel. They all have such interesting backgrounds and to see all sorts of different people rise to the top of their game is so inspirational. I couldn’t pick just one Shark!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
They can follow me on Linked In. I need to get better about posting and sharing content. It’s going to be one of my 2022 Resolutions!
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Sohini Mitra of Impact XM On How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
