Articles
Changing Perspectives...
on Authenticity
The MFA DE&I Council would like to see an industry where everyone can thrive, feel heard, supported, and safe to do their best work. Let’s meet the Changers who are sharing their own lived experiences to inspire us all to change for the better.
Changing Perspectives...
It takes bravery to show up authentically in life and at work
Pia Coyle, Managing Director, PHD Sydney
Ever wondered what it is like to be a witch in a corporate office? OK, ok, maybe I am not a witch, but I am highly intuitive, a little bit psychic and a tarot reader. Oh, and a Managing Director.
I live a life of two halves. On the one hand, I am scrutinising P&Ls, presenting pitch decks, reorganising teams and building culture in a busy media agency. I have been doing that for 24 years.
I love to see people grow and develop. I love to see a great media idea come to fruition. I love a spreadsheet, a killer slide that nails the audience, and a value equation. All very rational and very corporate things.
But I also love to meditate, to channel messages from spirits, and to read cards. I taught myself in COVID. The deck I brought from a random bookshop “chose me” by snagging my jumper multiple times. I have over 90 decks now and that is still my favourite. I can sense the messages that people need to hear. I read complex situations and give guidance to people who are looking for hope or for the answer.
It is beautiful and intuitive. Not scary like some people think. The cards don’t predict terrible things happening, they scratch the surface of things you have been pondering deep down, inviting you to reflect and open up.
In the middle of those two lives is my favourite thing – connecting with people. Using conversations and other tools to get to know them. Building trust and reliability.
And I have never seen it work better than when I combine my superpowers of leadership and tarot reading. Even the hardest nuts crack right open. People who have their guard up or only bring their professional self to work… they think they aren’t interested, or they don’t have any questions for the cards. But then they see me read someone else’s cards, and the mood instantly changes. They lean in. They get curious. They want a turn.
I mentor and coach a lot of media professionals in my job. Career conversations, advice on how to manage people or navigate a complex client situation. It is a natural extension for me to deliver the same service in the spiritual realm. I have been very lucky in that most of the people I work with have embraced the woo woo. Most want to know more about it and even experience it for themselves.
The ones who are more wary, still let me be me. They may shake their head and chuckle when I bring out the cards in the lunchroom, but they see the power of it for other people and they let it happen.
I love that I can show up completely professionally, do a great job, and lead an agency every day, but I can still be me.
It took some time to own my gift in a corporate setting, but honestly, once I started putting it out there, it was met with such a warm reception that I just kept going. It’s now created my own brand of leadership, that means connecting with people, first and foremost, as humans, and secondly as teammates, clients or partners.
It takes bravery (and maybe a bit of manifestation and magic) to own both sides of myself and show up authentically in life and in my job. Tarot has been an invaluable tool in owning my authenticity and having the resolve to keep showing up as all versions of me.
I have predicted office romances, client pregnancies, overseas travel and transfers, pitch outcomes (though these are the hardest by far to predict!). I can’t predict TV ratings or audit results with the cards, but I have seen even the most closed people crack open to hear their fortune and learn about themselves and their teams. In an age where all we do is exist in the hectic throws of more meetings, more work, more accountability, it’s nice to also have more connection.
I feel grateful that we live in a time where a little bit of woo woo is accepted, and even embraced. There is no doubt in my mind it has made me a better leader. There is so much power in bringing your whole self to work, and so by modelling it for my team, and the industry, I hope everyone gets inspired to show a little bit more of themselves to the people they work with.
So, if you’re interested to talk Tarot (or media) drop me a line. The cards don’t lie, and neither do I.
To broaden your understanding of DE&I, complete the SBS Core Inclusion course – Australia’s leading online DE&I training course – available for free to MFA member employees.
Changing Perspectives...
on LGBTQIA+
The MFA DE&I Council would like to see an industry where everyone can thrive, feel heard, supported, and safe to do their best work. Let’s meet the Changers who are sharing their own lived experiences to inspire us all to change for the better.
Changing Perspectives...
How to be a trans ally
Ellie Angell, Business Director, TrinityP3
Let me take you with me on a short journey, made from my house to a client meeting in the city.
As I walk down my road, I see two builders looking at me askance. They cross the road towards me to get a closer look. I can see their disappointment as they realise what I am. As I approach, they take up most of the pavement, so I have to squeeze by. ‘F****** freak,’ I hear one of them mutter, as I pass.
The station is busy; it’s rush hour. I walk along the crowded platform and sense many pairs of eyes raised to stare at me. When I catch anyone’s gaze with a questioning look, they quickly look away.
More of the same awaits me in the train carriage. Not everyone looks up, but enough to make me feel scrutinised, questioned. ‘Is that a… what is it, exactly?’ is the question I can feel them asking. A few people whisper to each other with subconsciously raised fingers pointed at me. Two older people look openly disapproving, until I meet their gaze.
Having left the station and walked through the CBD, riding the stares and doubletakes and having one person shout something unintelligible but clearly insulting at me as he passes in a car, I stop for coffee and give my order. ‘It’ll just be a couple of minutes, sir!’ says the barista, cheerfully. Is he joking, is that an insult, or has he made a mistake? I’m unsure, so I decide this time not to challenge him and turn away, my heart heavy.
I reach the lobby of the office I’m visiting and enter the elevator. I’m confronted by three women. Their animated chatter stops abruptly as I enter and they exchange nervous glances. They all exit together, on the floor below my destination. As the elevator doors close behind them, I hear one of them exclaim, ‘Well, THAT was interesting!’
What I’ve just taken you through is an amalgamation of many journeys. But here’s the thing. All of these exact incidents have happened to me, some of them many times; and a combination or variance of them happens every time I leave my house. Every day. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always something.
Don’t get me wrong. Many people either don’t see me as trans, or don’t care. There are many, many trans people with far greater challenges than me when it comes to ‘passing’ without notice.
But these micro-aggressions are a constant feature of my day-to-day life. And while each one is minor in itself, they can have a profound cumulative effect on my mental health, on the effort it takes me to move through the world.
Trans people need allies now more than ever. All that I want – and I’d guess this applies to most trans people – is to be normalised.
We’re not a performance, we’re not a curiosity to be gawped at, we’re not walking fetishes or fantasies, we’re not monsters; we’re mostly just trying to live our lives. We are real. We exist.
Just as I can feel micro-aggression, I can feel micro-support. The person who walks by me without reaction, or who issues a reflexive, friendly smile.
The person who includes me in a group conversation, without affectation. The person who interacts with me in any environment without ‘trans’ being a topic, at all. The person who accepts me genuinely and unquestioningly, rather than at surface level.
Activism, petitioning, marching, supportive movements like NION, voting for pro-trans political movements, educating others, standing up against bullying and bigotry… all of these forms of allyship are so important.
But never forget that you don’t have to be the one at the rally. You can be an ally without ‘doing’; allyship is also about being.
Being genuine in the way you show up with a trans friend, or colleague, or relative, in a way that makes them feel real, and that being trans is not all that defines them.
Trust me, they’ll be able to tell when it happens. They’ll be able to feel the micro-support, and they’ll take so much strength from it.
I know I do.
To broaden your understanding of DE&I, complete the SBS Core Inclusion course – Australia’s leading online DE&I training course – available for free to MFA member employees.
Changing Perspectives...
on Email Etiquette and Inclusion
The MFA DE&I Council would like to see an industry where everyone can thrive, feel heard, supported, and safe to do their best work. Let’s meet the Changers who are sharing their own lived experiences to inspire us all to change for the better.
Changing Perspectives... In defence of emojis - is 'unprofessional' email etiquette actually inclusion?
Natalie Sareff, Strategy Director, Spark Foundry Australia
Confession: I spend way too much time on LinkedIn.
I’ve stayed way past the wave of ‘what getting engaged/moving house/clipping my toenails taught me about B2B sales’.
I’ve endured the AI slop.
But I was finally tipped over the edge by one line in a guide on ‘Email Etiquette for Professionals’:
“Avoid using slang, emojis, or overly informal language in professional settings.”
Slang, I understand. Whether it’s specific to generation, culture, or occupation, slang can be exclusionary. I should know – for 20+ years I used idioms from my dad’s first language, isiZulu, and no one knew when I was warning them that it was raining outside a windowless classroom. Sorry, damp university friends.
But I will not let ‘etiquette influencers’ take my emojis. And I don’t think you should, either. Because emojis are one of our most useful, universally recognisable tone indicators.
What’s a tone indicator, you ask? Grammarly says: “Tone indicators are simple symbols or letter combinations that show what sentiment a message is meant to express.”
They can help anyone who struggles interpreting the vibe of an SMS (we’ve all been on the receiving end of a ‘k’). But they’re particularly helpful to Autistic people, and folks who experience anxiety or ADHD.
If you text me, ‘Can we talk ASAP?’, I (hopefully) look reasonably chill. But I’ve already assumed I’m something I like to call ‘quadruple fired’ (fired, then immediately rehired, specifically so I can be fired again… You get the idea). For neurodivergent workers, imagination can be a strength, but also an anxiety nightmare.
Here are some tactics I’ve picked up to incorporate tone guidance into communication.
- Use a couple of extra words to add tonal context. A meeting invite called ‘Quick Chat (good news)’ provides more reassurance and clarity than ‘Quick chat’.
- Meeting agendas! An Outlook invite can frame an unexpected conversation beautifully – or leave the recipient spiralling. If you can’t provide open context due to confidentiality, use the private appointment functionality.
- Chat to your direct reports about whether they like dicey news immediately or prefer time to prepare. Neurodivergent people often experience rumination, where negative possibilities psychologically overwhelm. They may prefer limited overthinking time.
- If you feel awkward using formal tone indicators like /gen (genuine) or /srs (serious), emojis can often work. From indicating a joke, to acknowledging a message has been received or expressing appreciation, emojis are one of the simplest ways to add tone and make communications clearer.
I’m sure there are folks who respond to chat like this with a wry chuckle, or mutter about ‘coddling millennials’.
However, after a year of significant changes across the industry, most of us have earned our badge of honour for suffering through a baseline of anxious uncertainty. Is there harm in devoting a few extra seconds a day to lending each other a little grace?
After all, sometimes even a direct manager or client deserves a little 
as a treat.
To broaden your understanding of DE&I, complete the SBS Core Inclusion course – Australia’s leading online DE&I training course – available for free to MFA member employees.
Changing Perspectives...
on Gender
The MFA DE&I Council would like to see an industry where everyone can thrive, feel heard, supported, and safe to do their best work. Let’s meet the Changers who are sharing their own lived experiences to inspire us all to change for the better.
Changing Perspectives... Visibility Beyond Stereotype
Jennifer Thomas, Associate Director, Experience Strategy, Merkle Australia
I’m slowly catching up on the medical drama The Pitt. In season 1, there is an episode where a transgender patient, Tasha Cordera, was treated for a routine health issue. Her gender was not the plot point. There was no tragic backstory or struggle for acceptance. Instead, the show highlighted a simple, powerful act: a nurse noticed that her medical chart was incorrect and updated it to reflect Tasha’s correct pronouns.
This is so powerful, but so rare. In media and advertising, we over-index on the narrative drama of the struggle of queer people because it creates a quick, high-stakes narrative for a thirty-second ad. While this might be effective for immediate recall, it relies on stereotypes that do a disservice to our actual lives. We are more than our challenges.
And on the other end of the spectrum, artists like Ethel Cain use their platforms to show their trans bodies in ways that defy traditional expectations of what a woman or a transgender person is meant to be. Both incredibly vulnerable, while also a powerful rejection of the need to be palatable to others.
For true visibility, we need both: the quiet updating of a medical chart and the loud, proud declaration of identity.
For many queer people, visibility without protection is a trap. I have worked with colleagues who choose to remain in stealth mode because being known as transgender could put their physically safety at risk. When we ask people in job applications if they need additional support, many say no. They do not want to take up space or, more importantly, they do not want to become a target.
As leaders, we cannot simply state that the door is open. If a person takes a leap of faith to be authentic and is met with bullying, awkward silence, or physical harm, the leader has set them up to fail. True inclusivity requires proactive evidence.
I have experienced this personally. My manager had simply included pronouns in their email signature: a simple gesture that let me know I was safe with them. But when I came out to them, they didn’t just offer platitudes. They asked for my consent to handle the difficult conversations for me. By doing some of the heavy lifting, they proved she had my back and made the workplace a genuinely safe space for me to do my best work.
To change our industry, leaders must be the ones to take the first uncomfortable step. They must prove that vulnerability will be met with support rather than risk – that’s the only way to move beyond performative dates on a calendar and toward a culture where everyone belongs.
To broaden your understanding of DE&I, complete the SBS Core Inclusion course – Australia’s leading online DE&I training course – available for free to MFA member employees.