In 1998, Street Level Studio (SLS) hired a young graphic designer from Minnesota named Tanya Fretheim. By 2015, she was the agency’s owner and CEO. To celebrate Women’s History Month, we asked Tanya to talk about her inspiration and career accomplishments, as well as the challenges for women in leadership roles.
Can you share some of the women who inspired you?
There’s no shortage of them, thankfully—from Gloria Steinem, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Michelle Obama to Frida Kahlo, Sinead O’Connor, and Patti Smith. Oh, and Sarah Thomas, the first full-time female official in NFL history. Talk about breaking into the boys’ club!
On a more personal level, I’ve been blessed by wonderful female role models, including my mom, Faith; my great aunt Ada; and one more that may surprise you—my high school math teacher, Marlys Henke.
When I was in 10th grade, Mrs. Henke pulled me aside one day and suggested I join our school’s math team. At the time, there were NO girls on the math team. In fact, there were no girls on ANY of the math teams in the entire St. Paul Public School system! She knew I was good in math and that I had potential, but I think she also recognized an opportunity to strike a blow for equality.
With her help and encouragement, I signed up, and by the time I graduated, I was no longer the only girl on the team. Eventually, Mrs. Henke extended her efforts beyond just doing the same for a lot of girls at my school. Her one-woman “movement” became a citywide program that helped turn around entire math programs in underperforming schools.
Did this experience help shape your own leadership style?
You know, I’ve seen a lot of different leadership styles over the years. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. In my opinion, leadership with a capital L isn’t about telling people what to do. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In addition to teaching math, Mrs. Henke taught me an even more important lesson: how empowering it is to create opportunities that let others shine.
I believe leadership is less about being the boss and more about enabling my team to succeed. But to do that, I need to know enough about the day-to-day work to see those opportunities coming and know who’s ready to take on what. That requires being in the trenches and seeing the work as it happens. Do I get it right every single time? Of course not. But our average employee tenure is around 8½ years, which is way beyond the standard in our industry. So, I’d like to think I’m doing something right.
In your role as a woman business leader, do you feel an obligation to create more opportunities for women?
I don’t think I would say I feel obligated. First and foremost, my obligation is to our clients and to our employees. We’re here to do great work for our partners, and talent and ability are what matter, not gender. I want to ensure our employees feel empowered to do great work, and that doesn’t happen when people feel isolated or singled out. Diverse thinking plays a very important role in being able to do creative work that all kinds of audiences can identify with. And having female perspectives is always an advantage!
What opportunities have you experienced as a woman in leadership?
I’m not sure gender has played a huge role. What I can say is that my status as a female business owner puts me in a unique position to connect and foster relationships with other women who continue to inspire me.
For the past few years, I’ve made it a Street Level Studio tradition to connect with female business owners in our area in honor of International Women’s Day. It’s a small but meaningful gesture. When we first started doing it, we stopped by to deliver a card and a bunch of daffodils to the female owners and employees at each business. I’ll never forget that first year. One woman was so moved that we would take the time to celebrate her, she got teary.
Being able to empathize, understand, and connect with others—what some people think of as traditionally female strengths—is always key.
Does that mean women make better marketing professionals?
I did read somewhere that something like 60% of CMO roles are held by women right now. That certainly was not the case 20 years ago. But does that mean marketing is becoming a female-dominated industry? I don’t think so. I believe marketing is and always will be simply human. It’s our job to connect with everyone, everywhere.
But by the same token, I know there are plenty of audiences that I personally will have absolutely no shared experiences or connection with. That’s why I believe it’s so important to employ a diverse range of opinions and voices. Different experiences lead to different styles of thinking, which lead to fresh ideas.
It’s our job to help Street Level Studio’s clients look at things through a new lens, and we do that by bringing new points of view to the table. After being in business for over 45 years, I’m proud to say we do it well.
