Canadian Ad Insider

Next up in our mini-series titled "5 Things You Learned in 2023," we hear from Dawn Bednarski who is currently Senior Director, Cards Marketing, RBC who shares some solid and timely lessons.

Dawn is well-known for her dedication and hard work towards any task assigned to her. She never hesitates to take up a new project, irrespective of its size, and has a remarkable ability to bring out the best in others. She has devoted most of her career towards enhancing her marketing and leadership skills, and over the past year, she has also worked on making herself mentally and physically stronger.

Enjoy the interview...

Here are the 5 lessons Dawn shared:

1. Stop trying to be perfect, no one’s asking me to be. I’ve chased perfect for my whole career and it’s exhausting. I also realized that my 80% is still more than many people’s 100%; so I can stop wearing myself out, and likely accomplish as much.
2. Pay attention and ask meaningful questions when you engage in small talk (coffee barista, water cooler acquaintances at work, etc). It will bring more joy for both of you. At the start of 2023, I had a friend pass away, and his celebration of life was in January. The amount of people who came and shared stories because they got to know him at a coffee shop, a local store, or his son’s guitar lessons, was staggering. It showed the impact of the meaningful connections he made, with purpose. And it was remarkable.-
3. Get a therapist - it’s very healthy, even if you’re not struggling. They can help with tools to navigate stress better, especially the stress that comes in our business of marketing.-
4. Don’t ignore lower back pain and think you can work through it; especially in your 40s! 
5. I know more about AI than I realized and it’s not that intimidating.

The purpose of this series is to learn about the experiences of individuals who have learned important lessons in their particular field or industry, and to share these insights with others in the business or academic community. Interested in being interviewed? Let's talk about what you have to contribute!