How a five-minute chat paved the path from an intern to the managing director for Samantha Sakr

When one of Australia’s youngest managing directors Samantha Sakr decided to take the leap from intern to seize a permanent position at Taurus Marketing, it was prompted by a five-minute conversation with the agency’s founder Sharon Williams.

Six years later, at the age of 27, Sakr is now running the company as managing director.

Taurus, a Sydney-based integrated strategic marketing and PR agency, was founded in 1995 by Williams.

After a crash course as an intern, Sakr started as an account executive in January 2018 at Taurus, before being fast-tracked to senior account executive in six months, account manager after 12 months, and then moving up the ranks to the next position and level of responsibility.

Sakr told SmartCompany that she had taken the initiative to ask Williams an important question as an intern.

“I remember we were in our George St office at the time, I was in my final month of the internship and loving the environment and work. I walked up to Sharon’s desk, and I said, ‘Good morning Sharon, when you have a spare five minutes today, at any point, can I please have a chat with you’,” Sakr recalls.

“I remember she turned, looked at me, stopped everything she was doing, even the email she was writing and said, ‘of course. I can chat now’.”

“She walked me to the boardroom. I asked her for feedback on how I was going at the internship, what she’s noticed so far (good and bad) and then I shared (that) I’m interested in a position if available. The rest is history.”

“I wanted to love my job, so I was passionate and when there’s passion in the work you do, the quality and output instantly shows. I was willing to be challenged, get through the hard days because I always had people from the Taurus world around me who were supportive mentors who genuinely cared about the business and for me.”

“All upside” for Williams

Founder Sharon Williams says she decided to pass on the torch to Sakr because the timing was right.

“The person was right and I could provide a pathway for Sam. My passion is to grow people so it’s all within my plan and vision. It’s low risk. We are a great team. All upside,” she tells SmartCompany. 

“I also watch and see each team member’s career, so I’m always watching how they are progressing and what life/application skills they need to develop – so it’s normal to promote because that’s what I do.”

Williams credits tolerance, patience, and an absolute willingness to listen and see someone else’s point of view when it comes to her successful working relationship with Sakr. 

“I am in awe really. It’s a friendship; a partnership. Life happens, work gets in the way. So I am hugely protective of her and I know she is of me,” she says. 

“Business is hard, but it’s rewarding”

As for the challenges and positives along the way throughout her journey from intern to managing director, Sakr says every adversity leads to a door to new opportunities. 

“That’s how you have to look at challenges. You need to be gutsy and get through them, work them through,” she said.

“You will never, or at least rarely, have a solution straight away, but you sure have to be a problem solver and work with your team to ideate an approach.

“Life is always full of challenges, every single day there is a challenge professionally and most likely personally, but while we may have curveballs thrown our way, it’s our responsibility to catch them and run to the finish line – business is hard, but it’s rewarding.

“I believe moments of adversity teach us that entrepreneurial mindset. If you work for a company and in a place you genuinely love, then treat it as your own and problem solving will become second nature.

“That doesn’t mean you will always instantly have the answer, but it will come to you eventually because you’re working through it.”

Taurus employs a collective team of 20 which is mostly made up of women. 

When asked how she inspires and empowers her team, Sakr explains that to inspire, you have to always be inspired. 

“And I feel that every day with my team. Every single team member is their own success story and all their hard work, commitment and loyalty to the company and me never goes unnoticed,” she says. 

“For me as a leader, I don’t believe it’s about following in my footsteps, I believe it’s understanding what their own individual goals and career aspirations are. 

“I’m a firm believer that everyone has their own journey, and it’s a mutual responsibility for them to share that with me when I have my one-on-one mentoring session, as well as my duty to understand what everyone’s end game is and then contribute where and how I can.

“Not everyone wants to be a leader, some may want to be, but others may want to be great team players and executers – it’s not a right or wrong approach. It’s all about understanding where my team wants to be. Then helping them grow and mentor them from there.”

“Hybrid was always our model”

From office mandates to switching off from work after hours, Sakr also shared her take on the trends and policies taking shape this year.

“It’s very interesting and exciting to see how the modern workplace is evolving. I keep an eye quite closely. Of course what’s mandated is implemented, but I don’t necessarily always implement what’s trending,” she said. 

“I tend to implement what my team at the given time values and wants. Workplace mandates should be fit for purpose. Have a look at your current team – do they value WFH? Do they prefer being in the office?

“For us it’s a hybrid approach. We all value the in-office culture, collaboration, team lunch and coffee runs, as well as a nice balance for a heads down and mental health work from home day.

“Taurus has been offering WFH days way before COVID and hybrid was always our model. We also enjoy team offsites every quarter taking the team out and we do early Friday finishes when we can.”

When touching on the future of Taurus, Sakr said she’s adapting her own leadership style, while maintaining the 29-year strength the business has from its founder and the extended leadership team.

“Growth is our focus. We turn 30 next year – which is a remarkable achievement for a company that’s female-led. Big testament to Sharon and the resilience of Taurus – constantly adapting with the times, innovating, staying ahead and there’s much more to come,” she says.

“Watch this space.”