Balancing the Grind with Jacqui Roth, Senior Brand Manager at Lion

Jacqui Roth is the Senior Brand Manager at leading food and beverage company Lion, where she manages the Greek yogurt, cream and dessert portfolios.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I began my career in 2014 on the Lion graduate program. I came off the program in May 2015. Six years later and I am still here, feeling grateful every day!

Throughout my time at Lion, I have been privileged to work on some incredible Australian brands including Big M, Dare Iced Coffee and most recently, Farmers Union Greek Style Yogurt and YOGO choc custard!

Some of my most memorable career highlights were working on Dare Iced Coffee. I launched our first new flavour into the range in over four years, managed a partnership with Hamish & Andy, launched a ‘fancier’ coffee fix in Dare Cold Pressed, launched Dare into new formats, trialling Frozen Dare in Coles Express and most excitingly, launched two new through the line campaigns for Dare and Dare Cold Pressed.

The ad won two out of the three film awards at the 2018 MADC awards.

In my current role, I look after our Greek Yogurt and Desserts portfolios. It’s a highly dynamic role and I have been fortunate enough to work on the re-positioning of Farmers Union Greek Yogurt which has led to the unveiling of our new campaign ‘Make Anything Zing’!

I’ve also launched a range of functional Greek yogurts into Woolworths so I am really eager to see how these go!

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2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

Each day is a little bit different which is what keeps me energised! On a standard workday, I get up around 5am, head to the gym, meditate, have a cup of tea and then head into work at 7:30am.

I start my day by checking and arranging my calendar to ensure that key priorities are mapped out. We have a lot of projects on the go as they relate to new products, cost saving initiatives, communications and advertising, and strategic planning for the next few years.

There is a lot of collaboration with others throughout my workdays, and I dare say there is very little silence amongst the team. We have great connections with one another and bounce and build ideas all day!

Yesterday started with a workshop on ‘building purpose’ which was inspiring followed by a WIP with our agency partners.

I then had a leadership meeting with my fellow team leaders, a sales and marketing collaboration meeting, a meeting with our international market teams to discuss recent launches, an NPD tracking meeting and a growth planning session with the broader team.

I finished the day with a daily check in & quiz- a new meeting addition to the calendar since the new way of working has been established.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

Absolutely! I am fortunate to work for a company that embraces and even encourages flexible and remote working. Personally, I prefer going into the office and being with people in the flesh.

However, I have surprised myself with how much I am enjoying working from home at this time. When I am in the office, there are days when my manager has suggested I leave early in order to make my evening yoga class! I’m really lucky.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

A couple of years ago, work-life balance for me would’ve meant trying to stick to 9-5 hours and arriving home at a reasonable hour to spend time with my husband and puppy!

However, over the last couple of years, my thoughts about work-life balance have markedly changed. To be honest, I believe less in work-life balance from a practical sense these days.

To me, my focus is on remaining calm and focused in all situations in my life, approaching them with gratitude and optimism.

Having standard working hours and time at home in the evenings was only critical to resolve the stress that I had felt during the day, so if I can control how I respond to circumstances and, therefore, reduce my stress response, my body doesn’t crave the rigidity of routine that it once did.

In saying that, I have a big focus on self care and always light a beautiful candle as soon as I get home, read a good book, eat a healthy dinner and if there is time, go for a walk. Weekends are all about family, friends, fresh air and relaxation.

5) What do you think are some of the best habits or routines that you’ve developed over the years to help you achieve success in your life?

Having a focus on self care has been the most life changing factor for me.

Starting my day with some exercise a few times a week, meditating every morning (and night when possible), listening to podcasts on my transit home (Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday is my favourite by far), lighting candles upon arriving home and going for evening walks have been the best additions to my routine.

Aside from this, developing and continuing to work on having a growth mindset has been most critical to achieving my goals.

I am constantly evolving my inner world with a focus on gratitude, controlling the controllables, having the confidence to listen and question without fear, the curiosity to explore and try new things, the energy to bounce back if the exploration doesn’t work and a bias for action.

My optimistic view of the world helps me and my team to remain calm in the face of change.

6) Are there any books that have helped you improve over the years?

• How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
• Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
• Daring Greatly by Brené Brown (and all of her books for that matter!)
• The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle
• A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
• The Universe Has Your Back by Gabby Bernstein
• The Judgement Detox by Gabby Bernstein

Next on my list is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

7) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?

Start with meditation and continue to have self awareness of my emotions throughout the entire day. If I am aware of how I am feeling in the present moment, then I can control my emotions and responses. This allows me to see things clearly and to maintain perspective!

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Definitely Brené Brown or Arianna Huffington – absolute super women!

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

I think that it is important to establish one’s own views on what work-life balance means as it will be different for everyone. For some people, this will mean practical boundaries or routines and for others, it will be more internal and intangible.

I would, however, encourage everyone to think about how balance can manifest even within the 9-5 hours and introspectively consider how to get the most from their days and themselves.

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