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Nothing can really prepare you for motherhood or a career in corporate.
But what if being a mother helped you thrive as a manager? And what if your career instilled the soft skills to motivate your children?
For the president of entertainment and brand ad agency Mocean, Erica Coates, the demanding nature of both roles has equipped her with the skillset to become a leader in the ad agency that saw a 250% increase in its consumer brand business since 2019. Coates’ promotion from chief operating officer to president in 2023 was part of a major leadership shift in 2023 after the company experienced rapid business growth. Before Mocean, Coates worked in production within the entertainment landscape.
Coates sat down with ADWEEK to discuss what a day in the life of a C-suite exec and working mom looks like, the importance of working for a company that respects home life and why there is no such thing as a perfect work-life balance.
Her words have been edited for length and clarity.
A day in the life
I usually start my day at about 6 AM and I start with a spiritual devotional. That’s what keeps me grounded and fuels my inner being. At about 6:15 or 6:20, I check emails to see if any clients on the East Coast need my attention on anything or if there are any overnight developments. Then I switch into mom mode and make breakfast and lunch for my daughter. While she’s eating breakfast, I’ll drink my coffee and I’ll ask her what she’s anticipating for her day, and we talk through that. Then I drop her off at school; depending on what my schedule looks like that day, it’s probably between 8 and 9 AM. I try to get a workout in. And then I start my official workday between 9 or 9:30.
I start that by reading the trades—ADWEEK, Campaign, Little Black Book, Variety, Fast Company—not just in advertising, but business and tech and innovation as well. My official meetings start at about 10 AM. I try to save the lunch hour for business development and networking. In the afternoon, I review scopes from the team pitch proposals, provide feedback, and then answer a few more calls. Take a few more meetings. But I aim to create blocks of 15 to 30 minutes throughout the day so that I can just focus. You need to collect your thoughts, and it’s hard to do when you’re going from meeting to meeting or call to call.