For Media Marketing, the interview was conducted by Lenja Faraguna as part of the “Marketers of the Future” interview series.
Creativity in the industry is often associated with talent, experience, and big ideas, but much less frequently with the way people communicate with one another. Yet it is often the culture within a team that determines how far an idea will develop, how willing people will be to take risks, and how much courage an organisation will have to move beyond mediocrity.
Empathy and emotional agility have become increasingly important topics in discussions about leadership, creativity, and organisational culture in recent years. In creative industries, where collaboration, trust, and the open exchange of ideas are essential for developing quality solutions, the way leaders listen to, understand, and guide people can have just as much impact as professional competence.
In a new conversation from the “Marketers of the Future” interview series, Goran Radinović, Creative & Art Director of Studio Aritmija, discusses the role of empathy in leading creative teams, emotional agility as an extension of empathy, relationships with clients, psychological safety within organisations, and why the best ideas often develop in environments where people have the freedom to be themselves, express different opinions, and learn through mistakes.
How important are empathy and emotional agility in building a culture that attracts and retains talent?
I grew up in a time when obedience and diligence were highly valued in society. Because of that, I sometimes unconsciously activated some of my old patterns, especially in my relationships with colleagues who view work, authority, ideas, and purpose differently than I do.
Thank God I was already quite empathetic as a child, although more in the sense of social empathy. Back then, I often helped classmates with their studies. It was only later in life that I truly understood what real empathy means. Through listening, observing, and having conversations, I realized that if I wanted to build a strong culture at Aritmija, I first had to make part of that change within myself.
That does not mean I agree with everything today. It primarily means that I try to better understand why people think the way they do and where their perspectives on certain things come from. We also incorporated this principle, in a slightly adapted form, into our new studio identity as one of our four core values. Because it does not apply only to me, but to all of us.
As a former volleyball player, I was not the best loser, as I am naturally temperamental and highly competitive. I admit that I brought that attitude into the workplace at the beginning of my career. That is why I had to learn emotional agility as well, which I see as a natural extension of empathy.
I believe my colleagues today feel that I have no problem with different viewpoints. They can comfortably share all kinds of ideas with me. Good ones, bad ones, strange ones, even seemingly foolish ones. I encourage that, and I think they appreciate it. I am especially happy that this relationship works both ways.
And that is precisely one of the key reasons why people stay at Aritmija. Because they feel they can grow, contribute, and remain true to themselves at the same time.
Do you think empathy is encouraged in your environment, or are leaders expected to rely more on logic and decisiveness than on empathetic connections with people?
In a small team like Aritmija, people are much closer to each other than they are in larger studios and agencies. You cannot hide behind departments or hierarchy. Good energy is quickly felt, while bad energy can spread through the entire team like a storm. That is why leadership in a small team is especially important.
At the beginning of my career, when I was still part of other studios, I experienced firsthand what it means to build authority solely through power rather than knowledge and competence. That often led to toxic relationships. Thank God for those experiences, because when I started my own studio, I decided that if I ever had the opportunity to lead my own team, I would do better in this area.
However, that does not mean I compromise on certain things. It is absolutely necessary to clearly stand behind values, standards, and the mission so people know where we are heading as a studio. For us, this means giving people space to think, explore different approaches, experiment, and make mistakes. At the same time, everyone knows that the quality of the output and creative ambition are not negotiable.
That is why decisiveness and empathy are not opposing traits. In leadership, they must work together. Empathy without standards quickly becomes permissiveness, while decisiveness without empathy can quickly become pressure.
How do you personally, or within your organization, experience the connection between leadership empathy and business success? Do you have an example where it made a concrete difference in culture, results, or talent retention?
I see the connection between empathy and business success very clearly in our relationship with clients. In recent years, Aritmija has delivered quite a few breakthrough projects that, especially considering our size, achieved strong results and earned awards across the region. But a good idea almost never passes smoothly through the decision-making process.
When a client has to approve an idea, fears often arise. Fear of failure, internal pressures, reactions from others, and sometimes attachment to old solutions, traditions, or ways of working. This applies to both large systems and smaller clients. Only the form of fear differs.
I believe we made an important shift at Aritmija when we stopped viewing concerns solely as obstacles and started seeing them as part of the process. Once we began recognizing more quickly and accurately where those concerns came from, we were able to address them with better arguments and strengthen trust.
To me, that is empathy in a business context. Understanding the client’s context, responsibilities, internal dynamics, and perceived risks. All of that so you do not lose faith in the idea and can guide it more effectively toward execution.
Honestly, I think this is one of the reasons why the creative industry in Slovenia has unfortunately lost quite a bit of courage in recent years. That is why it is important for us at Aritmija to maintain high standards, because average solutions do not benefit anyone in the long run. Not the client, not the brand, not the agency, and not the people we are trying to reach.
That is why empathy matters in business. It helps better ideas actually get implemented. And a strong, breakthrough solution is always better for everyone in the end.
How do you think the Slovenian work environment understands and uses empathy as a leadership skill?
It is difficult to say because I do not have enough insight. I can only speak from my observations, and I would rather say that empathy is lacking in leadership than that there is too much of it.
I think it is still often confused with kindness and leniency. But empathy is not the opposite of decisiveness. It is the ability to understand people better, lead them better, and create an environment where they can genuinely contribute.
How did conversations about “soft” skills such as emotional culture, psychological safety, and empathy begin in your company?
From time to time, there are periods when someone on the team feels more insecure, tired, under pressure, or simply not in the best phase of life. As I mentioned before, in a small team these things are noticed quickly. Sometimes through work, sometimes through relationships, and sometimes simply through a person’s energy.
My door is always open for conversations, but over the years I have become more attentive and no longer wait for people to come to me first. If I sense that something is going on, I invite a colleague for a coffee or breakfast and start the conversation myself.
So far, we have not relied on special workshops or external programs focused on soft skills. We have built these things through conversations and by resolving real situations as they arise. We could probably take another step forward in this area.
It is important for me to emphasize that empathy does not mean everything is allowed or that every situation should be tolerated. That is why, in conversations, I always try to clearly communicate where the boundaries are, what the expectations are, and what standards apply. You always have to say when something is not meeting expectations or is simply below the level we stand for as a studio. The only difference is in how you say it.
How do you develop or support empathetic leaders? Is it something that is built or something you look for?
People are born with certain natural predispositions for empathy, and then it develops through upbringing, relationships, and experiences. That is why, when recruiting new team members, we do not look only at competencies but also at whether we fit together as people.
Skills can always be developed further, but a person’s attitude toward others is much harder to change. At the same time, empathy alone does not make someone a good leader. A good leader must understand people while also maintaining clarity, accountability, standards, and boundaries.
What does a company or employee without emotional agility look like? How do you notice it in people or leadership?
In creative work, a lack of emotional agility becomes visible very quickly. Especially when someone dismisses ideas that are still developing. Creativity can be very sensitive because it is often subjective. An idea usually does not have its final form at the beginning, so it needs to be viewed in context rather than immediately judged as good or bad. If you interrupt the process too early, you may lose something that could have evolved into a breakthrough solution.
At Aritmija, we have had situations where someone on the team struggled with that kind of process. Mainly because they reacted too defensively or too patronizingly during the idea development phase. The problem is not just that one idea. The problem is that this way of working quickly starts affecting the culture.
People become more cautious, less open, and less willing to share something that is not yet fully developed. In leadership, a lack of emotional agility shows up in a similar way. Through the need for control and through seeing different perspectives as problems too quickly.
Is empathy a matter of process, personality, or values? How do you integrate it into a company?
Empathy is first and foremost a matter of leadership and values. Leadership must establish the company’s compass through its values. Only when those values are clear enough can you start building a team that understands and lives by them in a similar way.
There are well-known examples from the financial and advertising industries where mergers and acquisitions also meant the merging of very different cultures. It quickly became clear that culture is not something you simply write on a corporate wall or in a brand strategy. It only becomes real when people genuinely live it.
That is why I would say you cannot simply “introduce” empathy. You can establish it as a value and support it through processes, but in the end it reveals itself through everyday decisions, conversations, and leadership reactions.
Have you ever seen a case where a brand improved externally because something changed internally, in relationships, thanks to empathy and emotional agility?
It would be very difficult for me to make that claim about a specific brand because you never see the whole picture from the outside. A brand’s success depends on many factors: strategy, product decisions, business model, leadership, and the market in which the brand operates.
However, I do believe that an important part of change can begin internally. Through a different leadership style, more listening, and more collaboration. That may not immediately show up in a campaign or a specific KPI, but it does show up in employee energy, company culture, and the way a brand ultimately presents itself to the outside world.
How do you recognize a leader who can “stay in empathy” without immediately trying to solve the problem or pass judgment?
You recognize such a leader by the fact that they do not rush. They do not interrupt you or finish your thoughts for you. They do not grab the mouse or pen from your hand and finish your emails.
Well, now I have recognized myself in some of that. Apparently, I still have some work to do in this area. 😄
Have you noticed concrete differences between leaders who develop these “soft,” yet fundamentally essential human skills, and those who do not?
Yes, the difference becomes apparent very quickly. A good leader does not create a less demanding environment, but a healthier demanding environment. People know what is expected of them while also feeling comfortable asking questions, making suggestions, expressing doubts, or admitting mistakes.
With leaders who lack these skills, caution quickly appears. People begin to hide or simply wait for instructions. That is dangerous in a creative environment because the team loses the courage to pursue breakthrough ideas.
If empathy were a KPI and had an ROI, how would you measure it? What would be proof that it works?
The KPI of empathy would be the overall pulse of the team. People would feel confident enough to bring even their boldest and strangest ideas to the table, while also understanding that this is what is expected of them. Because sometimes the best solution initially sounds a little wrong.
The ROI of empathy would be better projects. Projects that are not merely competent but more courageous. Projects where the team is capable of doing what our new slogan says: Let’s Jump Over Mediocrity.
When I talk to leaders, conversations about empathy are usually focused on teams and clients, and less often on empathy toward oneself during major decisions, changes, or internal dilemmas. Have you recently been in a situation where you had to give yourself empathy, space, time, or trust in order to make an important business decision? Please explain how that process unfolded.
I have been thinking about this question quite a lot recently. For a long time, I felt that at Aritmija we were already living many of our values, but we had never truly written them down. Our values, the inspiration that fills our creative sails, our attitude toward people, our approach to projects, our standards, and our culture.
On one hand, that is beautiful because it means the culture was not invented in a document but emerged from practice. On the other hand, it can also be risky. Aritmija is gradually growing. In terms of people, projects, and responsibilities. And if you cannot clearly communicate who you are, what you stand for, and what you are not, the culture can begin to erode.
That is why I took the time not to treat this merely as a visual identity or communications refresh. As we approached our 18th anniversary, it felt like the ideal moment to finally document the things we had been living for years. To bring together our strategy, identity, values, and new visual identity into something clearer for us, for the team, and for people outside the company.
This is also where our new slogan emerged very naturally: Let’s Jump Over Mediocrity. It is not just an external communication message. First and foremost, it is a commitment to ourselves. A commitment not to settle for easier, safer, or average solutions simply because they are more comfortable. Only after that does it become an invitation to clients and, if you like, a small encouragement to the industry to dare more together.
In that sense, this was also an exercise in empathy toward myself and toward Aritmija. Not just rushing forward into new projects, but taking the time to honestly examine what is worth preserving, what needs to be redefined, and what needs to grow together with us.
