Heather Rist Murphy Of Collective Measures On How We Can Increase Women’s Engagement in Leadership and Management
Despite strides towards equality, women remain underrepresented in leadership and management roles across various sectors. In this series, we would like to discuss the barriers to female advancement in these areas and explore actionable strategies for change. We are talking with accomplished women leaders, executives, and pioneers who have navigated these challenges successfully, to hear their experiences, tactics, and advice to inspire and guide the next generation of women toward achieving their full potential in leadership and management roles. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Rist Murphy.
With proven strategic leadership and an unmatched ability to integrate content with performance data, Collective Measures’ Vice President, Brand + Consumer Engagement, Heather Rist Murphy leads the agency’s content marketing, SEO, social media, communications, and experience optimization teams. Heather has been in the industry for almost two decades, with a significant amount of her time being spent in leadership positions. She is a strong leader for her team and for all women at the agency and excels at recognizing individuals for their unique qualities and achievements.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
In college, I was on the path to becoming a psychologist. I obtained my B.A. degree in psychology, gained a minor in marriage and family therapy, and worked at the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research at the University of Minnesota. Quickly after graduating, I realized it was people’s motivations, actions, and mindsets that fascinated me, which led me on the path to communications and marketing.
I got my official start in the nonprofit world where my psychology background and marketing future merged. It was there I learned to roll up my sleeves and wear multiple hats. I quickly found a passion in communications via social media and dove in to learn all there was to know. This guided me to my communications, brand, and content marketing leadership roles at Cambria, Sun Country Airlines, and Deluxe Corporation. I brought this experience to Collective Measures about eight years ago, where I now lead the content, SEO, social, and communications practices and haven’t looked back.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting story in my career is more of a moment of discovery. This moment was when I learned to trust the value I bring to the table and make decisions based on that knowledge. Prior to this realization, I would pour all of my time into my work and prioritize it over other important areas of my life. I did this because I thought it was the way to prove myself and get where I wanted to go in my career. Through a combination of mentors, life experiences, and exposure to healthier balances, I realized it was my smarts, knowledge, intuition, and experience that contributed to my value — not the amount of time or energy I spent pursuing it. This trust became my power. The more I stood in it, the more opportunities came my way. It’s something I now preach to my teams and anyone who comes to me for mentorship.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that significantly influenced your path to leadership?
Early in my career, I discovered my love for inspiring people and getting them on board with new ideas. While working in one of my past roles, I remember having a vision to bring home-design journalists from across the U.S. to Minneapolis to experience our company culture and facilities, educate them on our products, and create various memorable experiences for them along the way. Essentially, the idea was to be in the back of their mind when creating relevant editorial content. I had to paint this vision with both story and data to get a budget for it, as well as get teams invested in the concept. Long story short, it worked and paid off. I found this to be both fulfilling and exciting. Perhaps my ability to inspire and influence others was strengthened by my combined psychology and marketing/comms backgrounds. Ultimately, this strength led me on my path to leadership.
