Empowered — RV’s Employee Resource Group (ERG) for women — strives to foster a community that inspires, supports, empowers, and educates all women-identifying folks and allies of all gender identities. And one of our favorite ways to inspire and empower our community is simply by sharing the wisdom of the amazing RV women we get to work with every day.
On this month’s Empowered leaders feature, we talk to Editorial Director Julie Myhre-Nunes. We discuss her journey to content leadership, balancing a full-time manager role with motherhood, and more. Check out her conversation with Content Designer Jessa Hanley below.
Julie Myhre-Nunes joined Red Ventures in 2017 through the Bankrate acquisition. She’s the editorial director for our Puerto Rico businesses, leading the content teams for MySlumberYard.com, Reviews.com, and Safety.com.
When asked to describe Julie, colleagues use words like “determined,” “reliable,” and “sincere.” Tatiana Rosado Vidal nominated Julie, citing her ability to lead processes and people with kindness, grace, and humility.
“Julie consistently embodies RV beliefs,” Tatiana says in her nomination. “Winning the right way and leaving the woodpile higher come to mind, but I’m sure I’m not the only one that can attest to her empathetic leadership and her charismatic, “hello everyone!” once she joins Zoom meetings. She’s candid and confident in her communication, inspiring those around her to trust her decisions and ability to lead.”
Jessa Hanley: To get us started, what does a typical day as an Editorial Director look like?
Julie Myhre-Nunes: Meetings, meetings, meetings — 1:1s, content team meetings, business meetings, performance meetings, lead meetings, RV Puerto Rico (RVPR) women meetings. When I’m not in meetings, I’m helping my direct reports solve day-to-day problems, developing or implementing content strategy for my three sites, pulling data on how our content performs (shout out to RVPR’s content dashboard Selene), approving my team’s freelance requisitions in Workday, or planning events/programs with the amazing RVPR women.
JH: Did you always know you wanted to lead an editorial team? What (or who) has helped you stay on course to achieve this role?
JMN: If you asked me what I wanted to be in college, I would have told you a reporter. I love journalism and what it represents. It wasn’t until I joined NextAdvisor in 2013 that I got a taste of where a career in content creation could take me. Once I learned of the trajectory, I knew it was meant for me.
JH: As a people leader, how do you effectively motivate yourself and others?
JMN: I’m someone who thrives when I have personal goals to work toward. They can be huge goals, like I want to buy a house one day, or daily goals, like I will finish this by the end of the day because this team or person depends on me. I’m a big advocate for accountability, and I never want to be the reason why something can’t launch or happen.
I motivate my team with understanding and respect. I try to put myself in their shoes and understand their frustrations or challenges. I also try to give them a safe space to share feedback and treat them with respect when they misstep or make mistakes. No one is perfect, and I found through my career experiences that it’s a lot easier to feel motivated when my manager listens to me, tries to understand my perspective, and treats me with respect.
JH: And as a mother, how do you do it? How have you learned to balance both work and home, and have there been sacrifices along the way?
JMN: Honestly, I ask myself these questions all the time. Balancing both work and home is all about setting boundaries and communicating them to your manager, direct reports, and even your spouse/partner/family. I keep my work and family time separate. My manager knows that they’ll get 100% of me during the day, but when my son gets home, I’m 100% dedicated to him and my husband. That’s our special time, and it’s not fair to my son or my husband to be checking work emails or only giving them 50% of my attention. Once my son goes to bed, if I have more work to do, I communicate that with my husband, so he’s aware that I need an hour or so to catch up.
There have definitely been sacrifices along the way. I have had to miss meetings/events/whole days of work to take care of my son, and I’ve even had my son on a handful of work calls in 2020 (shout out to my direct reports for meeting with me while Ollie was screaming in the background or demanding that I hold him).
More recently, I’ve had to skip my sites’ performance meetings to attend a weekly appointment with my son. It was only for two hours per week for five weeks, but that appointment happened to land during the weekly Safety and My Slumber Yard meetings. Thankfully, I could catch up on those meetings via Zoom recordings, but I had to sacrifice that work time to be there for my son — a sacrifice worth making.
JH: Self-advocacy is important in achieving success by letting others know about your work preferences and needs. How have you advocated for yourself in the past?
JMN: There have been many times throughout my career and life that I had to advocate for myself. The first time I advocated for myself was during my first full-time job right after college. I was at NextAdvisor (the OG) for about 2 years as a writer, and my manager unexpectedly quit. I told the CEO that I wanted an opportunity to try out my previous manager’s role. He agreed to meet with me so I can explain to him why I’d be a good fit.
Little did he know that I actually planned a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on why I deserved the role. I still remember the look on his face as I walked him through the changes I would make to the site, why I would be the best manager, and how I would refine the content planning process. I ended up getting the opportunity to “test” the position out for six months. After proving myself over the following six months, I took on the position full-time. Oh, and this 15-minute PowerPoint ended up opening so many doors in my career — I was later part of a Bankrate acquisition, then an RV acquisition, which led to where I am today.
JH: With all you’ve experienced and learned in your career, what’s the one thing you’d tell first-day-of-work Julie?
JMN: You can accomplish so much more than you think. RV has taught me that being uncomfortable in your career isn’t a bad thing, and I wish that first-day-of-work Julie knew that if she pushes herself outside of her comfort zone, she can accomplish almost anything.
JH: Now, some rapid-fire fun questions:
What’s your favorite movie?
JMN: Hook with Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman — it’ll make you laugh, cry and feel all the feelings.
JH: What book do you consider to be an absolute must-read?
JMN: “Somehow I Manage” by Michael G. Scott — totally kidding! Untamed by Glennon Doyle — if you attended RV Halftime, you got a glimpse into why this book is so amazing!
JH: What’s one food you couldn’t live without?
JMN: Tortillas — they’re so versatile (you can put anything in them, and they’d still be delicious)
JH: Where’s the first place you’ll travel when restrictions lift?
JMN: San Juan, Puerto Rico, to meet my coworkers in person!
JH: What have you learned about yourself during the pandemic?
JMN: The pandemic taught me that it’s OK to take time for yourself — even if it means a chore or task doesn’t get done that day. Is something awful going to happen if the laundry sits in the basket for another day? No. The worst that will happen is your favorite shirt gets a little wrinkled.
My mental health is much more important than those wrinkles, so I need to make sure I’m taking time at least once a week to do something for myself.
JH: What word or mantra do you live by?
JMN: “I am. I can. I will. I do.” – I tell myself that daily.
Love what you just read? Check out our previous Empowered Feature with Allconnect Utility Sales Director Joanne Anderson-Capers.
