“Carve your niche,” Reshma Karnik from MissionOne Media

Meet Reshma Karnik, Chief Media Officer at MissionOne Media. Reshma is a media game-changer who turns data, technology, and media investments into business growth. Her expertise spans across programmatic, analytics, media investments, business development, and client success. Reshma leads the charge in integrated, audience-first media strategies that make every dollar work harder. She prides herself in bringing data and creativity together to drive smarter, sharper, and more effective media strategies.

Reshma met with Deirdre Locksley, Associate Director, Content Marketing at SiriusXM Media, to discuss the defining moments in her career. In her interview, she shares what got her to where she is today, how creating your own path is the best way forward, and how going beyond your day-to-day tasks can launch your career to the next level. 

Listen to the full interview below, then check out some highlights from the conversation.

Don’t confine yourself to a box.

Highlight: “I think the fact that I didn't seek permission and raised my hand and didn't wanna stay confined in that box made it okay for me to make my way from a really junior account management programmatic person to being in the pitch room, doing demos for clients, even if I was not at a very senior leadership level. What I learned was, carve your niche in a way in which you can come up with a solution for something that you have identified as a problem or a gap, which nobody has even conceptualized.” - Reshma Karnik

Look for opportunities.

Highlight: “Never stay confined in a box. I think sometimes we are very particular about the swim lanes we get in our day jobs, but it's okay to blur those swim lanes. Look for opportunities, go beyond your day-to-day, raise your hand, and identify the gaps that you can solve for with a solution-oriented mindset.” - Reshma Karnik

Create a path.

Highlight: “What matters is having the chin up mindset. Staying up to date with the latest, studying really hard, applying that data-driven quantitative thinking that I was used to and making that my own in the job that I was given helped me really look at those downs and build my way upward… 

So I almost took those downs as an opportunity to build my ups, and I always am of the opinion to look at a glass full versus glass empty. So it was my way of telling myself this was a conscious decision, I've taken this decision, this is important to me… So I think identifying where you need to go and making sure that you're looking upward and creating a path for that was something that really helped me in the long run.” - Reshma Karnik

Take the step forward.

Highlight: “When I look at all the negative experiences that I've had throughout my career, I've seen them as opportunities or challenges to navigate myself in a way in which I'm agile… But all those combining in a way in which I could think to myself, ‘I'm gonna beat this, I'm going to come out of this. An organizational change today or a client change tomorrow doesn't define what I'm going to contribute to the agency as a whole.’ I think it just helped me create a mindset of: Making a change starts by taking the bull by the horns. Look at the change that's happening with you. Look at the negative experience that's happened with you in the eye, and then take the step forward.” - Reshma Karnik

If you can adapt, you can survive.

Highlight: “All of the experiences that I had, in terms of making edits in my career, were negative experiences when they started… But I think taking that and running with it and almost looking them in the eye and saying, ‘I got this, I'm better than this, and I can move ahead.’ And being agile with time has helped me a lot. Agility is something that I swear by... If you can adapt, you can survive. And when you survive, you will win.” - Reshma Karnik

Don’t hesitate.

Highlight: “Whenever you take something on, go deep. Make a change fast, and don't hesitate. The moment you hesitate, it demonstrates a lack of confidence. And every single leader that I emulate, or every single person that I emulate, has functioned through the lens of being confident, being assertive, and being definite… 

If someone has something in them, it doesn't matter the world they come from. It doesn't matter what skillsets on the table are today. It doesn't matter if they are well-trained or have the experience or not. If you see a spark in somebody, and if you see that hunger in somebody and if you see an opportunity to coach somebody to get to that next point, one should absolutely do that.” - Reshma Karnik

Reshma’s determination to take a negative situation and turn it into an opportunity is an example of how good leaders become great. If you’re ready to hear more inspiring conversations like this, check out the Pass the Mic page.

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