Member Since April 2022
Skills
About
Misty Dykema is Co-Owner and Principal of Simantel, an award-winning industrial consumer marketing firm, where she’s led teams for 18 years with a single creed: Really good marketing requires really brave leadership. Misty began her career in client service before migrating to strategy and business development. From there, she moved to head up the company’s emerging digital service lines, including paid media, development, analytics, and marketing automation. Today, she continues to take a leading role in business development, overseeing and facilitating executive alignment workshops and Simantel’s content and brand positioning. Along with fearlessly leading Simantel’s marketing efforts, Misty is an America’s Board Member for The Advertising and Marketing Independent Network (AMIN); a leader in Bradley University’s Alumni Alliance for the Theresa Falcon Executive MBA program; and a Board Member of Central Illinois’ American Red Cross Chapter, serving the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She also hosts the award-winning podcast, Marketing Sweats, where she interviews fellow marketing execs and community leaders on the heart, soul, and sweat that goes into getting marketing done right. Through the years, Misty’s full-hearted leadership has evolved the culture at Simantel: She’s a leader who encourages hard questions, vibrant collaboration, and, above all, vulnerability and trust. And with such a fierce team at her side, Misty and Simantel promise unparalleled client satisfaction by facilitating structured, collaborative conversations around intended outcomes (not just marketing goals). Her work begins and ends with the core belief that inspired ideas can change everything—but getting there requires fearless energy to do hard things. On a personal level, this is the work Misty loves to do and—as a self-described “lifer” at Simantel—intends to for a very long time. In 2022, Misty launched her own consulting practice, The Misty Effect, where she guides participants through a six-part program designed to help leaders achieve their greatest purpose by stepping into self-love. Misty now offers 1:1 coaching, cohort-based training, thought-provoking workbooks, group networking opportunities, and more. Her focus includes mentoring fellow executive leaders who want “more” out of life and work (and all the blurry intersections in between). Her personal areas of expertise include market research, communication strategy, branding, digital marketing, media, marketing automation, measurement strategy & analytics, and facilitation/training.
Misty Dykema
Published content

article
Jun 9, 2023
I sat down with talented women leaders and asked each of them to bring up a topic with which they were currently grappling. Here are five of their questions.

expert panel
Every mistake made as a manager is a learning opportunity and can sometimes even make you more successful. As a leader, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that mistakes are always negative and should be avoided at all costs. However, some mistakes can actually be beneficial and help you become more productive and successful in reaching your goals. These "good mistakes" can teach you valuable lessons, challenge your assumptions, and even lead you to new opportunities. To that end, a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members described mistakes that have helped them become more effective leaders. By embracing and learning from these types of mistakes, you can take your leadership skills to the next level and achieve greater success.

article
Mar 28, 2023
When you do good work, you’re blazing a path for opportunities to come back to you. And that means you don’t have to go chasing after them.

expert panel
Clients and customers are the lifeblood of company growth, so be willing to resolve differences amicably and meet them where they're at. In the business environment, it's impossible to please everyone all of the time. But when it comes to satisfying and dealing with your own clients and customers, they're always a way to come up with a practical solution to serve the best interest of each party. Being an active listener, who is able to keep calm and professional, no matter what customer challenge they are facing, will move the conversation forward in a positive direction and potentially help salvage the relationship. Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members are sharing their best solutions to make disgruntled clients feel valued and increase satisfaction rates.

article
Reluctance to admit when things aren’t working or when hurdles arise can lead to the unconscious belief that we must "never give up."

expert panel
Here's how department leaders are breaking the conversation barriers to improve their team relationships. To encourage ongoing dialogue, and inspire an employee's enthusiasm about their contribution to the job, a leader must be relatable, humble, and willing to show up to support their team on a daily basis. Revealing a sense of humanity and their commitment to staff in the workplace also demonstrates their openness to receive feedback. This, in turn, empowers employees to stay engaged when given a voice—to brainstorm collective solutions that make the organization even better. Below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share their best practices to spark some safe, transparent, and meaningful discussions in the office.
Company details
Simantel
Company bio
Over forty years of roll-up-your-sleeves-in-it-to-win-it-down-and-dirty-cool-as-hell B2B marketing. Our work has taken us around the world while being happily located in the heart of America. With a team of 80+ professionals Simantel uses insight to create inspired ideas that ultimately engage customers in meaningful (and profitable) relationships with our clients. We do it online and off, nationally and globally and do it for some of the hardest working brands out there.