“I would rather do good work with great people than great work with assholes” is the personal motto of Beth Freedman, CEO, Dentsu X, who joins us in the inaugural episode of My Path to the Top, a new podcast series in partnership with Dentsu.

In the series, we'll be talking to agency leaders to discover the stories behind their journey to the top of the industry and what lessons others can learn from them.

In a disarmingly frank and forthright conversations, Freedman discusses how she manages to balance the demands of her own morality and desire for authenticity with the equally pressing demands of running a large network agency.

Expanding on her "no assholes" motto, she says: "I use this as a principle for how I run my business. You never have 100% control but i can hold myself to account. The more senior you get, the more ability you have to behave badly and no one holds you to account but I refuse to ever let that be an excuse for me.

I can do that in demonstrating to the people that work for me by, when bad behaviour happens, to call it out and work to make it go away. Most bad behaviour is momentary not endemic but if you let it continue it can become a habit. It's about not being afraid with clients to say we hold ourselves to a high standard, and to have difficult conversations."

My Path to the Top: Beth Freedman, CEO, Dentsu X UK