First things first. It’s okay to hide behind a veneer of courtesy. Society demands that. Unfortunately, I fail flawlessly in that area.
Flashback 17 years ago, I was at my wit’s end when I have to leave my job as the company dissolved. I rented a tablespace and started my design consultancy agency. I was told (by friends), with my inability to keep my temper in check and evident lack of tact, my business would eventually fail. Well, some did and some survived, somehow. And I wondered myself — how and why. Does my tactlessness play a part in this? Maybe it’s time to reflect. Here goes.
- Questions that make you uncomfortable.
Yes, that’s what I do. Ask them why do you want to have this campaign? How did your team arrive with the ROI? Why did you focus only on this demographic and most important of all, how much is your budget? As a creative director, my role is to bridge creative and translate them into results. To arrive at a solution, questions have to come first. Questions the process, the people and the beneficiaries. I ask because I care and I want the project to work out as much as the stakeholders. Not just a KPI to be fulfilled. So yes. As tactless as it is, the result speaks for itself. - Leave no stone unturned.
Questions lead to answers. Well most of the time, more questions but eventually we will get there. Together with the clients who dread talking to me (initially), we discover new approaches. Something that has been done to death, was given new lease of life. Resurrection calls for a celebration. Now, we both have something to look forward to. Yay. - Get shit done.
Being tactless, I am also trained to be restless. It’s like a wormhole, unstable yet enigmatic. 10 minutes for presentations. 30 minutes for discussions. Then it’s time to get things done. Lingering with the stakeholders builds a relationship but to me, that’s where hindsides are formed and hinders progress. As you can tell, song and dance is not my strength. - Stick out like a sore thumb
Very often, corporate etiquette shrouds clarity. When everyone is a yes man, being tactless is like a silver lining. Speaking your mind like there are no boundaries actually opens a new frontier. One that inhibits complacency from breeding. That said, I am not saying that I asked the CEO to speak to the hand even when I do have the urge to do so from time to time.
Again, these are merely my personal observations and reflections sans empirical evidence. Hopefully, by penning these thoughts, it can help to identify the areas that I can improve and grow in.