Developing an expertise in why’s
Don’t pin me as ungrateful but things didn’t start or end as I’d expected them to. Fresh out of graduate school I knew what I was looking for: a strategy position in a digital marketing agency. I had career milestones on my mind, student loan bills in my hands, and something to prove. Yet when I found the opening, I interviewed for the project coordinator position; I knew getting in the door at Centerline was the best way to learn about agency life, ready to find a spot in the strategy department when I had a chance. But six months have passed and I currently see things differently.
I’m only now just tearing through Season 1 of Mad Men (couldn’t appreciate it before). Despite his slimy ways, it’s hard for me to watch Peter Campbell, the young account manager, get shot down by Don Draper and the team time and time again. Peter’s eager to contribute to the creative and strategic goals of his clients. To prove he’s up to the tasks of the group and can help them solve the problems of the client. Conversely, at Centerline I’ve witnessed great successes for clients when each member of the team is empowered to contribute.
Recently our Chief Strategy Officer John Lane wrote, “Everyone at Centerline is a strategist; it is not reserved for the strategy department or projects with ‘strategy’ in the title.” When I came to this insight on my own, it was the moment I changed the way I did my job and started looking at the way others did theirs. The people I work with are more than just the individual parts they play as writers, designers, or editors. It’s when responsibilities bleed over and titles and job descriptions are secondary to a common goal that their contributions provide more value to both the specific project’s and the client’s general benefit.
Projects, expectations, budgets — situations have their limitations, but it’s at the heart of Centerline to go beyond that. To build on the relationships both inside and outside of our walls to deliver something better simply because you’re not working on it alone. This situation might mean solving problems that aren’t explicitly addressed or discovering an unplanned opportunity for a client. In the end, the strength of the team doesn’t stop at new business, but the trust and the freedom of our client partnerships that comes from holistic thinking provides us with opportunities to deliver more creative, problem-solving solutions we’re all excited about. Everybody involved is a little better off.
While learning the processes that track budgets and keep schedules on projects, I’ve been literally and figuratively offered a seat at the table. Sometimes it’s enough for me just to listen, but occasionally I’ve spoken up, knowing that it’s my responsibility to my team and client that I address every concern and exhaust every possible solution. I see that trait not only in the creative and strategy directors, but the account and project managers I work with who know their stuff and demand the same of me.
When I first started as a project coordinator, I perceived the account roles simply as the translators, clarifying internally as the voice of the client and externally as the face of the creative team. It felt more like I was setting the stage for others to do their job. Those pieces are part of the role, but it doesn’t stop there. There are plenty of ways to contribute, even having limited experience, and I’ve found that at Centerline, or for anyone in an account role, going to work shouldn’t be a spectator sport, letting the creatives do their thing — you’re a part of the team.
I’ve not found the best formula to making a meaningful contribution. I’ve witnessed some within our accounts team take the voice of the client in those internal brainstorming sessions to deliver new or better ideas, a practice I’m learning as I lead new projects with guidance. Others already have the history and proficiency to build out fresh concepts and plans with creative input. For right now, my most meaningful additions come in the form of just asking “why?”
Why are we reaching out on this channel? Why are we using this voice?
It’s my desire to learn more about what’s happening all around me at Centerline that ushers in an opportunity to re-examine exactly what we are and aren’t doing. Sure, sometimes the situation isn’t ready for these questions or it’s something everyone else already seems to know, but occasionally the inquiry is one everyone else took for granted. Six months in accounts isn’t long at all, but as I create those relationships rooted in trust so one day I can propose something new, I’ll do what I can because it doesn’t take an expert to ask why.
