I recently moved from a smaller agency to a huge corporation, and the culture shift has been intense. At my old job, I was in the weeds with every account—writing briefs, jumping on strategy calls, even troubleshooting minor client issues myself. Now, I’m one of five AMs on a single account, and everything goes through layers of process and approval. The perks and pay are great (I got a $15K bump), but I feel totally disconnected from the clients and the actual work. Has anyone else gone from small to big? How did you adjust and find meaning in a more siloed role?

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Yup, dealing with this right now. The amount of red tape is wild

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That shift is huge. I went through the same thing, felt like I went from hands-on problem-solving to just... forwarding emails. What helped was finding ways to add value beyond the process, like proactively identifying client needs or streamlining approvals. It takes time, but you’ll carve out your space!

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Yes.
But to be honest, this is something you can take to your manager and potentially serve a second account (if you are for ex working for an agency).

I would take the moment to enjoy this time of not needing to be deeply involved in all of the details because that shall pass.

I went the opposite direction. I found it easier to build relationships when you are more ingrained in the work/process and it shows when you speak with clients. And then creatives trust you more because you understand their vision better.

My only advice - you need to earn that at a big agency and be able to gain the respect of creative teams faster without over stepping out of your lane.

I enjoy not being entirely in the weeds - that leads me to burn out much more. It’s different and the processes can be a lot, but try and enjoy what sounds like a less stressful role? Talk to the other AMs for a casual and informal coffee chat and pick their brains on how they feel attached to the client. They may be a great guidance to you!

Moving froma smaller agency to a big corporation is such a tough move too. I am someone who much prefers a big company to a small one so for me, the move was great. However like others said you could always talk to your manager about how you are feeling and see if that makes a difference.

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