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Not a girl. Not yet a woman.
Subject Expert
Welcome to ACD life!
Subject Expert
*flicks open zippo and gives you a light, staring straight ahead the whole time*
I dont mind it. I think im more annoyed at the Super Senior treatment. It’s almost like they ignore my new title, as if it was a gimmick lol “aw, you’re a mini CD wow. Good for ya, fella! When u done celebrating, ima need you to jump on that photoshop, ok👍🏻 👍🏻 fella?? “
Me: -_-
Me:
Me: i’ll have it by EOD
Hear me out - it’s the last time that you’ll get to make YOUR work and get to do it with very little oversight. All while getting to try out overseeing management without all the real responsibility. Enjoy it for the important step it is even if it feels like you’re not in either world - you get to not be in either world.
Mentor
Welcome to the worst rank of non-management managerial positions. Just wait, it gets worse!
Like when the creative director realizes he doesnt direct THEIR work, but their boss’ instead 😂
Wait til you’re a CD with a GCD above you. Or a GCD with an ECD above you. Or a CD working into a CD at the same level but on a different account. Layers are rarely straightforward.
I actually was in this situation for a while and I enjoyed it. Obviously depends on the ECD and on agency size. I had lots of autonomy. Yeah, you’re solely responsible for a lot of things, but the ECD can’t be in the weeds with everything and has to trust your judgment at some point (hopefully you’ve earned it) and delegate. When you give feedback, there’s nobody to come and override it, unless it’s something major. People come to you for decisions, unless it’s some really important thing. Most times you won’t be micromanaged by an ECD, just because it isn’t practical.
It’s all about what lens you see it through. Obviously it depends a lot on your agency. The ACD role can range from that of an overpaid AD or Copy to a poorly paid GCD and anywhere in between. I have purposely passed in CD jobs (though I can’t keep doing that forever) because I know as soon as I’m a CD, I will be in meetings all day and I won’t get to actually create and brainstorm much, which is what got me into this business to begin with. Right now I have managerial responsibilities that stop short of the ones I dread to even think of, like approving people’s time off or timesheets, or oversee people’s career pathways and performance reviews. I will HATE to do that shit and I’m trying to postpone it as long as possible. Right now I’m well respected creatively and everyone knows I will crack any brief thrown at me. Everyone knows that they can learn a lot from me and that I am interested in mentoring and in their growth without having to jump through all these formal stupid hoops. It’s kinda the best of both worlds. Or you can choose to see it as the worst of both worlds. It’s your choice.
Isn’t it great😅?
*realizing ACD1 drank all the 🍷 in the shared bottle*
Yeah, it’s…
Fan-freakin-tastic…
Yeah it sucks ass but the upside is you’re counted on to have THE idea every time now.
Coach
*cue thousand yard stare
Think of it as proving you can do the big CD job without getting paid like one. Or respected like one. It’s actually valuable experience because you probably haven’t had many direct reports up until now and it’s a big part of being a cd.
I don’t understand what my CD does either. Doesn’t go to meetings, review the work, or ever know what’s going on. Only occasionally if there’s a video project do they feel the need to show face but then disappear again, leaving me to clean up the mess.
You’re describing the job just as it’s labeled. It’s between senior and creative director. You’re halfway doing work and halfway managing. Work hard and you’ll move up. Or, if you don’t want to manage, put it out there and you’ll stay.
Story of my life
Ok - here’s another addition: i manage 12 direct reports and oversee a couple more (20-25ish). It’s insane. Just the biweekly 1:1s require for me to have 3.5hrs every week + 1hr for my own weekly 1:1 with CD + 1hr with the occasional acct director + 30min with ECD. It’s super managerial focused and i just don’t have time to tackle AD assignments.
Is the above normal? I feel like I have a huge managerial scope.
Nope. My CD is starting to act like one, tho.