OYP Episode 14: Adam Boyette

Adam, Associate Design Director, talks about how to demonstrate presence and self-advocacy through your day-to-day work and interactions.

Interview

Ashley Snow - Welcome to the Own Your Potential Podcast, where you'll hear stories from leaders across the globe, about how they've taken control of their career growth and lessons on how you can too. I'm Ashley Snow. And this is Episode 14 with Adam Boyette, self advocacy in the micro moments. Adam to start, can you tell us a little bit about your career background?

Adam Boyette - Yeah, sure. So, my name is Adam Boyette. I'm an associate creative director based in Cologne, Germany. I've been with Publicis Sapient, for a little over four years after relocating to Cologne from New York, I was born and raised in northern New Jersey. So after high school, I entered Gettysburg College as a psychology major. And for some reason, after growing up, kind of in the shadow of New York City, I'm not sure why I decided to go to college in the middle of the sticks. But it was a beautiful place, but it ended up not being for me. So I relocated back to New Jersey, and changed my major to fine arts. So after college, I started experimenting with Photoshop as a medium for my work and kind of randomly got involved with the design community in like 2002, just through some front flash developers that I knew who basically used my Photoshop work in their generative art pieces for like installations and stuff. So that was kind of my introduction into the world of design. So digital first, all the way. And years later, I've worked for various agencies, such as SapientNitro, Firstborn and RGA. And now Publicis Sapient.

Ashley Snow - What brought you to Cologne after being in the New York area?

Adam Boyette - Yeah. So when I was at SapientNitro, there was a pitch that was happening in the Cologne office for Lufthansa and me and one of my co workers traveled there. And I had never been to Cologne. And it was interesting, because I was sort of at this point of living in New York for such a long time. That it, you know, you forget that there's like smaller cities that are totally livable, and actually have a lot going on. And yeah, so it just it really stuck with me over over the years. Just like the vibe and the people and how open and nice they are. And accepting and like, also the team was, was just fantastic. My ECD moved back to Germany, and he's he was his German. And there happened to be a opening for an ACD position here. And so kind of reached out and got on board and made the move.

Ashley Snow - Very cool. How long have you been there?

Adam Boyette - Four years? Well over four years, my German not so good.

Ashley Snow - Mine either. So what what strategies for self advocacy and self promotion have worked well, for you?

Adam Boyette - This might be a bit of a soft skills kind of thing. But for me, nothing's been more valuable in terms of self advocacy and self promotion than the kind of the behaviors display during the day to day work and interactions with with our colleagues. So in the long run, I found people will remember this probably more than anything else. So I've been lucky enough to work directly with some of my design heroes over the years. And literally, the most heartbreaking thing is when you discover that some of them are just like really terrible people. And regardless of how talented they are it it sticks with you, you know. And then on the other hand, I've also worked with some of the nicest and most genuine and open people who open it also happened to be some of the most talented people I've ever met in the industry. So to me, that's kind of self advocacy in action, and it really does stick. But yeah, it's up to each person to kind of figure out what works best for them. I think so and kind of more tangible terms, like find something you're truly passionate about. And start a group or some kind of movement or a find a forum for that thing. So yeah, it's like it is self promotion and advocacy, but it's also based on something that you actually truly value and have a deep interest in so many people kind of already do this naturally. And more often than not, they're like naturally gifted or well practiced and self promotion like sometimes from from birth is like just, some people are just incredibly good at marketing themselves. But the barrier to entry i think is much more difficult. For equally ambitious peers who happen to also be kind of shy or has And to be so like, quote, obviously, and, and authentically promoting themselves, you know, I'm one of these people by the way. So like, it's never come easy to me to kind of do this thing. So this is why finding something you're like super passionate about and kind of standing behind it is essential. It is real, you know, you do care and it can inspire you and the people listening. And so it's like self advocacy is simply like a byproduct of that.

Ashley Snow - Yeah, it's like walking the walk instead of just talking the talk and letting the work speak for you. I like that a lot.

Adam Boyette - Yeah, cuz you can kind of tell when it's, it's not very, like a genuine act of promotion versus one that's like, you know, comes from something like kind of deep inside you or things like that.

Ashley Snow - That's something we've talked about a lot is making sure that you're building the skills of self advocacy and self promotion in a way that's authentic to who you are, because it can come across as superficial. And so I think it's a tough skill to learn and to hone. But we're all trying to do it. So in this new, remote working reality that we've found ourselves in, how do you think self advocacy tactics need to change and evolve to build a successful brand?

Adam Boyette - You know, physical presence in an office like, enables, like, lots of great things? And honestly, some not so great things like people wield power and influence in the office, it's like, you know, it's just been very interesting to see how well this has translated over remote working situation. And I found that, you know, there really is a kind of new equality in the Zoom call, you know, so simply that people have to listen to other people, largely due to the frustration of technical crosstalk and technical issues and things like that. So and you also that, you know, the fact that you have a little thumbnail thumbnail of yourself staring back at you makes you think twice about like cutting someone off or being dismissive, you know, so there's that kind of mirror thing. So there's total psychological aspect to this. And it's it's democratizing, so I found, you know, most people being more open and considerate during kind of this new reality. Also, I've noticed people who kind of wouldn't talk in meetings in the office suddenly, like, are finding kind of their voice. So maybe it'll fade the longer like, the longer we work like this, but kind of in this new space, you can really leverage that to you know, shape your your personal brand, your voice express your opinion, opinion in like a more flatly hierarchical context, especially on project work. So yeah, grab the mic, speak up.

Ashley Snow - As a self described more introverted person, where do you stand on the camera on versus camera off debate?

Adam Boyette - I think I don't mind the camera thing at all. The only problem is my my office has like the worst lighting in the world, you know, so it's bad, the sun is like blasting through from one side. So half of my head is just like completely blown out. And the other half is like super dark. So I tried to manage that. But generally speaking, it's good to see people, and you can read their faces and understand kind of the vibe in the room and things definitely helps.

Ashley Snow - Finally, do you feel like you've been an active or a passive participant in decisions being made about your career, and why or why not? 

Adam Boyette - So looking back, now that I'm an old man, this varies very much kind of on the stage of my career at agency culture, my own, like personal self doubt, and in at times, inflated ego moments. So I've been on teams where I had like, the undying support from my managers who really pushed me to do great work and gave me responsibilities that were like a little bit, or sometimes a lot outside of my comfort zone to kind of gain that experience. And they gave me the space to kind of mess up. And it's kind of moments like this, where I grew the most in my career. So it's challenging and scary, and an education, but it kind of really taught me that there's way more to design than, than just design. So how you act, how you, you know, communicate, all of these things, like really go a long way. So then, there were definitely times where I felt pretty like alone and disconnected. I am someone that really needs some kind of connection with my team and my co workers to do to do the right work in the best way. So when that special sauce is not there, it's really a challenge to do really good work, but it's also hard to feel like I'm progressing my skills and learning things and directing my career in the right way. So I've worked at places that had like little or no structured reviews, feedback or coaching at all. And many decisions kind of were made about my career that didn't involve me. So in these decisions, they're not always major ones, for example, like it's not always about a promotion or something, it's, it's often about what kind of projects and clients you're going to work on. And if you don't make have an input into that decision, it can really direct and shape your career in either a positive or negative way. So one thing I learned is that regardless of having or not having structured reviews and growth discussions, find the people around you that you admire and connect with and respect and try to establish a dialogue of feedback, critique and support with them. So I think there's always a way to be an active participant in your career. And a lot of times they're sitting right next to you, you can take active steps to kind of engage with your co workers to make a team like make a pact with each other to kind of like, critique each other's work, have an open dialogue about how they performed on something or ask for advice.

Ashley Snow - Yeah, one thing you said that I really liked is making sure you're being a participant in your career growth, not only in the milestone moments, like a promotion, but in all of the micro moments leading up to those milestones, because all of those are really what contribute to the milestone moments. Adam, this was a truly insightful conversation. I thank you for bringing not only your unique perspective, but also some practical and tangible advice for our listeners. So thank you so much.

Adam Boyette - Yeah, thank you for the opportunity.