Michael Stout’s Post

Do you find it hard to self reflect? Too confrontational? Scared to admit you’re not perfect? 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭: Managing an in-house creative team in a big corporate. Heading for a burnout: → Limited budget → Sucked at planning → No steady internal clients → Offering services to all internal clients → Had a hard time handling the politics → Short deadlines, as in tomorrow → Multi brand campaigns → I was the team I had no grip I saw no solution coming I was working towards nothing 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮: Needed to turn things around. I started working on: → Added interns → Asked for help in planning → Rerouted budget to get some contractors → Focussed on building an anti-fragile coalition → Focussed on landing 2 internal clients for all their creatives → Took some courses to improve my "weak" skills → Reflected on my own behavior, a lot → Limiting the services we offered 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯: The office is being closed down, we’re out of a job. I’m happy. Why: → I invested in myself → I learned the added value of saying “No” → I know you cannot and should not do everything yourself → I accepted the possibility of asking for help → I started bending the rules to fit my vision → It starts with I, look in the mirror first Sometimes you need to look in the mirror, ask yourself for help, ask others for help. Make a change. #selfdevelopment #burnout #selfawareness #inhouseagency #growth ==== 📌 Do you like these types of insights?💡 Follow me here 👉 Roel Timmermans Hit the notification bell 🔔

Running an Ad Agency? Here’s a few simple yet impactful accommodations for your neurodivergent employees - which you likely have on your team, even if they haven’t self-disclosed 😉. AND so much of what can be offered as an accommodation will be beneficial for ALL your employees. If we can personalize the experience of interacting with a brand, we can personalize our employee experience. A great follow-on would be the many real benefits of a neuro-inclusive team. Things like: - Truly outside the box thinking -Challenging the “ways we always do things” - Better clarity of communications - Accessing more of the total teams creative problem solving - Increasing empathy and engagement within your team I love finding new people to connect with that care about neurodiversity at work - and seeing those within my network highlighted for the industry-leading work they’re doing- looking at you Josh Loebner, PhD! And thanks Dan Gerlach for sending me this piece - I love that people think of me - and probably my ND kiddos - when they read such a headline - 💛. #advertising #futureofwork #neurodiversityatwork #inclusivemarketing

If you're wondering what I’ve been up to at TrendAgency, here are my reflections after my first full year dedicated to my own business: 💡 Passion at Our Core: Passion isn’t just a buzzword for me—it’s the heartbeat of our work. My passion for problem-solving launched my career, and my love for sports drives me now. Seeing this passion mirrored in our team every day is incredibly inspiring. 🏡 Always and Forever Remote: Our fully remote structure has not only boosted productivity and offered flexible work schedules for everyone involved, but it has also allowed us to stay attuned to various sports events worldwide. For a boutique company like ours, this would be nearly impossible with a traditional office setup. 🤝 Agree to Disagree: One of our core values is encouraging open dialogue and immediate expression of disagreements. This culture is crucial for the environment I aim to build, and I owe a lot to our Operations Manager, Dilara Durmuş Palaoğlu, for embracing and nurturing this principle. Moving forward independently is stressful at times, but it's also filled with fun and proud moments. I'm fortunate to have an amazing partner in Can Ulugtekin, and I eagerly anticipate what the future holds. Currently, we aren't looking to expand our team, but I expect significant growth in the coming season. If you're interested in what we do or just curious, drop me a message. I'm naturally curious and would love to chat.

Embracing teamwork is an essential quality for any professional aiming for success in their career journey. Collaboration is key, as no individual operates in isolation. Being receptive to input from teammates is crucial, as it not only streamlines tasks for yourself but also benefits everyone involved, including clients.

My best performing ads have always had multiple iterations. I find when I give myself a day or two to ponder my video after exporting it, I can come up with a few ways to make the final product better. #ugc #ugccreator #socialmedia #paidmarketing #digitalmarketing

A highly skilled designer lost her job because she not a team player I kept staring at her portfolio for hours wondering how she was sacked Indeed she is an exceptional designer but what she lacked was being a Team Player; an important skill every organization cherish We've all seen it – "Team Player" plastered across countless resumes. But what does it truly mean? 🚀Active Collaboration: It's about actively seeking out diverse perspectives, fostering open communication, and respectfully considering all ideas. 🚀Giving & Receiving Feedback: Effective feedback is a two-way street. Readily give constructive criticism and embrace feedback on your own work to elevate the final product. 🚀Shared Ownership: Success is a team effort. Take ownership of shared goals, celebrating wins and tackle challenges together. 🚀Mutual Support: Being a teammate means having others back! Readily offer help, celebrate successes, and support colleagues when needed. What are your thoughts on "Team Player"? How do you embody this spirit in your work? Check out my “Our Team” section I design a time ago for an NGO #gabriellaechebiri #yoursdesignerly #productdesign #teamwork #collaboration #communication #userexperience #designthinking #productmanagement

Hey Creatives! Let’s take a look at what quiet-quitting means for creatives, because it's time we stopped normalizing this. It keeps us in those dead-end jobs, toxic environments, or in roles way below our current skill level. 😣 Treading water is not “doing your best creative work.” So, tell me if any of these sound familiar... 🚫 Avoiding discussion on timelines, work scopes, or creative constraints, and silently suffering through the consequences. 🚫 Giving your micromanager the creative changes they dictate, even when you know it sucks, won't work, or will cause problems later. 🚫 Opting out of presenting your work at meetings, because you feel like you didn't actually do it, or are embarrassed by the outcome. 🚫 Seeing areas for creative improvement, but assuming that it's not worth speaking up about––even if it excites you to do that work. 🚫 Reusing old ideas because you can't muster the energy it requires to come up with new creative concepts or solutions anymore. Resonate with this a bit too much? Yeah, I've been there also. 😖 We normalize these experiences simply to avoid taking action, which is often more terrifying than allowing our creative skills to atrophy. THIS IS NOT OK FOR CREATIVES. It's dangerous. Because you have immense value to add to this world––and that requires your energy, your talent, and your creative spark.💥 Don't suffer in silence. I have lots of free resources on my website to help you reignite that spark. I got you––and you've got this! 🔥👩🏻💻🎨 #creativecareers #quietquitting #toxicworkplace #mentalhealth #yougotthis #jobsearch #designcareer #creativejobs # #energy #talent #designjobs #rockthatcreativejob

Got too many plates spinning at once? We hear you. Here are tips from creatives who've been there. #WorkLifeBalance #CreativeLife

Two months complete. I was lucky enough to have my wife and daughter on their day off recently visit me in the office to see where daddy went when he catches the train some days (2-3 days a week if you want to know). It was lovely to show off my digs and to have tea and hot chocolate (twice), play some foosball, and have cake and fruit for an hour. I got a chance to show them our stairwell, which I (Dr. strangely - pun intended) quite like because it's full of movie posters of the films Framestore has helped bring to life, with some of them including personal scribbles of 'thanks' from the different directors. It's a lovely reminder about the magic and output we create, as well as the emotions and memories attached. On some floors, we have movie memorabilia we have made in-house - Dr. Strange: The Cloak of Levitation 👇 is one example. I'm also wearing a t-shirt created by some of our VFX crew via a regular mini-staff competition, with the winning ones used by the team on location shoots for films/shows we're working on. They're then available to buy by staff as merch after the filming and go-live. I love this as it helps me to connect, feel proud and be inspired by the brand and our talented people (I have bought quite a few, including a kids-sized tee, and one for my wife and me of the last Wonder Woman movie. We're still to wear them at the same time). Anyhow, I recently presented to our CEO and Chief Creative Officer (a pretty cool title, so much so, we have two CCOs! - Creativity to 11!) about my two-months observations and next steps. They liked what I had to say, and I now have my target of a 6-month priorities action 🎬 plan with more specifics to create about my deliverables to showcase to them at the end of September. This is my main comms feature output for my first 90 days. Of course, I'm still having great convos, getting to know the biz, working on comms plans, advising and supporting different comms needs and events around the globe, and constantly searching for inspiration to help me push what wow-factor employee comms should look like by design as I create my personalised version for me and Framestore. Until the next time.

#freedomofchoice #takecontrol #remote #hybrid