Moving to the Client Side – Part 4

"The concept of cross-functional work is more real, and you can't sweep it under."

You know how it takes a lot to work with every Ad Agency department, especially as a Strategist or Account manager. In fact, remember the mild "gbas gbos" I had mentioned in part 3 - here, especially between Strategists and Creatives, Account managers and Creatives, Account managers and Finance, etc. You know the ability to work successfully with all teams and get the job done is separate from the JD, and it doesn't get the hype it should. It is real work, and the skill to manage relationships and have impressionable inter/intra personal skills is needed.

But it gets even more real on the Client side. It's less about the tensions encountered occasionally but more about the synergy and level of collaboration required to work cohesively across different functions with various sub-goals to achieve a mutual overarching objective.

On the Client side, exceptional stakeholder management is paramount. It's not just about managing tensions but about fostering a high level of collaboration across different internal departments—sales, product development, IT, finance, etc.

You come to realize that things you might have taken for granted in the Agency will be staring you down point blank. You didn't know that while working together collaboratively, individual egos and desires beyond your control exist, and the onus is on you to discover a way to navigate and get things done regardless.

It's been a ride with this series, and with the final parts coming up, I can't wait to hear from others with similar or different experiences because your insights are valuable.

By the way, this has to be the shortest part of the series, but you know what they say about quality over quantity, lol.

I look forward to continuing this conversation in the comments.

Cheers!