FANCY MEETING YOU
I'm Angeley, some guy with a tie full-timing as Creative Director in Berlin. Oh, and pronouncing my first name is actually easier than you think.
LUCKY YOU
You are lucky. I almost wrote this website in the third person. Ugh. Imagine reading "Angeley is a German-Congolese Creative Director with an international mindset but few frequent flyer miles".
You would have had to decide right there whether I'm serious and a self-absorbed blowhard. Or whether I'm just an insecure creative with an imposter syndrome who doesn't trust his portfolio. But now you can make that judgement a few precious seconds later.
You're welcome.
4 THINGS ABOUT ME YOU REALLY DIDN'T ASK ABOUT.
01
I have usually been blessed and able to fill and design my position in a way that suited my talents. Therefore, I have a highly optimistic and grateful disposition which is generally appreciated by my team and by interfacing departments. I tend to become the go-to person everyone asks for infos, updates or help at any organization quite quickly. I try to counterbalance once I feel I might go from "hub of productivity" to "bottleneck". I would like to continue to discover and try out myself as a creative, even in leading positions. Despite almost 13 years of experience, I still feel like I'm at the beginning of the journey. Somehow. I have no callousness or cynicism towards the industry. I love this job and believe that you can only do it with a healthy naivety that enables you to have the courage to try new things. While the experience gathered gives you centeredness and balance.
I BELIEVE HAPPY GOES LUCKY
02
I make an effort to have enough time to talk to the team I work with. About processes, about development, ups and downs, in full openness. I believe that my authority as a leader comes not from declaring an idea to be good, but from explaining it well. You can always learn from bad ideas what we might be missing to get to a good idea. My leadership style is very discursive, communicative and integrative. I try to adapt my decision-making mode to the situation: I can make instinctive decisions, experience-based decisions and pragmatic, process-oriented decisions.
Of course there are situations where discipline is needed and tough calls need to be made. I make them and then try to embed them in a larger construct of reasoning. I believe that not every leadership decision needs to be justified, but I do believe that it helps to display a sense of awareness for the inevitable disagreements some decisions may produce. I think as a leader you can be determined, unambiguous and empathetic at the same time.
I like to identify talent early who can lead themselves but have the humility and curiosity to allow themselves to be led. I know how to deal with egos and drama, but I believe a modern advertising agency works better without a dog-eat-dog mentality. Last but not least: Nothing is nicer than having people around you whose work you admire. No matter what their position is. Appreciation goes a long way and respecting others and their work can, in turn, undergird respect for leadership roles at any level.
I LEAD
THE WAY
I
WANT
TO BE
LED
03
I'm a proud and passionate »working CD«. I will never be able – or satisfied – to be a sole administrator. Getting my hands dirty is a core part of the job, in my opinion. Playfulness and curiosity are key qualities I will never lose. This means that – if the project requires it – I get in the weeds. I write headlines, devise concepts, sometimes design a poster (to the chagrin of many an art director), play with typography, cut a video for a social post, create a sound design for a mood film. And put the strangest GIF into our pitch deck. I believe that my team should be able to see and feel my passion for creative work – and that it is always important to put your own stuff on the table as a creative leader. Which can then be criticized and improved just like that of any other team member. Otherwise, big egos tend to get in the way of big ideas. The title of this page notwithstanding.
I GET MY HANDS DIRTY
04
My creative ambition is strongly inspired by international advertising. I work and speak and write equally fluently in English and German. I like to get references from lesser-known, obscure sources. Thai car insurance ads or mobile video game commercials from Israel are usually more inspiring to me than the big-budget BMW Superbowl commercial. Nothing against Schwarzenegger and Hayek, but you know what I mean. Instead of only praising slick editing by world-class studios, I also adore the sloppy, low-fi content on crypto channels like Ponkesolana. My rule of thumb for creative inspiration: if it doesn't make sense, it's usually a great place to start. I often kick-start my own creative process by building a playlist based on a brief or brand to get a feel for the "vibe" of the work I want to do for that project, even before I start writing or thinking about first concepts.
I FIND INSPO IN WEIRD PLACES
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