Bossing It: How Transparency Fosters A Culture of Trust and Inclusivity with Brent Choi
As a ‘creative’ guy, for years Brent Choi hid the fact he had graduated from one of Canada’s most prestigious business schools. And that he used to be an account person. And won numerous math competitions in high school. Okay, maybe keep that last one to yourself. Today, Brent is partner & CEO of Angry Butterfly, along with two passionate partners, they lead a team of 40 and 11 incredible clients. Most recently as CEO/chief creative officer of DDB Canada, Brent used his unique left-brain/right-brain approach to lead DDB’s total creative product and overall strategic direction across all offices. Previous to DDB, Brent spent three years in New York in charge of JWT’s flagship office (as well as all JWT NA offices) where he helped transform them from an old-school agency into the #5 Cannes Cyber Agency in the World.
Before arriving in NY, Brent helped two different agencies transform into Canada’s Agency of the Year. He has 30 Cannes Lions, ranked the #2 Digital CCO in the world, been a speaker at Cannes, and his work has been featured around the world including in the New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company, BBC and Sesame Street.
At home Brent transforms back to a proud dad, insane NFL fan, and loving husband. His wife would add “In that order.”
LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?
Brent> From a career standpoint my first ‘real’ leadership role was as CCO of an independent agency, Cundari. They took a chance on me as I previously didn’t have that role before. That being said, I did draw upon my sports life quite a bit. Learning to deal with egos, motivating others, teamwork, wins and losses, etc proved to be invaluable as I transitioned to leadership positions in the workforce. Sports has so many great things to teach us.
LBB> How did you figure out what kind of leader you wanted to be – or what kind of leader you didn’t want to be?
Brent> My greatest learnings on leadership was definitely watching my previous ‘bosses’. And just as you noted, much of it was seeing what they did wrong, or at minimum, methods I wanted to do differently. Of course I also had some great mentors/bosses too, that taught me things that only people who have been through it can teach you. I also really brought forward much of my leadership approaches from the book, "Good to Great", by Jim Collins. A lot of it was reinforcing what I was already doing or attempting but it gave me great perspective and confidence in how I was going about my leadership style. It was especially helpful as "Good to Great" really spoke to change management, and the agencies I was often hired by, were also looking for transformation.
LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?
Brent> It’s hard to think of just one moment but the first one that comes to mind is a big North American automotive pitch we had against Grey NY, Martin Agency, Gothic and others. We were just an indie from Canada vs. these big time US agencies. We were briefed in-person in South Carolina at their manufacturing plant and track facility. I was a pretty new creative leader at the time with some pretty good career momentum, but I was definitely nervous about being in front of senior clients against the creative leaders of those top agencies. I assumed they’d be these dynamic ‘ad gods’ that would have big personalities and tell great stories to everyone during the social moments.
I learned that the “big personality” creative leaders were primarily a thing of the past. When I met them all that first night, they were also very nervous, and didn’t even want to be there. They were out of their element and just huddled together with their own team. It filled me with such confidence. What I thought would be my weakness (not being the ‘bang on the table’ boisterous creative guy), turned out to be a strength, as I knew I was very comfortable having meaningful conversations with clients. I learned then that many of today’s clients are no longer looking for the rainmaker creative leader. They are looking for a collaborative partner that has their clients’ best interest in mind and knows in-depth about their business. This lesson was critical for me as it taught me to be of all things, myself.
LBB> Did you know you always wanted to take on a leadership role? If so how did you work towards it and if not, when did you start realizing that you had it in you?
Brent> I’ve always had the ambition to be successful in my career and become an accomplished creative person. I wanted to produce some of the best work in the world. As I rose through the ranks, I was given more responsibility but I don’t think I realised how big until I reflected on those moments. Leading a department is one thing. Leading a large NYC flagship global agency or a dozen offices across North America is something that I just didn’t think about striving for until after I was in the role. Looking back, it still sounds hard to believe.
I know the experiences leading up to it played tremendous roles in becoming a good leader. While you will presumably go into a leadership role with some good foundations or ability, it’s not til you actually go through it til you truly understand what it means to be responsible for so many people and the direction of the company. It can also be said for starting your own company. There were so many things my partners and I had to learn on the fly. You just don’t know what you don’t know, til you’ve done it.
LBB> When it comes to 'leadership' as a skill, how much do you think is a natural part of personality, how much can be taught and learned?
Brent> I believe it’s primarily taught and learned. The personality part is important too. But for me, it’s more about being true to who you are and becoming the best leader you can be. Part of that is knowing where you are not strong. Then while it’s hard to do, having the confidence to accept your weaknesses and surround yourself with folks better than you who have other strengths. Case in point- I am so lucky to have my two partners. Erin Kawalecki is our CCO and a creative superstar with the passion that inspires everyone around her, combined with her empathy, really makes her just beloved. Graham Candy, our CSO, is one of the brightest minds I’ve ever come across. His ability to think through the most complex issues and find the way forward has been foundational to why we’ve been successful. Together, we bring many different things to the leadership at our agency, and I can say without question, they are better than me!
LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?
Brent> I still find personal conflict and negativity difficult to deal with. I have learned everyone is different with different motivations. So with that, I try to embrace that others need to approach situations differently. Back to an earlier comment, it’s about surrounding yourself with people who can make the overall outcome better, even if it’s personally challenging. Easier said than done. I think sometimes you have to suck it up and just deal with it. As long as you believe it will have a positive outcome, even if it may be done differently than you would have done it. You have to trust your senior people. This is one of the things experience has taught me. The greater good is allowing others to grow and feel free. This will pay dividends in a big way down the road.
LBB> Have you ever felt like you've failed whilst in charge? How did you address the issue and what did you learn from it?
Brent> In my previous role, I felt like I could’ve done a better job. There are a lot of reasons that were outside of my control, but I can’t help but think there was a better way to lead. I just couldn’t find it under the circumstances I was in. It did teach me a lot though. About situations to avoid. About the power of culture and the momentum it can have both positive and negative. And it reinforced how I need to think about a leadership role in a network agency when you’re in a regional leadership role. I was also reintroduced to the incredible power of egos. It’s something that I try so hard to be free from. I’ve seen how it can bring a project or culture down, and in turn, an agency.
LBB> In terms of leadership and openness, what’s your approach there? Do you think it’s important to be transparent as possible in the service of being authentic? Or is there a value in being careful and considered?
Brent> It’s funny, my going-in position is to be as transparent as possible. But previous leaders I’ve worked with had the opposite approach. Really keeping things close to the vest. I think that created a bad culture of misinformation, rumours and hierarchy. Not everyone agrees with me on this but it’s what I believe. I’ve just seen how it can go badly when the leadership keeps a culture of secrecy. Now that’s not to say you share everything, but I just lean to share more than less. It keeps people feeling they are a part of something vs an employee told only what they “need to know”.
LBB> As you developed your leadership skills did you have a mentor, if so who were/are they and what have you learned? And on the flip side, do you mentor any aspiring leaders and how do you approach that relationship?
Brent> I can’t say I had an official mentor, but I had some incredible ‘bosses’ that taught me so much. My last global CCO Matt Eastwood (JWT) really taught me a lot about leadership and inspiration. Others like Geoff Roche (one of Canada’s great creative leaders) taught me about creativity and linking it directly to effort. Duncan Bruce (one of the founders of Publicis Canada) really taught me how to create a positive culture and sell the work. Each was invaluable to my growth. Today, I can’t say I officially mentor anyone. Although I would gather there are a handful of folks that hopefully view me as I viewed those noted above. They’ve expressed that to me, so hopefully it's true! One of them refers to me as their 'ad dad'.
LBB> It's been a really challenging few years - and that's an understatement. How do you lead a team out the other side of a difficult period?
Brent> Empathy. Appreciation. Humility. Oh and as mentioned earlier, transparency. All good and maybe a little easy-to-say words, but I think they all come from the same place. We need to care. About our people and our clients’ business. And have actions that prove it versus talk about it. We’ve been very fortunate at Angry Butterfly, as our growth has allowed us to be somewhat insulated from some of the industry’s ‘difficult’ times. That being said, there are many other challenges that we need to look at case by case to make sure we are doing what’s best for both the employee and agency. Having clear and aligned values is a must.
LBB> What are some ambitions and plans you have for the company and yourself in the coming year?
Brent> We’ve had some great growth (and accolades) at Angry Butterfly. Of course that means our structure is a bit more like clay. It’s taking shape and evolving. It’s one thing to be a 15 person agency and leading that, to a 40 person agency. Next year we are on track to be 50-60. Priority one is always to do great work for our clients, within that we want to create work that inspires our teams and industry. Personally, I would love to ensure our teams get to really shine. I think I’m at the point of my career that I get much more joy from seeing others I care about, do well and get the recognition they deserve.
LBB> What have you noticed as the biggest changes in the industry during your career thus far? And do you have any predictions for future trends or themes?
Brent> What I love is it’s always changing. I don’t mean just technology, but people’s views, how they shop, get influenced, and in Canada, the cultural mix, combined with global influence, has changed how you think about ideas. In some ways, it’s the most exciting thing about advertising, and also the hardest. As for the future, I’ll leave you with a quote that I love, “The pace of change has never been faster than it is today, and will never be the slow again”.
LBB> How important is your company culture to the success of your business?
Brent> I’m a big believer in culture for a company, and how we manage that has become so important with remote or hybrid working. As a result, we have to work harder at finding ways to bring people together, even if sometimes it’s virtually. But nothing beats in person. Part of culture is how we teach our younger employees as well, and when you’re not in the office as much, those learning opportunities decrease. I know Erin and Graham are really great at spending time with all their teams, so that makes a huge difference. I don’t think we’ve solved it by any means but it’s something we need to continue to think about as we work through this new world of hybrid working.
LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?
Brent> As I mentioned, there’s nothing better than experience (the openness to learn is a close second). And not just you going through it, but watching other leaders and seeing what works and what doesn’t. I also read a lot of books on leadership, and some books were really helpful to me, or at least confirmed my point of view on what is the right way to lead for me. I love many TedTalks too. The one on Grit by Angela Duckworth really inspired me. My favourite one of all is still "Good to Great". He taught me the best type of leadership is one that really builds up the next great leaders for your company.
