Another Monday, another blog! 😀
Podcast version here:
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It’s another day to reflect, and I’ve come to a realization lately. Something has been quietly unfolding these past few weeks.
I didn’t plan to become a strategist. Not in any formal, written-down kind of way. But now that I look back, I see it clearly. I’ve been building the bridge toward it all along. I just didn’t realize every step I was taking was planting something.
And now, I’m beginning to see the blossoms.
Right now, I’m in a new season of my career. It’s still early, and I’m still learning.
But just a few weeks into this new role, I’ve already started uncovering a part of myself I hadn’t quite named before.
I work with clients who need creative support. But many of them, due to time constraints or other external factors come in without a clear plan. No brief. No direction. Sometimes, no real clarity on what their brand even stands for.
Some are marketing agencies unsure of what’s next. Others are overwhelmed business owners just trying to keep up.
In helping them, I’ve realized something. I’m not just delivering designs. I’m helping them sort through the fog. I’m untangling ideas and helping them see what’s possible.
Sometimes they already have a strategy. They just don’t know it yet.
That’s where I come in. To hold space for uncertainty. To guide them toward clarity. To help them take the next right step forward.
This isn’t new for me. This is something I’ve been growing into, step by step.
Every part of my journey has planted something. And now, the bridge I’ve been building is starting to bloom.
I think it started back in college.
I had a marketing class, and one of our big projects was to create a full business plan. I still remember mine: a game development company that helped brands grow through subtle in-game advertising. Not the loud kind. Something integrated and thoughtful.
I didn’t realize it then, but I loved more than just the creative process. I loved connecting the dots. Making it make sense. Designing not just for looks, but for logic.
That was the first seed.
After college, I became a web developer. Then a marketing manager. And about five years in my journey, a local agency brought me in to consult on a brand strategy project.
I still remember the deliverables: A marketing strategy document, a presentation deck, and a recorded walkthrough video.
I was working as a designer at the time. I didn’t call myself a strategist.
I just knew I loved helping people sort out their ideas and build something meaningful.
One of the biggest tools I’ve relied on over the years is mind mapping.
I used it for my own projects and for client work. Eventually, I started teaching it.
At first, I thought it was just a creative thinking tool. A way to visually organize ideas. But now I see it differently.
Mind mapping helped me untangle abstract thoughts. It helped me zoom out and see the big picture, then zoom in to act. It gave structure to ambiguity and clarity to chaos.
Without knowing it, I was already thinking strategically. Every time I mind mapped, I was laying down another plank in the bridge.
I was planting roots. Leaving seeds in my steps.
And later, I began to see others bloom too — clients, collaborators, and fellow creatives who were finally able to see what was possible for their brand.
Not too long ago, I revisited my CliftonStrengths. That’s when it all made sense.
My top strength is Connectedness. It’s the belief that everything is part of something bigger. That nothing is random. That meaning is always at play, even when we can’t see it yet.
That’s how I’ve always worked.
I look beyond the task. I think about the people behind it. The audience. The context. The future.
The rest of my top strengths: Responsibility, Belief, Futuristic, and Learner confirmed it. They are all about building with purpose. Reflecting with depth. Acting with integrity.
These weren’t just personality traits. They were the soil that made all of this possible.
There’s something I’ve been sitting with lately.
Strategy is not just about frameworks or blueprints. It’s deeply human work.
Clients don’t just need answers. They need to feel seen. They need someone to listen. To sit with the ambiguity. To reflect things back in a way that feels actionable and true.
And that takes more than skill. It takes empathy. It takes patience. It takes someone willing to hold space and stay human.
That part of the work, the emotional part, is crucial, what many forget and what value I innately add when strategizing.
Because being a strategist is not just about thinking. It’s about caring.
And in a time when artificial intelligence is taking over many functions, our humanness is what makes us irreplaceable.
If you’re in a season of figuring things out, If you’re seeing themes in your work but haven’t fully named them yet, maybe you’re already building something too.
Even if it’s still invisible. Even if it feels unclear.
Maybe the way you reflect, the way you care, the way you think through problems. That might be your strategy showing up, quietly.
Your experiences matter. Your process matters. The way you think, care, and reflect, that is strategy.
You’re not behind. As long as you keep moving forward, you’re unfolding.
Thanks for spending time here with me.
If this resonated, I’d love to hear what bridge you’ve been building. What seeds you think you’ve already planted.
If someone you know is quietly finding their way, send this their way. Because sometimes, all we need is a little reminder that the journey itself is building something beautiful.