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When Emily Siegel was in her 20s, she received a valuable piece of professional advice. After she had bemoaned working a longer day than co-workers rushing home to their children, a colleague reminded her, “You’re playing that role now so someone can give you that grace later.”
Those words have only grown more resonant with time. “Your career will likely be long and have many chapters to it,” said Siegel, president and founding partner at full-service agency Lafayette American. “It’s OK to be patient with yourself and remember that each chapter might look different.”
Whether someone is taking a step back from work because of child care, family obligations or a decline in mental health, Siegel is an advocate for doing the job that one’s current circumstance warrants. Since founding her agency in 2018, she has focused on facilitating a culture of mutual compassion by being unapologetic about her own needs—and welcoming others to do the same.
And when transitioning from a stable and predictable WPP agency role to entrepreneurship during her first pregnancy, Siegel said the highlights of her career have stemmed from trusting intuition over succumbing to self-doubt. When establishing both internal culture and client strategies, she encourages other industry professionals to boldly establish their intentions from the get-go while refusing to allow logistical uncertainty to cloud creative instincts.
Work History
Emily Siegel is the president and partner of Lafayette American, a creative, design and strategy agency based in Detroit. Before starting Lafayette American in 2018, Siegel spent four years working on Ford Motor Company’s content strategy under WPP-owned agency GTB, where she launched a branded podcast and introduced the Pinewood Derby to the Girl Scouts for the first time in history as part of Ford’s STEM initiative. Siegel also held program manager and content strategy roles at Federated Media Publishing and began her advertising career as a Teach for America recruitment associate.
Catalyzing connection off the clock
Siegel, who executed agency GTB’s content strategy for Ford Motor Co. before becoming a founding partner, knows that speaking openly about life outside of work facilitates comfort and community.
Through refusing to hide any side of herself, including blocking off time on her public calendar for child care and family obligations, Siegel has seen results in how others show up as well. To avoid so many meetings, she also suggested discontinuing a daily standup (though ultimately, the team wanted to keep it for connection).
When starting the agency as a new mom, she immediately demonstrated her values by establishing paid leave for all caregivers and now urges leaders to understand that conventional policies do not account for diverse circumstances.
“People have really complicated lives, and work is only one part of that,” said Siegel, stressing that she works with HR to accommodate challenges that span beyond parenthood. “To keep the best people, we need to make sure our talent is supported and truly feel like they want to be here.”
Solutions first, logistics second
Lafayette American doesn’t want to exceed its core capabilities just to please a potential client, but the agency also isn’t interested in letting internal parameters discourage an ideal creative concept.
To offer brands optimized solutions without overextending talent, Siegel stressed the importance of developing a strong freelance network. She also encourages leaders to invest in client longevity by studying and internalizing a brand beyond the requirements of a single brief.
When health care company Livongo came to the agency with a specific ask, chief creative officer Toby Barlow instead suggested the brand write a book, which would require the help of outside talent.
“We definitely had to build that skill set by seeking support from people with deep publishing backgrounds,” Siegel said. “Getting to know a client sometimes means they ask for one thing, but what we’re actually hearing them say shows that they need something else.”
Beyond endorsing holistic employee support and client solutions that defy limitations, Siegel also reminds leaders that the best professional jump isn’t always the most practical.
“Take risks and bet on yourself,” she said. “Starting an agency with a newborn was definitely a risk, and becoming an entrepreneur was never on my bucket list, but it has led me to a much more interesting path.”
This story first appeared in the April 2023 issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.
