Visibility and Vulnerability: 3 AAPI Agency CSOs Talk About Leadership

We’re seeing better representation, with more AAPI leaders in the C-suite. But somehow industry visibility feels elusive. A peculiar paradox of the AAPI experience is being simultaneously visible and invisible; in a year of AAPI triumphs at the Oscars, 44% of Americans couldn’t name even one famous Asian American Pacific Islander.

So yes, there are a growing number of agencies with AAPI CEOs, CCOs, CMOs and COOs. But where there’s been notable growth is in the number of Asian American/Pacific Islanders in the role of chief strategy officer. We should know—the three of us are AAPIs and CSOs, and all at the Grey Group. If you look past the veil of invisibility, you’ll find AAPI CSOs at shops of every size and in every market.

But why? It’s a question that points toward some hard truths about the AAPI experience in agencies. Strategy roles have lined up, for better or worse, with some unfair stereotypes and some real, common experiences within the community.

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But you are a nerd, right?

At the heart of the experience is the Model Minority Myth: a divisive idea that holds up AAPI progress as proof that systemic change isn’t needed. The statistics around AAPI progress can be convincing: financial and educational progress in the percentages of AAPI families with middle-class incomes and advanced degrees.

But the stats don’t tell the whole story. People who identified as Asian American/ Pacific Islanders in the census have the biggest range of incomes of any ethnic group, meaning that while there are now more AAPIs who are middle-class professionals, there are also many living below the poverty line. And as advanced degrees go, depending on the community you come from, it can be as high as 40% of adults over 30 … or 3%.

This is to say that not all of us are professional nerds. But stereotyping happens. The door is nerd-shaped, so you might contort yourself a little to fit through it. All three of us walked through the nerd door with cred to get into agencies. Ankit got a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and did his postdoctoral research at Harvard. Kathy was a double major in Psychology and Linguistics. Dan spent four years working in Microbiology.

Bringing nerd cred does have its advantages, of course. It can eventually earn you expertise in a topic; integrated communications, health and wellness, b-to-b technology. For each of us, finding a niche gave people in the industry an easy story to frame us with. It was a net positive for each of us, but sometimes you don’t get a story—you get framed with a stereotype instead.

Stereotypes of AAPIs, like “being only good at math,” “being too pragmatic and not creative enough,” or “being too timid for meetings” aren’t as common as they once were. But when someone is hit with an AAPI stereotype, it can really define their career.

In an industry that values cultural currency, it seems to surprise people when, as an AAPI strategist, someone’s a sports fan, into fashion or musically inclined. We’ve seen AAPI strategists get stereotyped out of career advancement or the industry altogether.

Perpetually outsiders

Growing up AAPI can make you an outsider, just by having different languages and experiences at home. It can make it harder at the outset. For each of us, getting into agency life took some luck: two account management brothers, an opportunity to write English copy for an agency in Taiwan and a mentor in marketing consulting.

In the long run, however, there is some value in being an outsider, especially in strategy. It makes it easier to spot insights when everything is already alien.

From the outside looking in, you have no choice but to be curious and to seek understanding. You need to be objective and find empathy. It also compels you to be inventive. You discover new ways to be a bridge between clients and creatives. You leverage both the right and left halves of the brain.

Perpetually being the outsider can get tiring. Retelling your story. Admitting to someone that yes, like many in the AAPI community, you did immigrate here. It’s not helped by the term AAPI.

Another paradox: AAPI identity is both useful and confusing. Having a big group to identify with can help with visibility and when pushing for change. But it doesn’t allow for the great variety of experiences within the label; at least 42 cultures are represented by the term AAPI, spanning Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, West Asia, Central Asia, Hawaii and Pacific Islands and a whole diaspora of people who have brought their heritage with them as they move to new countries.

Some people can’t help but ask “where are you really from? For the three of us, the answers can be complicated: Taiwan, New Jersey, Canada, India, the Upper West Side.

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The reality is, except for the common experiences of being stereotyped, AAPIs may have more diverse stories than similarities. The three of us carry with us different traditions, experiences, industries, work styles and worldviews to work. In the 50-plus years of agency experience between us, there’s almost no overlap. But we still agree on the need to talk about AAPI leadership.

Leadership is visibility in vulnerability

AAPI leadership needs to stay on the to-do list because the challenges persist. And there’s a responsibility in taking on visible C-suite roles, for the good of the industry and for other AAPIs coming up.

Sometimes, visibility can feel like vulnerability. If the goal is to smash stereotypes, you have to bring your whole self, and be open about what you care about: creativity and clarity; bringing together smart people; and taking on big challenges that matter. You have to trust that by opening up and demanding to be seen as a whole person, you will be seen and that you will have made a difference for the better.