“Don’t shrink,” Micheline Grace Lewis from DDB Americas

Meet Micheline Grace Lewis, Chief People Officer at DDB Americas, where she leads across business transformation, talent development, employee relations, and more. Micheline excels in driving highly effective human capital management programs, aligning HR initiatives with business strategies, and being a trusted executive advisor. She is a people-first leader whose unwavering dedication to driving results helps her thrive in consistently demanding and rapidly changing environments. 

Micheline sat down with Morgan James, Content Marketing Specialist, SiriusXM Media, for a special, upcoming season of the Pass the Mic Podcast called Mentor Me. Micheline shared her advice on what it means to find your passion and purpose in your career—and how young professionals can find meaning and fulfillment in their roles.

Listen to Micheline’s full interview here, then check out some takeaways from the conversation.

You’ve earned a seat at the table.

Highlight: “Some of the younger people that I see will diminish themselves in a room with more senior leaders, and others will hold themselves almost as if they're a peer in the circumstance. When you diminish yourself, you diminish what people see as your potential. It doesn't mean to come in like you know everything and you're the smartest person in the room, but hold yourself, because you have a seat at the table, for whatever capacity it's at, hold yourself like you've earned that seat at that table and be positive in it. Don't shrink because people can see when you shrink.” - Micheline Grace Lewis

Don’t rely on work alone to fulfill you.

Highlight: “I think people have to be really honest with themselves… I always say work is called work for a reason and not happy-happy fun time. So people shouldn't expect work to be the one thing that fulfills them. Everyone should really look to have some other outside interests. If your entire life exists with your work, your friends are always through your work, the people you vacation with are only through your job, then you are building a life that is really, really small and dependent on employment. At the end of the day, employment is a commercial circumstance. That's a really unhealthy thing to be reliant on.” - Micheline Grace Lewis

Find your own opinion.

Highlight: “The influences of friendship and relationships throughout our life is really great. Think back to high school. It's like, ‘Oh, do I really love soccer this much? Or do I love it because my friends are into it?’ What are the things that you allow others to influence for you throughout your life? And the same can be said in a professional circumstance, positively and negatively. Do you really dislike the person or do you dislike the person because your work friend also dislikes the person?... That tribal mindset can be a positive and a negative, personally and professionally. So you have to balance that in general and find your own passion, your own opinion.” - Micheline Grace Lewis

Try something, then get feedback.

Highlight: “Sometimes when you give somebody or delegate something to somebody, they're like, ‘Oh,’ because they think they can't do it themselves. It doesn't mean I can't do it myself. It means, one, I wanna see what you can do. Two, you might bring a fresh perspective that has never been thought of. And then let's discuss what's great about it, what's not great about it, and then let's move forward with it together. I think those who are willing to, in my experience, have been those who develop faster further because they're willing to try something and then get the input.” - Micheline Grace Lewis

Network, and ask questions. 

Highlight: “Network. Ask a lot of questions. You never know who knows somebody else in your life and what circumstance you may find. When my daughter was an infant, I really felt like I needed to look for a new job. And I had a neighbor who came over to say hello and meet my new baby. And I told her, ‘Yeah, I'm really looking for a job. I just wanted to do HR.’ She goes, ‘My friend's friend is in HR. Let me call her and see if she has anything.’ And that ended up being my next boss. But I mean, I told my hairdresser, I told everybody what I was looking for and what I needed. And people would be like, ‘Oh yeah, I know this person.’ And I got to meet people. A lot of it ended nowhere, and it was some good advice. And then eventually it ended in my next job. So don't be afraid to reach out and ask.” - Micheline Grace Lewis

Micheline has found her passions not just in her career but outside of it, too. And so should you. Her words of advice can help guide you there. And when you’re ready for more inspiration, check out the Pass the Mic page.

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