We were lucky to catch up with Eric Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

As a Creative Leader, I hope every Creative I’ve ever poured into felt stretched, seen, and valued. I hope they remember my advocacy for their peace and my commitment to their greatness. I I hope my projects felt like advocacy for unseen groups, a proud display of urban tales, and a mirror to the blind spots that would bridge people groups together. I hope everyone remembers how passionate I am about my work but how my wife and kids will always come before it all.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Eric Smith and I am Creative Director. I lead 2 Creative Teams of 2 different Non Profit Organizations. In these teams you’ll find anything from Video Editors, Graphic Designers, Content Creators, Set designers, and more.. I’m also an Actor, Freelance Creative, FilmMaker, and speaker.

What makes me stand out?

I would say a couple of my strengths are connecting with anyone I work with and
making a safe places to dream for anyone. I have big vision, I’m naturally led by my curiosity, and I care about having meaning to my work. My difference would be creating ideation that stands out, my Inglewood/urban edge 😉, and my drive to always make it have meaning.

How’d I get into my crafts?

My upbringing was a bit interesting which caused me to stumble into a lot of creative disciplines. I was born in Inglewood, CA. I consider myself a
Grandma’s Boy who navigated the foster care system of Los Angeles County, where I mostly spent time in after-school programs where I developed my creativity. I didn’t have a lot of mentors and direction super early so I explored a lot. I went from dancing, audio engineering, video editing, songwriting, producing, acting, etc. Most of the disciplines were mainly explored in High School. I think I was voted Most Talented in the yearbook for High School. However, I did have social workers, and people here and there that seem my passion to then bring me into programs that helped a lot of creative talents.

I’m most proud of any work I do with Foster Youth, and that one of the places I lead Creative Direction works with At Risk youth through social emotional programs. I’ve worked with at risk youth for about 6 years now.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I started pursuing acting once I graduated High School. For context, I put myself all the way out there for this career. Once you turn 18 in foster care they give you free money if you go to school or get a job so I spent all this money on acting classes, acting websites, cameras, etc, I pursued this career hard and in some years later I got a great Manager. 1 year into my marriage , I just received a commercial agent. However, my wife and I were broke. We could barely afford rent. I remember us crying together in the living room asking God for direction of our next. A 2nd job opportunity of being an executive assistant at my new church came where I can make a bit more money, but I had to move to San Bernardino. This meant it wouldn’t be realistic for me to pursue acting with the work hours and how far I was. I left my manager and commercial agent to create some stability for my family. 6 months into the job at my church, My pastor throws me into being the Creative Director. That ended up being one of the hardest jobs I’ve EVER encountered by far. Mainly because of the learning curve of areas I never desired to learn. I had to learn how to do live experiences, streaming, groom other creatives, etc. A year in a half later, I quit my first job and got a new job at a Non Profit. After a year of working as a youth life coach and video editor, they promoted me to being the company’s first Creative Director. And here I am..

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As a Leader and even Creative Coach, honest feedback is a gift to receive and to give. Peoples response in general doesn’t always make it seem that way but in the long run, we all need it.

Backstory is I use do a lot of performative efforts when helping people. For example, in a small form I recall doing performative empathy. I use to have a leadership position at an organization, and this person kept giving me a sob story of why they kept performing poorly. It got to a point where I didn’t know how to hold them accountable because I just felt bad and thought I’d look insensitive . However, they kept being a no show at the job. It got to a point, where I didn’t even know how to stay present with them when they shared another story because I was angry and felt stuck. I wasn’t angry at them, but I was more angry at myself for not having the needed conversation. Leadership requires honest feedback. I believe it doesn’t have to be rude, but honest feedback saves us all.    

Contact Info:

• Instagram: TheCreativeProphet
• Facebook: Eric De’wayne Smith
• Linkedin: Eric De’wayne Smith