Earlier this year, we were lucky to have Dalton Sapp join our team as the Director of Project Management. We had the opportunity to chat with him about his background, what drives him, how he works to motivate his teams, and even some podcasts and books that keep him going. Check out his engaging responses to our questions below to get to know Dalton a bit better.
Tell us a little bit about your professional background and journey that led you to your role as the Director of Project Management here at DA?
A lot of my background comes from working on Pharma projects and clients. For anyone that’s not familiar with it, working in Pharma can be incredibly frustrating and incredibly rewarding at the same time. Project Management requires a lot of structure and discipline on projects in that area, and I’m hoping to bring that to Digital Additive as well. I’m the kind of person that is always looking to take on a new challenge, and when the Digital Additive team reached out to me, I was immediately interested in seeing how I could help the PMO here thrive.
What inspired you to pursue a career in project management? What are some experiences that have shaped your approach to project management?
Growing up, I don’t think I ever had an aspiration to become a Project Manager. I’m not sure many people do, truthfully. When I was in college, I did a lot of work as a Stage Manager in theatre productions, and I think that was really where I started to experience Project Management as a function. In that role, you were responsible for overseeing the show from start to finish, you’re planning everything out early on, you’re communicating with every department involved in the production, and you’re trying to solve problems before they can occur. After a couple of Project Management roles in a completely different field that was just leaving me mentally drained, I was lucky enough to find a Project Manager role at a small digital marketing agency. And I haven’t looked back since.
What would you consider some of your core principles or values that you bring with you to DA or which of the DA core values resonate most strongly with you?
That’s a tough one. I think the one that resonates the strongest with me is to be Genuine. I try to be as open and honest with team members and clients as I can be. One of my personal core beliefs is to always do the right thing. I think those two really align and help foster real and lasting relationships as a result.
How would you describe your communication style, and how does that inform the ways you foster collaboration within project teams?
I ask a lot of questions; whenever someone comes to me with a problem, I really want to make sure that we’re seeing every side of the issue that we’re trying to solve. The projects that our clients come to us with generally aren’t just black and white, they’re more complex than that. By asking the right questions up front, we can make sure that our whole team understands the project and we’ll get a better end result. Our clients should feel like our team members are an extension of their team, and to do that we need to be asking the right questions and truly understanding their business.
What are your primary goals for the agency’s project management department in the short and long term? Are there any specific initiatives or strategies you’re excited to implement in your new role?
As the new Director of Project Management, my primary goals for the agency’s PMO are to drive greater efficiency, improve project delivery, and enhance the overall client experience. In the short term, some of my key initiatives will be:
- Standardizing project management processes: I want to ensure we have a consistent, best-practice approach to project planning, resource allocation, risk management, and and more across all of our client engagements.
- Upskilling the project management team: I’m excited to work closely with the team to assess their capabilities and provide training and coaching. This will help us develop a highly skilled, adaptable project management function that can support the evolving needs of our clients.
In the long term, my goal is to transform the PMO into a true strategic partner for our clients. I want to leverage data and analytics to provide deeper insights that inform better decision-making. Ultimately, my vision is for the project management team to be viewed as trusted advisors who consistently deliver exceptional results for our clients. I’m excited to work with the team to make this vision a reality.
How do you empower and motivate your team to achieve their best work?
Empowering and motivating my team to do their best work is one of my top priorities. A few areas that I’m eager to focus on are:
- Building a culture of trust and safety: I’m a new member to Digital Additive, and I want to foster an environment on our team where everyone feels comfortable saying what is on their mind, taking risks, and admitting mistakes. I think this is the first step for our team to be more innovative and reach their full potential.
- Providing clear direction and expectations: I want to make sure everyone understands our team’s overall goals and their individual roles and responsibilities. Regular check-ins and feedback help keep everyone aligned and on track. I think Digital Additive has done an amazing job of establishing a culture of asking for and receiving feedback that many other companies are lacking.
- Investing in professional(and personal) development: Everyone on the team is at a different spot in their lives, and everyone has different goals. Part of my job is to help provide them with opportunities to grow and learn new skills, to help them take on new challenges, and to ultimately help them grow and succeed in their roles. I’m excited to see everyone on our team have long-term success.
Do you have any books, podcasts, or other resource that has been super valuable to your career that you’d recommend?
I have too many to list, so I’ll try to keep this one short (and work-related).
- Podcasts:
- Think Fast Talk Smart – I love this podcast because each episode is generally under 30 minutes and provides you with tips and techniques to improve your communication skills.
- Be Fabulous – This one is a bit more niche, but this podcast is created by a company based here in Atlanta and is geared towards helping companies shift up and grow their current team members into the next generation of fabulous leaders. I got to attend a three-day workshop with their team a couple of years ago, and it completely changed the way I look at my own career development.
- How I Built This – I could listen to Guy Raz interviewing entrepreneurs all day —and have on some long roadtrips before. This podcast is great to learn about how popular businesses got their start.
- Books:
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek – If I could only recommend one book on business, it’s probably this one. This is the book for anyone looking to better understand how to build a purpose-driven organization or team that can truly connect with and inspire its team members and clients.
- Radical Candor by Kim Scott – This book is great for teaching us to get out of our comfort zones when giving/receiving feedback. It provides us with tips and techniques for providing feedback while being personable and direct at the same time. As someone who can be very conflict-averse, this book was very eye-opening to me.
- Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willnik – Stick with me here, but a lot of the principles that the Navy SEALs take into battle can also apply to agency life as well, especially for Project and Account Managers. Teams fail when they don’t have clear plans, the correct resources, and more. This book does a great job of teaching ways to make sure your team is set up for success.
Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies or interests?
Outside of work, I’m generally hanging out at the dog park with our four-year old English Cocker Spaniel, named Ellie. Otherwise, I’m also an avid foodie and home-chef. If I could have any other job, I’d probably be a chef. Some of my recent recipes that I’ve worked on are chocolate truffles with spicy chipotle popping rocks inside of them and cinnamon-raisin bread and apple butter (my ode to Waffle House’s best side item) made from a sourdough starter that’s been maintained for decades.
What advice would you offer to aspiring project managers based on your own experiences and lessons learned?
Always be open to learning new things. When I joined my first marketing agency, there were so many moving pieces that it felt like I was walking right into a tornado. But I kept my ears open and tried to learn what everyone was responsible for and how things are done. Additionally, there are times where you may be pushed outside of your comfort zone. In those cases, I’d say embrace it. When we’re comfortable, we become stagnant. We only grow when we get outside of that comfort zone.
Want to know more about Dalton or what our project management team can do to streamline your project? Contact us today.
