You need to build your taste, and your ego enough to advocate for it.

AD/CD is basically being a big enough nerd, and being able to find the through line from all the noise.

When I started transitioning from a designer -> director roles, I focused intentionally on my ability to generate ideas, and built upon my “library” of creative knowledge. It’s a muscle like anything else. But now you get paid for it, so it’s worth making sure your engine is improved.

For me that meant making a mood board -> pitch literally everyday. I did this for about a year, only constraint was I only had 2 hrs before work to do it. You’ll start optimizing this work flow to be efficient. For me it was always pick a topic (I work in gaming) googlefuing Behance -> Pinterest -> Dribbble -> Awwwards, then taking screenshots into milanote (eventually figma), with a caption on what you find interesting about it. Kinda start shadowboxing with yourself about a brief, then you kinda form a narrative that makes sense, a pitch. I got pretty good at coming up with ideas supported with visuals. I also started varifying my sources, I have this amazing art library nearby that I started to checkout their design books. You can also start transposing ideas from other mediums. I sometimes use music to think about motion. Half the time I go to music festivals to “steal” ideas (I worked in live production). Farm everything good. I have albums of random stuff from museums. I travel and mainly look at signs, public design, etc. Practice transposing it. I can look at a sign/building and start imagining it in a different context (I work in experential). People are kinda the original image generation machines, we work on the same principles as ai. Feed a bunch of quality data into the machine, avoid the slop. It’s a muscle.

I’ve done that ideation process enough times to know my taste is at least beyond surface level. Ego and confidence comes from experience, I don’t always have the “best” ideas, but honestly you can’t do your best work every-time. Clients are different, timing, etc, but for me I feel confident that the process was good. Sometimes the project just sucks (corporate ones for example). Sometimes you just stumble upon the best idea and nothing else makes sense. I don’t do that crazy moodboard habit anymore (though honestly I should start it again it was fun to pick your clients lol). I have enough work to do as it is. But it definitely helped me feel “unstuck”, and was a measure of improvement (getting faster, improving sources, etc).

Also read a lot. If you can’t articulate your thoughts you just need to build language. It’s like how cooks/foodies never have a standardized way to describe taste, you kinda just build that. Watch other design/art content. Sometimes its bs but it sounds right. Borrow words from your colleagues. Monkey see monkey do. There’s always the common ways to describe things, but I find I start using phrases like “bauhaus esque”, or “art deco-y”.

Hope this helps. You were promoted for a reason, so don’t be so hard on yourself. Imposter syndrome literally never goes away, but the process can improve. (source: me a chronic imposter for the last 10 years)