lead.
THE ORGANIZATION
An independent marketing agency
MY ROLE
Embedded account leadership, strategy, and team development
An agency wanted its account team to take greater strategic and commercial ownership. I worked alongside its leaders and team on real client challenges, helping people put more of their ability to work.
What needed to change
The agency wanted stronger direction and lasting growth from its client relationships. Its senior leaders had limited bandwidth to develop the team while carrying their own responsibilities.
The opportunity was to help account leaders guide clients with greater confidence, backed by a clearer understanding of the client's business and the agency's own economics.
What I took on
I joined as a colleague to the leadership team and a hands-on partner to account leaders. My experience building agency businesses, leading enterprise brand strategy and owning a manufacturing company helped me connect what the client needed with what the agency could deliver profitably.
We worked on actual accounts. I helped develop account plans alongside the people responsible for those relationships, bringing strategic thinking into the work as it happened.
The plans gave us something concrete to question and improve together. What did the client need beyond the current assignment? Where could the agency contribute more? What would that require, and would it make sense for both businesses?
Growth Studio sessions, workshops and ongoing coaching created room to explore those questions. We connected strategy with financial understanding: how accounts made money, how scope affected profitability and which opportunities were worth pursuing.
Throughout, I stayed close to the agency's leaders so the thinking stayed connected to decisions and follow-through.
What changed
I began to notice the difference in our regular conversations. People's eyes would light up as they talked through a client opportunity. There was a little more swagger, more confidence in their own judgment. Much of that ability was already there; I was seeing them recognize it, trust it and put it to work. The care they brought to client service remained, alongside a growing willingness to recommend a direction and lead the conversation. At times, it felt like I was seeing people come into their own.
It became especially clear at the agency's mid-year gathering. Six months earlier, I had attended my first meeting with the whole organization. Now, listening to presentations and client updates, I could see a different level of confidence across several members of the team.
The agency's leaders later described the year as among their strongest financially, and credited my work with helping refocus, equip and motivate the team. I take that as recognition of my part in a collective result.
They also acknowledged that I had helped work myself out of the role. That mattered to me. The purpose was to help the people already there carry more of the thinking and ownership forward.
Where this applies
For agency leaders who want their account teams to bring stronger strategic and commercial judgment to client relationships, while depending less on senior leaders for every call.
Let's talk about what your team could take on next.