Agency management is not a perfect science, however when things get messy we should all wonder how can we get out of this. It’s a good practice to do a check up from the neck up on agency leadership and partnership. Just like a marriage any relationship can get dysfunctional if you aren’t communicating. Messy leadership generally happens when the team is not in alignment on the vision of where the business is going and how to get there.
Here are 10 questions you can ask during a leadership planning meeting that may shed some light on a messy management situation.
What is the clear vision with goals for the agency and does everyone understand them?
Absence of a clear vision for the business can take its toll on any leadership team. If no one knows where they are going they can’t put their efforts towards winning. More importantly in larger agencies many teams are competing for resources. When resources are scarce the goals and vision need to be clear so we can allocate time and budgets. Far too often we see agencies with no vision circle the drain. As a business owner you have to be relentlessly pushing for greater success. If you are content where you are then state that. It’s much better to declare complacency then pretend everyone is trying to get ahead.
There are defined roles and responsibilities
When you have teams of people everyone needs to understand how and what they are needed for. In agencies when leadership is messy there tends to be a great deal of finger pointing and misunderstandings. When this comes into the business some team members over compensate for underperformers and tend to get burned out and angry while others just skate through. Roles lead to goals lead to accountability. If you aren’t sure who should be doing what then there is an issue.
Numbers
Yes getting accurate reporting in an agency can sometimes lead to heavy drinking, we know this. But you have to have a pulse on the numbers. Numbers allow you to take emotion out of the equation. When the entire team makes it about a number rather than a person you can discuss the best practices rather than the work around.
Blame
There is no room for blame, it’s everyone’s fault and if you own the place it’s your 100% fault. That’s not easy to hear; I get it but it’s true. There should be no time spent blaming people only dealing with how it happened, how it won’t happen again and what’s being done to fix something. We have a saying, if we have the same conversation about the same person three times the problem is that you are keeping them on the team.
Meetings
Yes, meetings for the sake of meetings are no fun but as a leader in an organization meetings are your time to check in, get feedback, spread the message and share the numbers. When you go without meeting it means you’re avoiding conversation or you have nothing to meet about because there are no solid goals in place. When you are engaged there is plenty to meet about.
Avoidance
When you just aren’t getting along with someone we all tend to avoid them. You know how the conversation will go if you have to speak with them so its just simply easier to let it go. Pretend it doesn’t exist. But then the work piles up around you, the things you are avoiding come back to get you. When there is a dispute mediate it as quickly as possible.
Do you still want to be here?
Great news! Jobs and partnerships are not a new form of slavery. You have choices and options. So when you determine there is an issue and you attempt to work it out the other party doesn’t have to be as eager to participate. From there you have choices, you have to understand the situation and either accept it 100% (this means don’t talk badly about it, don’t let it get you down etc.) or move on. Now moving on may have you take a step or two back. This is 100% true but is your frustration worth it?
Leadership in an agency is incredibly critical to long term success. Too often when leadership is off track they don’t realize the true impact they have on the team. If your leadership is off track and you want to work on it our Agency Assessment may be the right answer for you!
