Level Up Your Leaders: Developing Managers Who Build Dream Teams
Mediocre managers are silent killers of agency culture and retention—they drive away your top talent, suffocate innovation, and ultimately put a hard cap on your agency’s growth. For agencies aiming to scale profitably, the brutal truth is that your managers are either building your dream team or slowly tearing it apart. It is time to stop settling for average and start actively developing managers who can inspire, motivate, and retain the people who make your agency exceptional.
Spot the Gaps: Diagnose Your Leadership Bench Now
Too many agency owners assume their managers are good enough because operations seem smooth on the surface. But even top billers can struggle to lead, and “good enough” is never good enough in a fast-growing marketing agency. Start by looking for signs that you have a leadership gap.
- Are your A-players spending meeting time venting about communication bottlenecks?
- Are key projects slipping because accountability is fuzzy?
Examine real data, not just gut feels—look at turnover rates by team, anonymous feedback scores, and client satisfaction trends broken down by manager. When a department consistently underperforms, you likely have a management gap that needs urgent attention.
No-Fluff Training: Make Leadership Your Growth Engine
Once you identify the gaps, get serious about developing your managers. One-off workshops or sending people to a generic leadership seminar do nothing to create real growth. Your approach needs to be laser-focused and ongoing. Start small with real agency scenarios:
- Roleplaying tough feedback
- Running live coaching sessions
- Challenging managers to run retros and debriefs after key projects
Invest in leadership training that is all about your reality. Bring in guest experts who have actually scaled agencies—not just corporate trainers. Focus training around:
- Motivating different personality types
- Leading through change
- How to run data-driven one-on-ones
Accelerate growth by having managers:
- Shadow high-performing leaders in your network
- Exchange best practices
- Record real client calls (with permission) to review what works and what flops in real-life manager interactions
Practical, ongoing repetition is what lifts average managers to difference-makers.
Retain Talent: Motivate with Data and Real Accountability
Retention starts with managers who know how to keep their teams engaged and accountable. Build a culture where data matters—use clear, visible dashboards to track not only project KPIs but also people KPIs.
- Are your managers having weekly one-on-ones?
- Are they soliciting upward feedback in a way that feels safe for employees?
Implement quarterly 360 reviews—not just for performance, but for alignment with agency values. Make it standard to have managers set clear goals for their teams and to review these regularly in front of their peers. Public progress reports create peer accountability and make it harder to hide when a manager is not pulling their weight.
Accountability Is Non-Negotiable
A culture of accountability does not just happen with the right dashboards. It requires you, as the agency owner, to walk the talk. Review manager performance as seriously as you review campaign performance. If a manager’s team consistently underdelivers or experiences high turnover, intervene early. Set clear, written performance expectations for leaders and do not shy away from tough conversations. Bring concrete examples and data to performance reviews and reward managers who act swiftly to solve people problems. Underperformance at the management level is a leading indicator of bigger retention and delivery issues on the horizon. Nip it in the bud.
Build Your Leadership Pipeline: Future-Proof Your Dream Team
You cannot hire your way out of weak management. Sustainable, scalable agencies are constantly developing their next generation of leaders.
- Identify your top-performing employees and assign stretch projects where they can test their leadership muscles
- Pair future managers with current leaders for mentorship—have them run a team meeting or lead a client strategy call under supervision
- Document the skills and behaviors that make your best managers stand out, and integrate these into your internal career development tracks
Make leadership an aspiration, not a consolation prize for longevity.
Onboarding Future-Ready Managers
When onboarding new managers, forget the sink-or-swim mentality. Set clear milestones for what success looks like their first 30, 60, and 90 days. Ensure they get real face time with team members and clients, not just HR videos. Assign a peer mentor and load up their first quarter with real feedback loops and stretch opportunities. Train them specifically on agency peculiarities—how you handle scope creep, client renewals, and internal communications—so they hit the ground running.
Level Up or Lose Out
The difference between agency stagnation and breakthrough growth is manager quality. Invest in your leadership bench this quarter or prepare to lose your best people. Not tomorrow—today, audit your managers, set up feedback systems, and start weekly leadership development calls. Give your future leaders a pathway and your current managers relentless support and accountability. Your dream team will not build itself, but it will flourish under leaders with the tools, data, and mindset to win.
Take the first step
Calendar time this week for a leadership audit and put real training on the agenda. Your agency’s next level depends on it.
