Event
Agency Leadership Programme: Growth Day
Event details
Meet other rising stars in the agency world, and share how you’re navigating your leadership journey.
Hear from inspirational speakers, who have been on the journey themselves, and take the chance to talk to your peers about how you’re coping with your step up to leadership.
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Event Manifesto
Agency Leadership Programme Growth Day
Event curated by:
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Kirstie Sutherland
Agency Hackers
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Anne Harlow
Agency Hackers
When it comes to agency leadership, there is no ‘how to’ guide to follow.
Every agency is different. And every leader is different. People step into leadership roles in different ways and at different times. Some are promoted quickly, while others grow into it gradually. Some arrive with a plan, others find themselves figuring things out as they go.
But what most agency leaders have in common is the reality of the role once they’re in it.
There’s the responsibility. The emotional load. The pressure of making decisions that affect other people, not just yourself and your own position. The challenge of supporting teams while still delivering great work, often at pace.
Leadership can be rewarding, but it can also be isolating. And too often, the learning happens quietly, through trial and error, when there’s little time or space to step back.
The leadership programme, and this Growth Day in particular, exists to change that.
This is a dedicated day for those rising stars within agencies, who are progressing on their own leadership journey, to step out of day-to-day delivery and talk honestly about leadership as it really shows up in agency life – the pressure, the pace, and the need to lead in a way that’s sustainable over time.
You’ll hear real stories from peers, share experiences with people who understand the context you’re in, and leave with perspectives you can take back into your role straight away.
Because leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about learning how to carry responsibility well – for yourself, your team, and the business.
SPEAKERS
You will hear from…
How to Really Support Your Team –
Instead of Fixing Everything for Them
In agencies, the instinct to jump in and fix things is almost automatic.
“A lot of managers fall into ‘fix mode’ because it’s the quickest, easiest thing to do, but it catches up to you,” says Janine Jacobs, co-founder of HappyHQ. “It’s just plastering over the cracks, and it actually creates long-term damage.”
In practice, that means stepping in and fixing problems your team should be solving themselves. It works in the short term. But over time, it creates dependency, and the same issues keep coming back.
One of the reasons managers fall into this pattern is that the alternative – having direct conversations and giving honest feedback – rarely goes smoothly. When those conversations don’t land, it’s often easier to step in and solve the problem instead.
In this practical, 90-minute workshop, Janine and Fran O’Connor will bring these situations into the room.
You’ll work through real-life management scenarios, the kind that come up again and again – discussing how you’d handle them, hearing how others approach them, and unpacking what works (and what makes things worse).
At Growth Day, they’ll cover:
- How to shift from fixing problems to helping your team solve them independently, and why that matters long term.
- Why feedback doesn’t always land – exploring triggers like relationship, truth and identity.
- How to handle common management challenges without creating dependency in your team.
- Simple playbook frameworks you can take away and apply immediately. You’ll get stuck into the messy, everyday situations managers deal with, and leave with ways to handle them that stick.
You’ll get stuck into the messy, everyday situations managers deal with, and leave with ways to handle them that stick.
FAQ
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