Claim OwnershipHuman Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams
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Ready to build an agency or consultancy you’re proud of?
You’re in the right place.
In each episode, you’ll hear exclusive insights from agency and consultancy leaders who’ve built thriving businesses.
Discover how they create high-performing teams and build high-performing and sustainable businesses. You can implement their suggestions in your business and see real results.
Hosted by Trenton Moss, leadership coach, exited agency founder and author of the bestselling book, Human Powered.
You’re in the right place.
In each episode, you’ll hear exclusive insights from agency and consultancy leaders who’ve built thriving businesses.
Discover how they create high-performing teams and build high-performing and sustainable businesses. You can implement their suggestions in your business and see real results.
Hosted by Trenton Moss, leadership coach, exited agency founder and author of the bestselling book, Human Powered.
32 Episodes
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How do you get the absolute best out of everyone in your team?
Jon Goulding is Founder & CEO of the creative agency Atomic. He runs a group of four agencies united by one mission: to unleash the superpower in brands.
In this episode, Jon shares how he:
Grounds the agency’s work in four principles - being unmistakable, unmissable, unforgettable, and unlimited - to unleash the superpower in brands
Believes every person has a superpower, and that his job is to identify, describe and nurture it
Focuses on amplifying people’s superpowers (rather than fixing their weaknesses)
Builds teams around complementary superpowers
Encourages healthy collisions, bringing together different people and skills to create something new and exciting
Inspires everyone in the team to have an unhealthy need for responsibility
Jon fundamentally believes in the power of the superpower - and that each one is shaped by three major life events, all experienced before the age of 25.
How do you build a thriving team and happy clients using DISC personality profiling?
Victoria Usher is CEO and Founder of the multi-award-winning B2B tech PR consultancy Gingermay. She’s been running the global consultancy for 16 years.
In this episode, Victoria shares how she:
Has a senior team member meet 1-to-1 with each client every month, contributing to impressive long-term client retention
Uses seven core competencies that all team members self-score against every three months
Sent her team to acting lessons to help them put on a professional mask, set their body language and use the correct micro-expressions
Coaches the team on DISC profiling so everyone understands each other’s personality types and communication styles
Profiles clients’ DISC profiles, matches them with similar team profiles and tailors communications accordingly
Uses DISC to put people into roles that align with their strengths and core motivations
Victoria is a passionate advocate for boosting emotional intelligence and self-awareness across her team - and it’s working, with client NPS scores at their highest ever levels.
How do you transition from a full-time YouTuber to running a 100-person agency?
Mike Craddock is Co-Founder & CEO of the social creative agency NewGen. He’s been running the business for 10 years and leads a team of 100 people across the UK, New York, and Paris.
In this episode, Mike shares how he:
Instils the mantra “Slow down to speed up”, after growing the agency too quickly at the expense of quality in the early days
Has a ‘F**K It Bucket,’ a monthly pot of money the team can spend however they want to support current or new clients
Pushes responsibility down by creating multi-disciplinary teams to solve business problems and drive initiatives
Challenges account teams to take a new initiative to a client at least once every 3 months, and share what they’ve done differently every 2 weeks
Ensures senior people have 10–20% free capacity to think and bring proactive ideas to clients
Runs a GG NewGen Slack channel where people praise each other and react using custom emojis representing their values
More recently, Mike has made a number of senior hires to take the business to the next level, engaging the wider team throughout the hiring process so everyone understands the new roles.
How do you reinvent the traditional agency model?
Samppa Vilkuna is Founder & CEO of the creative company, Superson. He leads a small in-house team alongside more than 400 specialists worldwide.
In this episode, Samppa shares how he:
Set up the business to be the Airbnb of the agency world - the world’s best creative agency without a single creative person
Resources from a massive pool of freelancers, so there’s never a conflict of interest in having to sell his team’s skills to clients
Hires freelancers based on skillset, location, and personal interests - so he can always provide the best possible team for clients
Has processes to ensure newly formed teams rapidly become high-performing
Creates a sense of belonging for freelancers so they feel part of the Superson community
Truly collaborates with clients, co-creating work alongside them and eliminating the need to sell it in
Samppa used to work in-house. Frustrated by his suppliers, he set up his own agency with a flexible talent pool - so the team is always the best possible fit for clients’ needs.
How do you help 300 people understand their impact on the business?
Victoria Sugg is CEO of the creative comms agency, Emperor. She’s been leading a team of over 300 people across the UK and UAE for the past 3 years.
In this episode, Victoria shares how she:
Regularly explains what’s happening with the business and its strategy, then translates this into what it means for everyone day-to-day
Sits down with all new joiners to explain the history, culture, ambition, and their role in achieving it
Maintains channels to stay connected to the team, understanding what they think and want from the business
Has a Partner Board of diverse team members, acting as a bridge between the wider team and leadership
Is hyper-transparent about business performance and how everyone can influence it
Observes the five B Corp buckets - governance, clients, environment, community, people
With a strong background in new business, Victoria has a people-centred leadership style and encourages her team to be proactive, interested, and interesting.
How do you embed the idea of being extraordinary into every aspect of your business
Jon Lonsdale is CEO of the B2B marketing agency Publicis Pro, which he’s led for almost 25 years. Originally Octopus Group, they were acquired by Publicis in 2021.
In this episode, Jon shares how he:
Reviewed everyone’s job specs to define what an extraordinary version of each role looks like
Moved from using values to behaviours, to show the team what extraordinary looks like
Has intentionally maintained key habits to drive culture, from their annual festival to their Monday morning meetings
Runs a ‘Spotted’ competition each month, where people highlight the best campaigns they've seen outside of work
Founded the agency with the mantra: "Let’s create the best job ever for the people who work for us"
Navigated the Publicis acquisition so his team got the best of having an indie culture and being part of a larger group
Jon and his co-founders have led the business for nearly 25 years, maintaining consistency and a long-term approach to decisions.
How do you drive people through the intensity of agency life while still offering strong support?
Rebecca Hull is Managing Director at manifesto, part of the publicly listed TPXimpact, where she’s led a team of 100 people for 4 years.
In this episode, Rebecca shares how she:
Organises the business around conscious leadership and helping people operate 'above the line'
Uses their manifesto to guide day-to-day behaviour
Empowers people to come together around high-value moments, fostering internal communities
Invests in leadership coaching, creating a ripple effect throughout the teams
Has navigated much of her career as a single parent, giving her deep empathy for people's personal circumstances
Applies her lived experiences of working brand-side to agency leadership
Rebecca was tasked with merging three businesses into one just one week into her role. She shares her empathy-led, programmatic approach to the integration - and discusses much more.
How do you rapidly scale a profitable agency in just two years?
Vicky Hope is Co-Founder & CEO at LOOP Agencies. In only two years, they’ve grown to 15 people and are on track to double in size over the next year.
In this episode, Vicky shares how she:
Used half their original funding to pre-book a Christmas party for a team that didn’t yet exist - giving them something to aim for
Resigned a disrespectful client in the early days, even though that client was funding the business
Encourages brilliant work by challenging everyone to be bored with the status quo and excited by tackling hard problems
Awards spot bonuses privately to acknowledge the small, behind-the-scenes actions that go above and beyond
Transitioned to an employee-owned business model (EOT) after just two years
Is already building the next level of leadership to enable succession planning, creating an exit path for herself and her co-founder
Vicky embeds the mantra "It won’t fail because of me" throughout the business, ensuring everyone understands their role in the company’s success.
How do you scale an agency in an industry you’ve never worked in?
Anant Sharma is CEO & Founder at Matter of Form, a design consultancy that works primarily with luxury brands. Over the past 15 years, he’s grown the business to a $10m turnover.
In this episode, Anant shares how he:
Evolved from being a busy fool with a growth-at-all-costs mentality to fostering a safe, calm culture for his team
Runs a ‘Know Your Client’ initiative to ensure his team is always aligned with clients’ business goals
Bought a Design Thinking School so his team could double down on L&D and contribute to teaching
Invests in business support roles, allowing him to focus on what matters most
Offers executive coaching to all senior team members
Uses self-deprecation to encourage everyone to be their true selves
Anant aspires for Matter of Form to be a place where people can transform, allowing them to buy into the company and making it a memorable, important part of their career journey.
How do you launch and scale a business with an average employee age of 24?
Alex Bodini is Co-Founder & Group CEO at Spin, a creative-first social agency. Over 9 years, he's grown the business to 75 people.
In this episode, Alex shares how he:
Uses the High Challenge, High Support framework to drive supportive performance growth
Takes on the role of 'Chief Repeating Officer' when introducing new concepts to the business
Has invested in a 'professionalising the business' initiative for the past 2 years, bringing in senior talent to shape structures and processes
Shifted the business from being a stepping-stone employer to a destination employer
Focuses on creating enough headroom for all their talent to continue growing
Acquired other agencies and worked to integrate their operations and cultures
Alex uses the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to guide everything they do, from setting Rocks to running Level 10 Meetings, and assessing the team regularly with the People Analyser.
How can you make a genuine and positive difference to the entire sector you operate within?
Sam Gregory is co-CEO of the PR agency Tangerine, leading a team of 110 people. She took over the business in 2011 and has overseen significant growth since then.
In this episode, Sam shares how she:
Puts entrepreneurial spirit and courageous thinking at the heart of everything they do
Embeds a culture of bold, brave, and creative work aligned with clients' business objectives
Prioritises a clear vision and overarching business plan as her number one focus
Maintains full transparency internally with their business plans, decision-making and financials
Strongly believes in the benefits of their Employee Ownership model
Actively recruits apprentices to access raw young talent and keep the business at the cutting edge
Sam is dedicated to creating a workplace where everyone feels genuinely valued. And it’s working - last year, Tangerine was featured in Campaign’s Top 100 Best Places to Work.
How do you bring together two well-established businesses to create a new entity?
Phil Fearnley is CEO of the creative company, House 337. He led the creation of the business in 2022 by merging 200+ people from two separate businesses, ODD and Engine.
In this episode, Phil shares how he:
Brought together two businesses by leveraging their joint histories to forge a shared future
Set up seven internal teams to lead the integration and formation of the new company
Had the team create highly original core values - Alchemic, Inventive and Soulful - that the business could truly own
Personally ran workshops with every single team member to reinforce these values and their importance
Made 'House' central to their new name to reflect a culture of membership and belonging
Refuses to tolerate "Big I Am's" who undermine a team mentality
Phil is also a former Wales U21 rugby player. He applies team principles from his playing days to foster a true team ethos.
How do you create a strong culture and community with a global remote team?
Ranzie Anthony is co-founder and CEO of Athlon, a global design & technology company. He’s been running the business for 14 years, with a team of 100 people across 4 continents.
In this episode, Ranzie shares how he:
Overcame cultural, language, time zone, and process differences to build a high-performing global team
Brings the team together to build cultural bonds and create enduring memories
Rewards and recognises positive behaviour whenever someone does something great
Sets a one-team culture, treating everyone equally, regardless of location or role
Fosters a sense of community where people care for each other and go the extra mile
Encourages team members to embrace change so they have maximum impact on the business over time
Ranzie believes strongly in a remote-first and global culture. It leads to better wellbeing for the team and a greater understanding of life in different parts of the world.
How do you motivate diverse leadership teams across an agency group?
Andrew Southcott is the CEO of Captivate Group, overseeing 4 independent agencies and a team of 120 people.
In this episode, Andrew shares how he:
Adapts his leadership style to get the best out of everyone and get out of their way so they can excel
Pushes a DEI agenda because of the noticeable improvements to their work
Takes what he's learnt from his stand-up comedy side hustle and applies this to leading the group
Encourages senior team members to look ahead and proactively work out how to apply their finite resources to solve problems
Focuses on operations as each agency scales to ensure consistency in delivery
Recruits different types of Managing Directors for start-up vs. scale-up phases for the group agencies
Andrew is passionate about building a great place with great people, delivering great work for great clients. And in this episode, he breaks down exactly how he does it.
How do you continually embed AI to create a high-performing business?
Fergus Dyer-Smith is founder and CEO of Wooshi, an AI-enabled content business. He got early access to the original GPT from OpenAI back in late-2020.
In this episode, Fergus shares how he:
Realised the potential of AI early on and created automated solutions for most business processes
Built an AI-powered creative ideation product that ended up replacing their Creative Director
Developed an AI tool that enables their sales team to generate client proposals without input from the creative team
Advocates for widespread AI adoption to save time, encouraging people to reinvest that time to find new ways to add value
Expects us to deliver up to 100 times the output compared to a pre-AI world
Proactively prepares for AI to potentially replace him, ensuring he's ready for whatever’s next
Fergus firmly believes that AI will lead to opportunity and abundance for all of us. While its adoption can feel scary, he feels great excitement about the possibilities.
How do you create a performance culture whilst maintaining warmth and affection?
Ian Finch is founder and CEO of Mando Group, a digital consultancy that makes technology work for everyone. He’s been running the business for 27 years.
In this episode, Ian shares how he:
Moved away from decision-making led by informal watercooler moments to being highly metric-driven
Uses the VMOST framework to cascade business goals into team, department and individual goals
Profiled his superheroes internally and built out values and core competencies from their behaviour
Realised that his workaholic tendencies and high expectations meant that his team couldn’t thrive
Uses NLP coaching with his team so they come up with the answers themselves and get into a performance state
Moved away from having a ‘duty obligation’ by realising that just because he can do something, it doesn't mean he should do it
Ian candidly shares the story of his major burnout and having to step away from running the business for 3 months. He gradually reintegrated and transformed his leadership style to become an enabler to his team.
How do you become truly self-aware as a business leader?
Nikki Gatenby is a Non-Exec Director, Cognitive Behavioural Coach and bestselling author of 2 books. She has 25 years of agency experience including 10 years running the agency, Propellernet.
In this episode, Nikki shares how she:
Articulates business visions in a novel way so they’re memorable and easy to understand
Pushes for a culture where everyone can say when things aren’t working so they all develop and grow
Looks after people's wellbeing and avoids them burning out by regularly asking 4 simple questions
Brings in backward reflection and retrospectives so teams always learn from their experiences
Enables personal growth by getting everyone to be learn-it-alls (and not know-it-alls)
Uses working style analysis so teams understand how best to work with each other
Nikki talks openly about her 25-year career - including how she self-manages to prevent her two previous burnout events from ever happening again.
How do you achieve rapid growth with a diverse team across 3 continents?
Hannah Springett is Founder & CEO of HLabs. She started her no-code creative agency just 4 years ago and has rapidly scaled to a global team of 40 people.
In this episode, Hannah shares how she:
Instills a growth mindset within the team so they believe anything is possible
Places authenticity at the heart of everything she does - including being open about her endeavours going wrong
Has learnt to supercharge her empathy skills - especially to get the best out of introverts
Values diversity and intentionally recruits globally to increase this even more
Spends quality time with team members to properly understand their ambitions and motivations
Maps out her 10-year vision for each pillar of the business, aligning everyone around a set of big lofty goals
Hannah is deeply committed to changing the lives of each of her employees. She shares how she does this in our open and authentic conversation.
How do you grow to 300 people globally with a laser focus on people and culture?
Tamara Littleton is Executive Chair & Founder at Social Element. She started the agency as a remote-first business 22 years ago.
In this episode, Tamara shares how she:
Puts attracting and retaining brilliant talent at the top of their flywheel and as their key business objective
Used her corporate background to apply strategic thinking from day one and grow into a large business
Leads from the back to keep out of people’s way and allow them to take the business forward
Appointed external auditors to measure how well they’re doing for diversity and help them continuously improve
Rolled out DISC training across the business so everyone better understands each other, is more respectful and challenges ideas
Takes it as her personal responsibility to retain the culture so the team keeps turning up every day and doing a great job
Tamara openly shares her 22-year journey from sole founder to handing over the running of the business and appointing two co-CEOs.
How do you set the weather in your business and get everyone to love what they do?
Becky Simms is Founder and CEO of the agency group, Human First Collective. 14 years ago she founded her agency, Reflect Digital, which she integrated into the group last year.
In this episode, Becky shares how she:
Is driven by the mantra, “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”
Has a robust, clearly defined recruitment and onboarding process, ensuring every hire is a great cultural fit
Uses a ‘Vivid Vision’ and working groups so everyone deeply buys into the company direction
Brings their values to life with external speakers, including a Gold-winning Olympian
Invested heavily in tech to make team meetings fully inclusive and engaging for remote participants
Transitioned the agency to a flexible 4-day workweek - and has never looked back
Becky firmly believes that the leadership team sets the weather for the agency. This philosophy guides all her communications.
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