Marketing leadership is in radical change. Whether your client contact says it out loud or not, it is reshaping every relationship your agency holds.

There is a fundamental imbalance in how the creative industry values its most commercially critical role. Client service helps generate serious returns — yet the role producing them has been systematically undervalued, under-defined and badly measured. That has to change.

In a market where CMOs no longer buy “hours” or “output,” the traditional agency model is under scrutiny. True indispensability isn’t found in doing more work, but in elevating the quality of your presence.

The lean agency of 2026 doesn’t need more “people management”; it needs outcome management. In our “New Normal,” where teams are lean and expectations are high, we can no longer afford this wasted energy. We need to consciously design “lean” into our structure and workflows.

The rebound isn’t coming. For the last year, many in the creative and agency world have been holding their breath, waiting for a return to the “old normal.” But the signals are now undeniable: the world has officially and irreversibly changed. We are no longer waiting for a rebound. We are searching for, and shaping, a Different Normal.

When you were promoted to being a People Manager, how were you trained? Not at all? The fact is, most of us received little or no training and therefore simply mimic what our own manager did, for better or for worse.

Strategic Partnerships don’t just happen. They are the result of a carefully structured and nurtured plan that a whole team are aligned around and work together to deliver – and it’s worth the effort. The value is enormous.

Have you had a good week, or do you feel like you are limping towards the weekend? And do you know how your team are feeling? Hybrid working can get in the way of this insight. They might really need a thank you.

This Masterclass will show you how to create a motivating and well-defined North Star, and develop a strategy to get achieve the goal, with big tangible actions, day to day habits and ways of working across the whole team.