Why People Strategy Should Be Your First Priority. Not Your Last

Neil Adams
Nov 8
3 min read

Agency founders are some of the busiest people I know. There’s always a pitch to prep, a project to deliver, or a fire to put out. So when I ask leaders about their people strategy — how they’re developing their team, building culture, or planning future leadership — it often gets pushed to the end of the list.

“Let me fix sales first.”

“Once we’ve got more consistent leads.”

“After we hire this new PM.”

Totally understandable. But here’s the truth no one likes hearing. People strategy is what makes all those other things easier.

High-performing teams unlock growth across the board

Strong, motivated teams aren’t just nice to have. They’re often the single biggest multiplier across every part of the business.

Take sales, for example. The top priority for most agencies right now.

What if everyone in your agency contributed to growth?

Shared market intel from client conversations
Spotted up-sell and cross-sell opportunities
Brought in referrals
Carried the energy and conviction of your agency into every interaction

Motivated, empowered people do this.

Unmotivated people do the minimum.

One agency founder I spoke to recently put their high pitch-win rate down to culture. Not their creds deck. Not the strategy. Culture. It was so distinctive. So clearly lived by the team. Clients could feel it. They bought into that.

And the impact?

Longer client relationships. Deeper trust. Higher prices. Better profits.

All driven by people.

Why people strategy get's stuck at the bottom of the issue pile

Founders get stuck in the day-to-day. The client work comes first. Then the finances. Then marketing. Then maybe, if there’s time, they’ll look at that team dynamic that’s causing friction, or that high-potential employee who keeps getting overlooked.

But most agency challenges aren’t solved by another tool, tactic, or hire. They’re solved by building a team that can think, act, and grow alongside you.

A good team strategy isn’t fluffy. It’s foundational

If you want to grow in size, in profit, or in freedom, you’ll need a team that can operate without your constant involvement.

That means:

Clarity on roles, expectations, and authority
Development pathways for rising stars so they stay and grow
Culture that rewards initiative and ownership, not just effort
Leadership that knows how to drive performance without burning people out

Without this foundation, you’ll always feel like you’re carrying the business on your back.

What our diagnostic keeps showing us

One of the most telling parts of our Agency Adventure Diagnostic is how rarely people select team performance or leadership development as their top priorities.

Yet when we dig into their challenges, it’s almost always a leadership or people gap that’s stalling momentum.

We had one founder who thought their issue was pricing. But it turned out their real challenge was that no one in the team felt confident to push back on scope. And the founder was too busy to help. We fixed the margins by empowering the team, not changing the rate card.

Flip the script. Make people strategy your unfair advantage

It’s harder than ever to stand out as an agency. Most are offering the same services. Telling similar stories. Pitching with similar decks. They’ve all got smart people and solid credentials.

But the one thing no one else can copy? Your team.

Not just their skills or job titles. It’s how they think. How they show up. How they work together.

How they work with clients.

That’s what clients really remember.
That’s what makes you distinctive.
That’s what keeps them coming back and paying a premium.

I experienced this when I ran my agency...

At my own agency, over 25 years, we were lucky. On balance, we built an amazing team and a great culture. It wasn’t engineered. It came from our values as founders. Almost by accident. But it made a huge difference. It helped us win pitches. Attract clients who wanted to work with us. And it kept them sticky for years.

But we also had patches where the culture went off. A few poor hiring decisions. The wrong attitudes in the room. And we felt it. Hard.

Suddenly I was putting out more fires. People were coasting. Client service dropped. And yes, we lost some clients.

That’s people strategy directly hitting the bottom line.

And getting back to a good culture from there is hard. It means tough conversations. Admitting to the team you got it wrong. Letting people go. Rebuilding trust. But it’s worth the pain. Because when you get it right again, everything flows.

The smartest agencies I know today are being intentional about this. They’re building cultures that attract brilliant people. They’re unlocking energy and ideas from every level. And they’re turning their way of working into part of the product.

That’s not fluff. That’s leverage.