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  1. The Agency Edge: Constructive Feedback Training

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    Agency managers must get better at difficult conversations

    Plus try our new Constructive Feedback AI avatars for free

    Agency people are usually good with people.

    It’s one of the reasons they do well. They build relationships. They read the room. They keep clients happy.

    But being good with people doesn’t automatically make someone good at managing people.

    In fact, sometimes it can make the job harder.

    Because agency people are often natural people pleasers. They want to be liked. They want the team to feel supported. They don’t want to sound harsh, formal or heavy-handed.

    So, when a difficult conversation needs to happen, they can hesitate. Or turn what should be a clear piece of constructive feedback into a vague, friendly chat that leaves everyone smiling, but nothing actually changing. The team member leaves the conversation not even realising they have been asked to change their behaviour.

    And in busy agencies, unclear feedback has a cost. Small issues can soon become frustrations that affect clients, teams, quality and performance.

    Good feedback needs structure

    Constructive feedback should not be brutal. But it does need to be clear.

    That is where our AEIOU model comes in.

    It gives managers a simple structure for feedback conversations that are clear, fair and practical.


    A is for Area. Be specific about the issue. What happened? Where did it happen? What example can you point to?
    E is for Evaluation. Ask for their view. What did they think happened? How do they feel it went?
    I is for Implication. Ask them to consider the impact. What does this mean for the client, the team, the work or their own development?
    O is for Options. Look at what could be done differently next time. This should feel like coaching, not a lecture.
    U is for Undertake. Mutually agree what they will do and by when. Feedback only becomes useful when it turns into action.

    It sounds simple but these are some of the most difficult conversations that a manager has to have with their team and it takes practise.

    Why practise matters

    Most managers do not get enough safe practise before they have to do the real thing. They learn on the job. Usually under pressure.

    But what if agency managers could practise realistic feedback conversations before they have them for real?

    That’s why we have developed our new AI-powered Constructive Feedback avatars to support our training…and we’re inviting you to give them a try for free.

    The scenarios are built around typical agency management moments, including weak contribution in a client meeting, an abrupt response to a client due to pressure and a missed opportunity to delegate to a junior team member.

    In other words, the kinds of conversations agency leaders and team managers recognise immediately.

    You can sit opposite the AI avatar and try out the conversation and it responds in the moment, so the conversation feels live. That makes the practise far more useful than simply reading a model or discussing what you would do in theory.

    The feedback on your feedback

    The real added value then comes after the conversation.

    Once you end the conversation, the tool gives instant, detailed feedback on how the conversation was managed.

    It looks at the overall quality of the conversation, but also breaks the performance down into specific areas, including clarity of issue framing, empathy and tone, curiosity and listening, coaching quality, conversation structure and confidence in handling a difficult conversation.

    That means people do not just get a score. They get practical insight into what worked, what was missed and what they could do better next time.

    It is a powerful way to turn feedback training into a repeatable skill.

    And, importantly, it is also fun!

    There is something engaging about trying the conversation, seeing how the avatar responds and then receiving immediate feedback on your own performance. It makes the learning feel active, practical and memorable.

    Constructive Feedback report
    Feedback report

    Try the avatars for free

    We will now be using these avatars in our Constructive Feedback training to help bring the AEIOU model to life and give people more opportunity to practise.

    But you can also try them for yourself now.

    They are free to use to newsletter subscribers for the next few days. Just open the link from a desktop or laptop, choose a scenario and have a go.

    Try the avatars for free: https://amber-avatar.onrender.com

    I hope you give it a try, we would really welcome your feedback. Plus, if you think your people could benefit from our Constructive Feedback or any wider people management training, just drop me a line at paul@ambergroup.net

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  2. The Agency Edge: Mindset Before Title

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    The talent challenge: Promoted…but prepared?

    The talent challenge


    “We had a young account executive who was brilliant. They smashed through tasks, kept clients happy and got great results. Then we promoted them to account manager and it all went off the rails.”

    I hear versions of this a lot. It’s not because the person suddenly became less capable. It is because the job changed, but their mindset didn’t. And that’s an Agency leadership issue.

    A strong account executive is often rewarded for being efficient, reliable and responsive.

    They get things done.

    They stay on top of detail.

    They manage their to do list well.

    They keep momentum moving.

    All good. In fact, essential.

    But when that person steps up into an account manager role, everything changes. The job is no longer mainly about doing their own tasks well. It is about making the whole account work. That is a very different challenge.

    The big shift: from doer to radar

    A good account manager cannot wake up each day asking, “What do I need to get done first?” They need to ask, “What needs to happen across this account, and who needs to do what, to deliver well for the client?”

    It means thinking beyond your own workload.

    It means spotting pressure points before they become problems.

    It means managing upwards and downwards.

    It means delegating properly, coaching juniors, keeping the account director informed and making sure the client feels looked after.

    In other words, the account manager becomes the radar on the account. They are not just there to deliver work. They are there to help the right work happen, at the right time, through the right people.

    If nobody in the Agency helps them to make that shift, then their old habits follow them upward. Recognise any of these? 

    They keep too much on their own plate.

    They become the bottleneck.

    They struggle to delegate because doing it themselves feels quicker.

    They focus on tasks rather than orchestration.

    The same thing happens again at account director level

    The jump from account manager to account director brings another mindset shift.

    Again, agencies often promote people because they have proved themselves operationally. But the next role asks for something broader.

    Now the expectation is not just smooth account handling.

    It is strategic thinking.

    It is helping clients see around corners.

    It is defining and demonstrating value.

    It is spotting opportunities for growth.

    It is contributing to new business.

    It is developing the team and playing a bigger role in building the agency.

    An account director who still thinks mainly like an account manager can end up stuck in delivery detail. Useful, yes. But underpowered for the role they now hold.

    Progression needs more than promotion

    This is why promotion should never be treated as a simple reward for past performance. It should be treated as a transition into a different job. And different jobs need different thinking.

    The mistake we see many agencies make is assuming bright people will just work it out. Some do but many don’t. Not because they lack ambition or intelligence, but because nobody has clearly helped them reframe what success now looks like.

    If we want agency talent to thrive as they progress, we need to be more deliberate about that transition.

    We need to help account executives understand the shift from personal delivery to account ownership. 

    We need to help account managers understand the shift from management to direction.

    And we need to show people that career development is not only about doing more. Often, it is about thinking differently. That is where the real progress happens.

    It is also why we have built dedicated development programmes around each stage of that journey: AE Mindset, AM Mindset and AD Mindset.

    Because if you want people to succeed at the next level, it is not enough to promote them. You have to help them become ready for it. 

    So, a question for you to reflect on: 

    Are you helping your best agency talent to prepare before you promote?

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  3. The Agency Edge: New Rules of People Management

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    Why employment law is no longer just an HR issue in agency life

    UK employment law changes 2026

    For most agencies, employment law sits within HR. Managers focus on delivery, clients and team performance, calling on HR to step in if something goes wrong.

    But changes to employment law introduced last week means things have changed and with further reforms scheduled in late 2026 and throughout 2027, the risk of ‘getting it wrong’ now falls as much into the hands of line managers as HR.

    Employment law is now a factor for consideration in everyday management decisions and for PR and creative agencies that’s especially a challenge. In this industry, people management is often fast, informal and commercially driven.

    Legislation can often be overlooked in routine decisions such as giving feedback, deciding who gets flexibility, handling a return from maternity leave, managing sickness absence or letting someone go during or after probation. 

    Each of these may not feel like they’re a legal matter but if they aren’t handled fairly and reasonably, they can become one.

    Recent changes to UK employment law around day-one rights, statutory sick pay reforms and stronger protections linked to whistleblowing and harassment increase the likelihood that issues will arise and escalate if handled inconsistently.

    The two-year buffer has gone

    Managers are no longer operating in an environment where the risk is low until an employee has been with the company for two years. By next January, that buffer will have been significantly reduced through changes introduced by the Employment Rights Bill.

    What agencies should worry about

    Here are the areas where agencies may be particularly exposed:

    • Informal cultures: Creative businesses often pride themselves on their informal approach. But being “less corporate” can easily translate into inconsistency; a place where legal risk thrives.
    • Fast-paced decision making: Client demands and shifting priorities mean managers act quickly. This can cause poor documentation, unclear rationale for decisions and shortcuts in process, all of which are difficult to defend later.
    • Gaps in managers’ capability: Many team leaders are promoted for their technical expertise or client management abilities, not people management expertise. Often, they’re expected to learn on the job – an approach that is increasingly risky under the current legal framework.
    • Small margin for error: A single mishandled situation can have a disproportionate knock-on effect in terms of client impact, team disruption, reputational damage or even tribunal risk. While HR still plays a critical role, it is no longer the first line of defence. The quality of the day-to-day conversations managers have with their teams matter more than policies. Early decisions such as hiring, onboarding and probation carry more weight and consistent management across individuals is critical.
    • Managers now need to recognise when something is becoming higher risk and act accordingly. 

    How to prepare your team

    This isn’t about turning your managers into employment lawyers. It’s about equipping them to operate safely and confidently in a more regulated environment.

    At a practical level, effective managers now must:

    • Understand the basics that matter – not the full legal framework, but where the real risks sit. This includes discrimination, fair process, documentation and consistency.
    • Handle issues early and appropriately – avoiding difficult conversations is one of the biggest drivers of escalation. Addressing issues early, with clarity and fairness, significantly reduces risk.
    • Document as they go – not excessive paperwork, but clear, factual records of key conversations and decisions.
    • Know their limits – recognising when a situation needs HR or legal input is now a core management skill, not a sign of ineffectiveness.

    Looking ahead, this is only the start. The changes introduced this month are not a one-off adjustment. They’re part of a broader change that will lead to stronger employee protections, greater enforcement and increased expectation on employers to demonstrate fairness. Reforms expected later in 2026 and during 2027 will continue to raise the bar.

    For agency leaders, that means asking a harder question than, “Do we have the right policies?”

    It means asking, “Are our managers equipped to understand the risks, handle situations in the right way and know when to pause and ask for support?”

    Free Webinar for Agencies

    Because of the interest we have seen in this subject, our expert Liz Baines will be running a free online webinar later this month to provide Agency leaders with more insight into the practical steps agencies should be taking in light of the new legislation. If you are interested in attending email us and we will share details. 

    The Amber Group also offers a range of management training to equip new and experienced managers with the skills and confidence to navigate this landscape. Contact our expert Liz Baines (Elizabeth@ambergroup.net) if you would like to learn more

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  4. The Agency Edge: The Human Advantage

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    Emotional Intelligence: the Agency advantage AI can’t copy

    Emotional intelligence: the Intelligence AI Can’t Copy

    “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.” (John D Rockefeller)

    An historic quote but we’d argue it’s more relevant than ever in agency life today.

    As we manage the staggering pace at which artificial intelligence is impacting the creative service world, we’re also seeing another intelligence move into the spotlight – Emotional Intelligence (EQ). As fast as we seek to automate everything in sight, agency leaders must remember that EQ will be the differentiator that sits behind an increasingly AI-driven offer.

    It’s EQ that sparks the understanding and creativity for a pitch winning idea.

    It’s EQ that comes to the fore when handling those angry client calls or the performance conversation you’ve been avoiding.

    It’s even EQ when you decide to do something different in the moment to get a new business pitch back on track and the rest of the team sits stunned because it didn’t happen in rehearsals.

    In short, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is our ability to understand ourselves and others, make decisions with empathy and build meaningful and trusted stakeholder relationships.

    It’s these relationships that are central to agency success.  For example:

    • Trusted advice.  As AI streamlines many routine services, agencies are leaning more on their strategic counsel to differentiate. As this trend continues, the ability to establish trusted advisor client relationships using our EQ is more important than ever.
    • Leading and inspiring your team. Emotions drive people and people drive performance.  As competition for talent continues to grow, its managers and leaders who can best connect with, build trust, inspire and ultimately retain top talent who will thrive.  AI tools will not replace the human skills required to get the best from your teams – that’s EQ.  
    • EQ is earned and learned, not programmed…And it boosts your team’s well-being.  EQ provides the self-awareness and regulation to build resilience, manage stress and reframe challenges – allowing us to not just withstand adversity but learn and grow from it.  The best performing agency teams demonstrate high EQ.  
    • Sometimes, you’ve got to trust your gut – especially when hiring!  AI might be able to tell you a given candidate is the best fit for the job based on a set of criteria.  But when it comes to hiring decisions, how often does your gut tell you one thing while the paperwork says another – the former often proving to be correct! That’s EQ at work.

    So how can you develop EQ?

    The good news is that unlike our IQ (which is largely fixed), our EQ can be developed.  One of the fastest ways we’ve found to build it in agency teams is Insights Discovery — because it gives people a shared language for behaviour under pressure.

    It uses a simple but powerful four colour model to increase self-awareness, deepen our understanding of others and develop the skills to adapt our interactions for maximum success.

    Each colour energy reflects a set of behavioural traits. While we all have splashes of all four colour energies, what determines our behavioural and interaction preferences is how much of each energy we naturally possess.

    Insights Discovery and EQ - Emotional Intelligence

    Predominantly, we tend to display both the strengths and the potential weaknesses of our two most dominant colour energies.  The remaining two colour energies will show up occasionally but are less visible in general.

    Colour energies

    This insight is gold dust when it comes to developing our self-awareness and self-control – both essential for developing our EQ.

    Helpfully, we can then use the same tool to recognise the behavioural and communication preferences of others and find ways to adapt our interactions for greater success.  The graphic below indicates how best to connect with each colour energy.

    Emotional Intelligence. Insights Discovery colour energies

    So there you have it.  One powerful tool to help boost your EQ.  Give it a try with your teams and clients.  Identify their top two colour energies.  Then employ some of the corresponding tips to enhance your interactions (think managing, motivating, pitching, influencing and so on).        

    People buy people

    When it comes down to it, agencies are and will remain people businesses.  It’s your people who determine how good your offer is and how good the results are.  They determine the strength and depth of your client relationships and how engaged, motivated and inspired your teams are.  AI will undoubtedly continue to change the landscape at pace but it’s our EQ that will ultimately attract, engage and retain the clients.

    If you’d like to explore how to build more self-awareness and behavioural flexibility across your team, drop us a line at info@ambergroup.net.

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  5. The Agency Edge: You’re the Boss

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    Is there a commercial blind spot in your agency?

    “PR people aren’t great with numbers,” is a comment we hear a lot when working with agencies but it’s one that always mystifies us. Surely a PR consultant that is commercially aware, from account executive upwards, is a better consultant?

    • Better positioned to manage and make decisions with clients by avoiding over service.
    • Better positioned to advise clients because they understand their business model.
    • Better positioned to make the leap from agency consultant to agency management.

    It’s about commercial consequences

    With agency teams working incredibly hard, the issue is that many people don’t naturally see the commercial consequences of the decisions they’re making in the moment.

    • “We’ll squeeze it in” becomes overtime, stress and rushed quality.
    • “Let’s keep them happy” becomes unrecoverable time.
    • “We’ll do it this once” becomes the new baseline.

    And it’s why commercial awareness is one of the most valuable leadership skills you can teach. Because when the team understand that every decision has a commercial implication, you get better choices – earlier.

    What changes when teams get it

    When people can see the commercial ripple-effect, three things usually shift fast:

    1) Pushback becomes easier (and less awkward).

    Because it’s no longer “I don’t want to.”

    It’s “Here’s the trade-off.”

    That’s a very different conversation with a client.

    2) Prioritisation gets sharper.

    People stop trying to do everything.

    They start protecting the work that matters and flagging the work that doesn’t.

    3) Capacity stops being an abstract concept.

    It becomes a shared responsibility, not an ops problem.

    And there’s a bonus that’s easy to overlook:

    If your people understand your commercial realities, they also become more commercially useful to your clients.

    Why most agencies struggle to train this (without boring everyone senseless)

    Commercial training often fails because it feels like finance. Spreadsheets. Definitions. Margin lectures.

    People nod. Then Monday arrives… and nothing changes. Because commercial awareness isn’t learned by being told. It’s learned by making decisions, feeling the consequences, and connecting cause and effect.

    Which is exactly why we built our new agency simulation game: You’re the Boss

    You’re the Boss is a fast-paced, team-based agency leadership simulation.
    Think Football Manager energy but for running an agency. 

    Teams make a series of decisions over several “quarters” of agency life. Choices about what type of new business to go for, staffing levels, quality and investment in your marketing, technology and staff well-being.

    For every decision, the game makes the commercial consequences visible. Just like real agency life.

    It’s designed for owners and leadership teams who want to create a shared commercial mindset across the agency — without turning it into a lecture.

    It also runs brilliantly as an away-day game for the whole agency to establish a grounding in commercial understanding that will have a positive impact across the agency immediately. 

    If you’d like a demo…

    If you’d like to see how You’re the Boss works — and the kinds of “aha” moments it reliably creates — email info@ambergroup.net to book a demo or find out more.

    Contact us to book your demo
    agency commercial awareness simulation

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  6. The Agency Edge: GEO is the new SEO

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    GEO is the land-grab of 2026. PR should lead it.

    The talk of the PR agency world is that people are quietly switching behaviours and it’s a huge opportunity for the industry to take responsibility for GenAI Engine Optimisation (GEO) for their clients.

    Instead of typing a query into Google, scanning results, clicking a few links and making up their own mind… more and more people are instead simply asking GenAI and accepting the first answer they see.

    That “ask-and-accept” habit is spreading fast and what is Gen AI relying on for those answers? At the moment, it’s overwhelmingly earned media coverage and open, readable, third-party content. 

    The big opportunity: earned coverage becomes the fuel for answers

    That is a huge opportunity for PR agencies and their clients, because it shifts the value of earned media from “reach” and “reputation” to “being the material the answer is built from.”

    Where AI gets its information from

    So, where do agencies need to place this earned media to appear in the answers of GenAI tools like ChatGPT? It varies by platform, but studies of sources used in AI answers keep surfacing the same clusters:

    • Wikipedia (baseline facts and definitions) 
    • Reddit and other community Q&A (real-world opinions, experiences, use cases) 
    • YouTube (especially when the content is easy to extract/understand with transcript in the description) 
    • Mainstream news / wire sources (for “what’s happening?” and credibility signals). Long live the press release! 
    • And the less obvious winners: comparison, review, and “best X for Y” list-style content — the stuff that helps a model answer intent-led questions quickly (including niche forums and specialist sites). 

    Where AI bots may struggle to find your website

    On the opposite side, it’s worth also considering where the AI bots aren’t finding its answers. Again, not universal, but very common:

    • Paywalls / logins / membership gates: if a bot can’t access the text, it can’t use it.
    • Bot blocking: a growing chunk of the web is actively choosing to block AI crawlers.
    • JavaScript-heavy sites: if key content is rendered client-side, some crawlers may only see a thin HTML shell.

    What agencies should do now…and fast to keep up with AI bots

    1) Reset the scoreboard

    These two client-friendly questions are a great place to start:

    • For a client’s priority topics, what does GenAI currently say about us and our competitors?
    • And what sources is it drawing on when it says it?

    2) Build the “answer landscape” for each client

    Pick the key topics that matter commercially for the client’s business (category, problems you solve, “best for…”, comparisons, pricing/value, trust/safety, implementation, ROI).
    Then map:

    • What questions people actually ask (not what we wish they asked)
    • Which outlets, communities and creators consistently show up
    • Where the client is missing — and why?

    3) Rebuild earned media around “machine-readable proof”

    This is the real land-grab.
    It means:

    • More specific stories (niche, specialist outlets, creator channels, communities)
    • More evidence (examples, numbers, clarity, third-party validation)
    • More formats that answer intent (“X vs Y”, “best for…”, “how to choose”, “what to avoid”)

    4) Fix owned content so it’s usable by both humans and machines

    Most brand content is still written like a brochure.
    Reformat it into:

    • Comparison pages and decision guides
    • “Best for…” scenario content
    • FAQ hubs that mirror customer language
    • Structured pages with clean headings and quotable lines

    And make sure you’re not accidentally hiding it behind technical blockers.

    5) Treat video as an “answer” asset, not just brand content

    Publishers are using video more and more. For clients, this means spokespeople and subject experts need to be confident in podcast/video formats and the content needs to be packaged so it can be understood and reused (clear titles, descriptions, transcripts where appropriate, strong “what it is / who it’s for / why it matters” framing). 

    6) Get your team ready to deliver (this is a capability shift)

    Someone in the agency needs to own GEO. They can be helping clients and their agency teams:

    • Monitoring how clients appear in GenAI answers over time
    • Updating media strategy and target lists to include creators + communities + specialist sources
    • Coaching clients on content formats that win in an answer-first world
    • Light governance for accuracy and corrections (because AI summaries can be confidently wrong!) 

    The Agency Edge view

    This is a rare moment for PR agencies to lead the creative services world.

    The rulebook is changing, the measurement is shifting. If you get your clients visible inside Gen AI answers now, you’ll be hard to dislodge later.

    And if you’d like a practical way to kick-start it, we’ve created GEO Training For Agencies at The Amber Group — designed to help agency teams get their people ready to deliver.

    Contact us to book your GEO training
    PR agencies leading GenAI Engine Optimisation by shaping earned media sources used in AI-generated answers

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  7. The Agency Edge: YOUR AI CHALLENGE

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    Fast but flat: Is your agency team becoming over reliant on AI?

    “The team’s using AI for everything… but I can’t always see where the thinking is.”
     
    That’s the tension we’re hearing from a lot of agency leaders right now. 
     
    Six months ago, the question was, “Should we tell clients we’re using AI?” Now, everyone’s using it. It’s in brainstorms. It’s in research. It’s in first drafts. It’s in the templates your teams are quietly building for themselves. And that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s essential. The risk isn’t that AI is in the work but that your people start to remove their thinking from the work.

    When speed quietly squeezes out judgement

    Under pressure, AI feels like a gift. Short deadline. Tricky brief. Tuesday afternoon brain-fog. You paste in a few bullet points and get a decent first draft. You tidy it, send it and move on.

    Individually, that doesn’t feel dangerous. But scaled across a whole team, week after week, something starts to happen. Pitches initially feel polished… but somehow lack a point of view or clients stop saying, “That’s such a you idea.”

    The danger here is that alongside saving time your people are quietly outsourcing the thing your clients value the most: Your critical thinking, your judgment and taste!

    AI is brilliant at tasks. Your value is in choices.

    Used well, AI should absolutely be doing more heavy lifting on repetitive tasks like summarising long documents and identifying themes, turning messy brainstorm outputs into structured options or drafting first version copy or plans.
     
    But only your people can decide which insight actually matters to this client, right now, or say, “This looks good, but it’s not good enough yet” and push a bland idea until it’s sharp, brave and still on-brand.
     
    It’s here where many agency leaders are seeing that gap. How to use AI in a more practical and consistent way without switching off the brain.

    From ‘playing with prompts’ to a shared way of working

    Most agency teams we work with are already experimenting with prompts. A few people have their own hacks. Some have built little internal libraries.

    What’s often missing is a simple, shared way to:

    • Break complex tasks into steps, rather than dumping everything in one mega-prompt.
    • Apply a quick “Human Check Layer” at the end: Does this actually make sense?
      • Does this actually make sense?
      • Is it on-brand for us and for this client?
      • What’s missing that only we can add?
      • Would I stand behind this in a client meeting?

    When teams have that kind of framework, the AI speed advantage stays but it also builds-in human critical thinking, so that the agency edge remains.
     
    It’s why we are helping agencies train their people to use consistent AI Prompting methods like COCO. It stands for:

    C – Character: Tell the AI the expert it should pretend to be. For example, a B2B Professional copywriter. It helps the AI draw on specific knowledge areas.

    O – Objective: What you want to achieve. The AI needs to understand your goal.

    C – Context: What else does the AI need to know? All the essential information. Upload examples of what you want and don’t want. Detail matters here!

    O – Output: What should it look like? Are there any rules or limits? Example: Each headline must be under 60 characters. Use no buzzwords. Keep the tone urgent but credible.

    Now before you push Go, one final instruction:

    “Do not guess. Ask me anything else you would find helpful to complete this task better.”

    And then answer its questions. It helps minimise hallucinations and gives the AI a chance to ask for any important information that you may have missed. 

    Credit to Anna Carina Berkman (Architect Anna) for the COCO approach. It’s effective, easy to use and remember!

    A quick AI sense-check for your own agency

    Is your agency still in enthusiastic adoption or now in the phase of implementing AI with thoughtful practice?
     
    The agencies getting ahead aren’t banning AI tools or writing long policies. They’re doing two things:
     
    1. Resetting expectations – being explicit that AI is there to amplify their people’s thinking, not replace it.
    2. Giving teams practical skills – short, hands-on training so people know how to brief, stack and stress-test AI, without losing their own judgement.
     
    If you’re already feeling that slight drop in sharpness – that sense that work is faster but somehow flatter – it might be time to look at how your people are working with AI.
     
    And if you’d like a practical session to help your team build that “human-first, AI-smart” way of working, get in touch. It’s an area where we’re spending a lot of training time with agencies right now.

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  8. The Agency Edge: CREATING A GROWTH MINDSET

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    Don’t sell me something, solve me something!

    Selling – It’s the thing most people didn’t join the creative industry to do.  Yet it’s now one of the most important capabilities an agency can build.  But here’s the twist: the agencies that are growing fastest aren’t “selling” in the old-school sense.  They’re ‘solving’.  They’re spotting opportunities early, shaping client thinking and guiding budgets before someone else gets there first.  And it isn’t by chance.  There’s a method to it.

    The only constant is change.

    The ability to sell to clients confidently and consultatively has never been more important. There’s the steady shift away from retainers to project-based relationships. More projects mean more selling. Competition is also fiercer. More people trying to steal your lunch expedites the need to unlock opportunities and secure budgets before someone else does. And then there’s the AI factor. With the prospect of many agency tasks being automated, the need to sell-in and charge for higher value work is only going to intensify.

    “My team are great at delivery, I just wish they’d sell more!”

    If you’ve ever said this, you’re in good company.  Your Account Managers and Account Directors are perfectly placed to spot organic growth opportunities. They hear client frustrations first, understand stakeholder dynamics and see where communication can move the needle.  But they often don’t act—and it’s rarely laziness. It’s usually down to a combination of reasons:

    • They don’t see it as part of their role, delivery feels like the priority.
    • They see selling as confrontational and don’t want to jeopardise client trust.
    • They don’t feel personally motivated – selling equals more work, not more reward.
    • They lack the skills and confidence or are simply unsure where to start.

    This creates a huge missed opportunity.  The growth potential sitting quietly inside existing relationships.

    Five steps that create a selling culture

    After decades training and coaching creative agencies, we see five levers that consistently transform teams from “reluctant sellers” into confident growth drivers:

    1. Mindset – This is where the shift begins. 

    Selling shouldn’t be viewed negatively—it’s about providing solutions. Creative agencies deliver significant value to clients that often far exceeds their fees. By re-framing selling as helping clients solve challenges and realise value, teams start to move past psychological barriers.

    2. Motivation – People sell more when there’s something in it for them. 

    People are different, so make organic growth meaningful by linking it to as many personal motivators as possible.  This includes extrinsic factors such as performance objectives, promotion and bonuses as well as intrinsic factors such as recognition programmes, shout outs and awards.  When growth is aligned with personal motivations, behaviour changes fast.

    3. Knowledge – Teams will only sell what they understand.

    Give everyone a simple, accessible overview of what the agency offers and why clients would buy those services.  This doesn’t mean everyone becomes a technical expert. It means everyone becomes confident enough to ask the right questions, spot opportunities and open the door.

    4. Skills – Every interaction is a sales opportunity

    Consultative selling is a skill and a learnable one.  We train a lot of agency teams in this area and one tool that particularly resonates is S.P.I.N.  No, not the PR type.  We’re talking about a well proven consultative selling methodology consisting of four steps:

    • Situation – Use good, open questions to establish facts about the client’s situation and identify potential problems or opportunities.  ‘How’s business,’ is always a good place to start!
    • Problem – Focus the client on a specific problem or opportunity arising from the conversation that your product or service can address.  For example, regularly losing out to a competitor in a particular market.
    • Implication – Don’t jump straight to a solution.  Instead, help the client explore the impact of not solving the problem or not capitalising on the opportunity.  Missed revenue, lost market share, slower growth, internal friction and so on. This creates urgency and tangibility.
    • Need – You have now created a need for YOUR solution, which capitalises on the opportunity or solves the problem.    

    When teams are properly trained to unlock opportunities, they stop “pitching” and start consulting – growth then becomes more natural.

    5. Measurement – What gets measured gets managed.

    Set targets that are realistic, motivating and meaningful.  Coach people along the way.  Celebrate wins, no matter the size.  You’ll start to see confidence turn into momentum and momentum into revenue.

    Organic is best…

    While winning new (transitional) business is important, organic growth opportunities can be quicker and easier to convert and hence more profitable.  Some people in your team will take to selling naturally. Others will take a little coaching.  But when you embed these five steps you create a culture where consultative selling becomes second nature.  Your agency stops waiting for briefs and starts shaping them. 

    If you’d like help establishing a sales culture across your team or perhaps a consultative selling workshop that gives your people the tools, structure and confidence to sell, do get in touch. We’d love to support your next stage of growth.

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  9. Episode Eight: Calling all leaders – if you were a superhero, which one would you be and why?

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    Discover the Power of Insights

    Richard Baines

    September 30, 2025

    It might sound like a fun topic after a few pints at the pub (it is, try it…).  But what do superheroes and leaders have in common?  

    Like superheroes, every leader has a unique superpower — a strength that sets them apart, energises their team and helps deliver results.  All good so far, right?  But hold on.  Every superhero also has a weakness.  A flaw or vulnerability (I’m looking at you, Kryptonite) that makes them fallible, relatable and ‘human’, despite their extraordinary abilities. 

    As you can probably guess or even testify, leaders also have their weaknesses (yes you do!).  A shadow side that left unchecked, could be your downfall.  But fear not!  Just like every superhero movie ever made, you too can win the day with some super-helpful (sorry, couldn’t resist) tips to help you overcome the forces of evil and save the universe!  Or at least to be a great  leader, which is also good…

    Welcome to part eight in our Insights Discovery Series where we look at how to use Insights Discovery to build self-awareness; increase our understanding of others and develop the skills to adapt our interactions for greater success.  In this episode, we take a light-hearted look at the synergies between super heroes and leadership styles and importantly, how embracing your ‘Kryptonite’ can be key to success.

    Modelling our super powers 

    As we have seen in previous episodes, Insights Discovery gives us a powerful framework for understanding our behavioural preferences through four colour energies: Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue. Associating the colour energies with superheroes is a fun and relatable way to reflect on the strengths and potential derailers associated with our own management or leadership style.  Let’s take a look:  

    Fiery Red Manager

    Superheroes:  Iron Man and Cat Woman  

    Iron-man-red
    Cat woman - red

    Fiery Red Manager

    Superheroes:  Iron Man and Cat Woman  

    Hero style: Assertive, determined, action-oriented

    Hero style: Assertive, determined, action-oriented

    Leaders with strong Fiery Red energy are go-getters. Like Iron Man and Cat Woman, they charge ahead, cut through noise and make decisions fast. They lead with courage and confidence.

    Superpowers:

    Decisiveness & Drive.

    Kryptonite:

    Can come across as impatient, domineering or dismissive of others’ input.

    Remedies:

    Collaborate frequently. Sometimes ask the opinion of others before giving your own. Listen to understand, not just to respond. Beware of quick and wrong…

    Sunshine Yellow Energy

    Superheroes: Spider-Man and Harley Quinn

    Spiderman - yellow
    Harley Quinn - yellow

    Sunshine Yellow Energy

    Superheroes: Spider-Man and Harley Quinn

    Hero style: Energetic, optimistic, inspiring

    Hero style: Energetic, optimistic, inspiring

    Leaders with strong Sunshine Yellow energy are charismatic connectors. They bring energy, positivity and collaboration, lighting up even the toughest rooms with conversation, ideation and humour.

    Superpowers:

    Innovation & Inspiration.

    Kryptonite:

    May make impulsive decisions without due qualification, struggle to follow-through on tasks and lose focus.

    Remedies:

    Team up with Cool Blue energy for balanced decision making. Use task tools to stay focus on the priorities. Develop feedback skills to handle those tricky conversations you know you should have! Give rational thinking and emotional feeling equal air time.

    Fiery Red Manager

    Superheroes: Superman and Wonder Woman 

    Superman - Green
    Wonder Woman - green

    Fiery Red Manager

    Superheroes: Superman and Wonder Woman 

    Hero style: Assertive, determined, action-oriented

    Hero style: Assertive, determined, action-oriented

    Earth Green leaders are values-driven team nurturers. They empower others to succeed, value different perspectives, foster collaboration and seek to create inclusive environments in which the whole team can thrive.

    Superpowers:

    Empathy & Collaboration.

    Kryptonite:

    Can over-resist change, avoid conflict or become passive in tough situations.

    Remedies:

    Develop courageous conversation skills. Take the tough decisions knowing it’s impossible and ok to not please everyone all the time. Balance the provision of support with building accountability in others.

    Cool Blue Energy

    Superheroes: The Batman and Black Widow

    Batman - blue
    Black Widow - blue

    Cool Blue Energy

    Superheroes: The Batman and Black Widow

    Hero style: Analytical, precise, methodical.

    Hero style: Analytical, precise, methodical.

    Cool Blue leaders are organised, methodical thinkers and planners. They are logical and strategic, analyse every angle, prepare meticulously and rely on intellect and data-driven decision making.

    Superpowers:

    Strategy & Planning.

    Kryptonite:

    May be overly cautious, critical, perfectionistic and emotionally distant.

    Remedies:

    Seek to win the hearts as well as the minds of the team. Beware of analysis paralysis, some decisions can be gut-feel. Don’t allow perfection to get in the way of good. Theatre and expression can be powerful tools.

    The big finale

    Just like superheroes, great leaders are not flawless — they are self-aware. Understanding your “Kryptonite” doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you more powerful because you can learn to manage it.

    And this brings me to one final thing we can learn from the superhero genre, which is that superheroes rarely work alone! Batman has Robin (and Alfred). Iron Man has Poppy. Spider-Man has M-J (and the irreplaceable Aunt May!). My point is, they have people they rely on to help them navigate the perilous world of crime fighting. And great leaders do the same. They surround themselves with team members who each bring their own superpower to the mix that when blended together, make for an unstoppable ensemble.

    Hopefully this had been useful food for thought for even the most experienced leaders out there. If not, at least you have a fun game to play on your next visit to the pub!

    Until next time…

    Richard. 

    richard@ambergroup.net

    The Insights Discovery Series

    Read the whole series so far…

    Episode One: Introducing our new Insights Discovery Series 
    Episode Two: Weaknesses can be our strengths overplayed  
    Episode Three: Sell differently to sell more…
    Episode Four: How to work well with your opposite type
    Episode Five: Colour coding change
    Episode Six: Building winning teams
    Episode Seven: Manage interactions with colour
    Episode Eight: Calling all leaders

  10. Episode Seven: How to Manage Up with Colour

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    Discover the Power of Insights

    Richard Baines

    September 12, 2025

    Have you ever found yourself thinking, ‘Why does my manager always want more data?’ or ‘Why do they expect an answer right now?’ or perhaps ‘Why don’t they read and respond to my emails?’. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. But the good news is that Insights Discovery isn’t just for understanding yourself, it’s also the secret weapon for working better with your boss.

    Welcome to part seven in our Insights Discovery Series where we look at how to use Insights Discovery to build self-awareness; increase our understanding of others and develop the skills to adapt our interactions for greater success.  In this episode, we look at how Insights Discovery can help us tackle the enduring question of how to manage upwards.


    We all have our preferred ways of working.  Those nuances, preferences and behaviours that make you, you.  Well, so do our managers and leaders.  And if you can decode their colour profile, you can tailor your interactions in a way that increases your chances of getting the outcomes you want, while reducing stress levels along the way!  If that sounds good, read on to discover three simple steps to success.

    Step One: Identify the Colour Energies in Play 

    Here is a quick refresher of the four Insights Discovery colour energies and their interactions style:   

    🔴 Fiery Red – Direct, decisive and fast-paced.
    🟡 Sunshine Yellow – Enthusiastic, social and visionary.
    🟢 Earth Green – Supportive, calm and values-driven.
    🔵 Cool Blue – Logical, precise and data-oriented.

    While everyone has elements of all four colour energies, we tend to favour one or two colours over the others when it comes to our natural interaction style.  So as a first step, identify two colour energies from the list above that best match the preferred interaction style of your manager.

    Step Two: Study the Formula

    Now let’s break down how to ‘manage up’ with each type of manager. 

    Managing a Fiery Red Manager

    “Get to the point and make it fast.”

    What they value:

    Results, speed, confidence, initiative.

    How to adapt:

    Be concise and focused, no rambling. Come with solutions, not problems. Respect their time. Get in, get out, get on.

    What to avoid:

    Over-explaining or being indecisive. Appearing hesitant or lacking urgency.

    Quick tip:

    Mirror their pace. Think bullet points, not paragraphs.

    Managing a Sunshine Yellow Manager

    “Bring energy and sell your idea!”

    What they value:

    Enthusiasm, connection, big-picture thinking.

    How to adapt:

    Show excitement and optimism. Be expressive. Engage in casual conversation. Tie your ideas to vision and potential impact.

    What to avoid:

    Being overly serious or too detail-heavy. Rushing into tasks without connecting first.

    Quick tip:

    Build the relationship, then pitch the idea.

    Managing an Earth Green Manager

    “Reflect team spirit, empathy and equity.”

    What they value:

    Trust, reliability, fairness, honesty.

    How to adapt:

    Be respectful and calm in your tone. Focus on the people, not just the process. Give them time to process, don’t rush. Listen!

    What to avoid:

    Sudden changes, hard sells and last minute surprises. Ignoring team wellbeing or emotions. Interrupting or talking over them.

    Quick tip:

    Allow time for pleasantries.

    Managing a Cool Blue Manager

    “Reflect team spirit, empathy and equity.”

    What they value:

    Accuracy, logic, preparation, order.

    How to adapt:

    Come prepared, do your homework. Present clear ideas and structured thinking. Give them time to review and reflect. Be clear on deadlines and expectations.

    What to avoid:

    Being too vague or over emotional. Putting them on the spot or forcing a quick decision. Poor quality or accuracy.

    Quick tip:

    Think spreadsheet first, story second.

    Step Three: Put Your Approach into Action 

    Revisit the dominant colour energies you identified for your manager.  Select two or three corresponding interaction techniques from the suggestions above and put them into practise over the coming weeks.  Take some time to reflect on your results and keep honing your approach.  Consider which ones work the best and why?  ‘Which ones didn’t and why?  Revisit the lists now and again and experiment with different approaches. Similarly, observe successful techniques adopted by others and borrow from them.  Applied regularly, you’ll quickly identify the blend that works best and then you can reap the benefits.

    Final Thoughts: Managing Up, Colourfully

    Managing up is about emotional intelligence in action. When you understand what makes your manager tick, you can flex your interaction style, not to manipulate, but to collaborate.  So next time you’re preparing for a meeting or pitching a new idea, take a moment to ask:  “What colour am I managing up to today?”.   The answer might just change your whole approach – and your results!

    To learn more, visit our dedicated Insights Discovery web page.

    See you next time. 

    Richard. 

    richard@ambergroup.net

    The Insights Discovery Series

    Read the whole series so far…

    Episode One: Introducing our new Insights Discovery Series 
    Episode Two: Weaknesses can be our strengths overplayed  
    Episode Three: Sell differently to sell more…
    Episode Four: How to work well with your opposite type
    Episode Five: Colour coding change
    Episode Six: Building winning teams
    Episode Seven: Manage interactions with colour
    Episode Eight: Calling all leaders