Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams

By Trenton Moss: Exited agency founder & bestselling author

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 busines... more

· Business
· Entrepreneurship
· Management

FAQs about Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams:

How many episodes does Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams have?

The podcast currently has 31 episodes available.

Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams episodes:

October 28, 2025Using personality profiling to drive business success - with Victoria Usher
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.
...more
26min
October 07, 2025Encouraging everyone to think and act differently - with Mike Craddock
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.
...more
29min
September 16, 2025Flexing a business with 400 global specialists - with Samppa Vilkuna
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.
...more
26min
August 26, 2025Hands-on people-centred leadership - with Victoria Sugg
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.
...more
25min
August 06, 2025Enabling everyone to find their extraordinary - with Jon Lonsdale
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.
...more
24min
July 15, 2025Nurturing a high challenge, high support environment - with Rebecca Hull
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.
...more
30min
June 24, 2025Creating a culture of "It won’t fail because of me" - with Vicky Hope
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.
...more
29min
June 03, 2025Creating a challenger mentality - with Anant Sharma
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.
...more
26min
May 13, 2025Growing a Gen Z business - with Alex Bodini
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.
...more
35min
April 22, 2025Uniting a business around the value they create - with Sam Gregory
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.
...more
32min

FAQs about Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams:

How many episodes does Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams have?

The podcast currently has 31 episodes available.

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Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams

FAQs about Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams:

How many episodes does Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams have?

Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams episodes:

FAQs about Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams:

How many episodes does Human Powered: High-performing agency & consultancy teams have?