Create + Lead

It’s our mission to create more everyday satisfaction and fulfillment for the next generation of leaders in advertising by cultivating greater emotional leadership and balance.

Meet The Team

We spent a combined 37 years of experience in agency life, each working at a variety of different agencies. Meeting in our coach training program, we bonded over very similar experiences in our agency - and personal - lives despite Jennifer coming from the Creative side and Kim coming from Account.

As we reflected on our experiences and our coworkers' and friends' stories, we realized there was a real need and opportunity to create impactful programs to help agencies and marketing companies level up in their leadership and consciousness. And we have since combined forces to do just that.

To learn more about us and our coaching modalities, please visit our sites at the links below.
Jennifer’s site and Kim’s site

Create + Lead

Create + Lead is an 8-week highly focused group coaching program for the next generation of leaders. It’s designed to address key issues for employees, create change from the inside out and create bonds within the organization.

The Why

The PERCEIVED problem

Employee satisfaction rates at agencies are at an all time low
The best talent is migrating away from agencies
Attrition is costly for agencies

The REAL problem

Employees feel like a commodity
They don’t feel fairly compensated, unless they jump agencies
Burnout is real
People want out of the biz

The Research

In recent months, article after article has been written about “The Big Quit” or “The Great Resignation” detailing the massive shift of employees who are leaving companies for the promise of greener pastures, more money or more freedom and flexibility.

We were curious as to how this phenomenon was impacting the agency world, as there was no existing source for this information. So we conducted quantitative research with 50 people who identified as employees within agencies. Respondents came from all levels, across various functions and departments, across the US.

What we found was that respondents were very clear about what they love about the agency world - the smart, talented people, the fun, the energy, the variety and the creativity. Yet dissatisfaction around four key factors — leadership, value, growth and stress — drove many of the people to report higher levels of disengagement and unhappiness, and even consider leaving their job or the industry.

How satisfied are you with your company’s leadership?

“Communication between leadership and the rest of the team needs some serious work, currently it barely happens and when it does it is rarely about anything productive.”

— Anonymous Respondent, Oct 2021

How appreciated do you feel?

“Unless you win a piece of new business…it feels like a lot of hard work and the day-to-day goes unrecognized.”

— Anonymous Respondent, Oct 2021

How much stress do you manage on a day to day basis?

“It tends to creep up before I realize it and then I’m at stress level 10,000!”

— Anonymous Respondent, Oct 2021

The McKinsey Study

To further emphasize what we learned, McKinsey released their own research around “The Great Resignation” and discovered that emotional drivers are more important to employees than employers give credit to.

These include:

Feeling valued by the organization
Feeling valued by your manager
Feeling a sense of belonging
Feeling a bond with your team
Potential for advancement
Flexibility

Link To The Study

Based on both primary and secondary research, we were inspired to create a program that addresses these topics head on.

We believe that providing a container for discussion and growth around these topics on an individual level will inspire a change not only with the next generation of leaders, but with the entire organization to create greater engagement, loyalty and growth.

Who is Create + Lead designed for?

We designed Create + Lead for mid- to senior-level employees across the agency who are GOOD leaders, on the cusp of becoming exceptionally GREAT leaders. They believe in personal and professional development and are ready to invest in themselves, just as the agency is investing in them.

Think of those individuals that would have the influence and potential to make a large impact for the organization, but observationally may be holding back for a number of reasons. This platform has been created to give them the confidence to step into their full potential and drive positive change for the agency today and in years to come. These people are seen as high-performers that would leave a hole if they left.

We recommend pooling strong talent across the various departments to create a powerful cross pollinated container. A group with diverse perspectives and challenges is known to drive an even bigger impact in your organization, creating strong bonds as these future change-makers move forward.

Creative | Account | Production | HR | Operations

Let's connect!

The Program Outline

Week 1: Setting The Foundation

Create the container, set up expectations and agreements, establish personal goals and shared intentions for group.
Week 2: Thriving At Work

Consider tips on how to thrive in the agency world. Deep dive on how stress affects productivity and break down into tangible daily action steps for stress management.
Week 3: Energy Leadership Assessments

Discover how energy affects your view of the world and the workplace. As trained Energy Leadership (ELI) practitioners, Jennifer and Kim will analyze, debrief and facilitate each of the participants’ ELI Assessments.
Week 4: Values Meets Vision

Become aware of what you really value in your life and how that’s showing up for you currently. Utilizing the values blueprint to create a vision map for moving forward.
Week 5: Hide Nothing

Examine how vulnerability drives stronger and more connected teams and the benefits of  authenticity in the workplace.
Week 6: Activating Your Leadership

Redefine what leadership means both personally and in the organization. Analyze the metrics for a successful leader and design a personal mission statement for leadership.
Week 7: Self Leadership

Discuss what truly advocating for yourself and your team looks like and how to build the muscle of authenticity and confidence with intention.
Week 8: Power Of Engagement

Explore how engagement relates to boundaries at work to give more choice, expand capabilities and create energy.
Week 9: Insight Into Action

Reflect on experience and establish goals for moving forward. Discuss the art of appreciation, gratitude and the power of accountability.

The Details

9-week program in virtual classroom
Includes personal 60 minute ELI debrief session with each employee with Jennifer or Kim.
Designed for emerging leaders across various departments
Led by trained coaches who have decades of recent experience in agencies. We offer an unbiased but not unexposed perspective.
Full confidentiality in place between us and the full group
Up to 10 employees, no less than 6 employees
Includes a total of nine 1.5 hour group sessions via zoom
Quarterly regroups for the 1st year (1.5 hour each)

The Investment

$3,600 per employee