An agency’s success or failure is reliant upon the owner’s leadership skills to a certain extent. There are many elements that ultimately create an agency’s legacy, but the strength of the leadership is one of the cornerstones that holds it all together. Most teams are built with people who have come up and through the agency world, so by the time they step into a leadership role, there’s a risk that they’re doing it the way everyone else has done it. If you want to have a next-level agency, it might be worth the effort to reexamine and sharpen your leadership approach.

Ryan Carey is a ranger-qualified army vet who now heads up White Label IQ, our presenting sponsor here at the podcast. His background and experience have given him unique insights into leadership that allow him to come at agency life with an inspiring perspective.

In this episode of Build a Better Agency, Ryan and I explore military-inspired leadership and how it can benefit agencies. These worlds might seem vastly different but they both share a need for clarity, communication, trust, respectful disagreements, and unflappable dedication to the team. We talk about all of these things, sprinkled with Ryan’s true-life stories from the front lines, with the hope of challenging and improving how you think about leadership.

A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

The need to ensure clarity on a client’s definition of success
Tips for avoiding micromanaging your leadership
The need for clear processes
Why it’s important to not get complacent, even when succeeding
Absolute vs Participatory Leadership
How to respectfully disagree
The importance of trust
Challenges of splitting-focus
Military experience that benefits agency success

“As you continue to develop a project with a client, you’ve got to continue to ensure it’s aligning with where they’re wanting to go because they’re learning too in the whole process.” - Ryan CareyCLICK TO TWEET“In leadership, it’s easy to get into a micromanaging scenario, especially when it’s client-facing.” - Ryan CareyCLICK TO TWEET“I think it’s very easy to become a line item on an expense report and not a benefit to the company.” - Ryan CareyCLICK TO TWEET“The more that you build trust with people, the more that they’re going to be able to say something when it matters.” - Ryan CareyCLICK TO TWEET“People can do amazing things and when you give them leeway and trust, they can take that very far.” - Ryan CareyCLICK TO TWEET

Ways to contact Ryan Carey:

Special offer: Get 10 Hours FREE on Development of any kind at www.whitelabeliq.com/ami
Websites: https://www.whitelabeliq.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-carey-wl/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteLabelIQ/
Email: ryanc@whitelabeliq.com

Additional Resources:

AE Bootcamp — September 14 & 15 in Chicago, IL
Sell with Authority (buy Drew’s book)
Facebook Group for the Build a Better Agency Podcast
My Future Self Mini-Course

EP 306: How military lessons translate to agency leadership with Ryan Carey

Build a Better Agency Podcast