Agency Leadership Intensive with Karl Sakas
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Up-level your agency by up-leveling your leadership
with Karl Sakas
Strong leadership is crucial to running a successful agency. As an agency owner or executive, you’re already in a leadership role. But it’s lonely at the top; are you the best leader you can be for your team and your agency?
Leading an agency can be feel like opening a box of DIY furniture. You’re excited about the end result… but the instructions aren’t always clear. And sometimes parts are broken, or missing altogether. You can roughly put it together based on the photos, but you’re often unsure about the right next step. And it always takes longer than you expect… and sometimes there are parts left over.
In the Agency Leadership Intensive, you’ll join a close-knit cohort of agency owners and executives. You’ll get ongoing access to an expert who’s advised hundreds of agency leaders. You’ll get personalized insights into yourself and your team, plus critical accountability support to move you toward your long-term goals.
If you’re accepted to the program, I’ll help you cut through the frustration and loneliness—to help you and your team make smarter decisions for smoother growth. (Also: Hire someone to assemble the DIY furniture; your time is too valuable to waste.)
This course is for:
Agency Owners (Partner, Principal, Founder, CEO)
Agency Executives (C-level, Managing Director, GM, VP, Director)
Your team has changed; have you? Jumpstart your business goals by transforming yourself as a leader, through an exclusive curriculum and a supportive community of fellow agency leaders.
Up-level your agency by up-leveling your leadership. In this virtual intensive in (timing TBD), you’ll get tips to find and live your balance as an agency leader, create a personalized 60-day plan to grow immediately, build your network of like-minded agency owners / leaders, and get group coaching support to help you start the year strong.
Hi, I’m Karl Sakas
I’ve advised over 600 agencies worldwide. Here’s how I can help you.
As a management consultant and executive coach, I’ve advised hundreds of agency owners worldwide. My clients call me their “agency therapist.” I’ve written several books about managing agencies, including Made to Lead: A Pocket Guide to Managing Marketing & Creative Teams, which inspired creating the first Agency Leadership Intensive in 2022.
Leading an agency can often feel like a complicated and expensive guessing game: your team expects you to have all the answers… and when you don’t, you’re stuck trying to figure it all out on your own. As SNL comedian Michael Che notes: “Everything looks easy till you start doing it.”
That is why I created the Agency Leadership Intensive—to help agency owners and executives get better results from their teams. You’ll join an exclusive network of like-minded agency leaders to help you navigate challenges you face today. You’ll get unique-to-you 360° insights, and create a custom plan to up-level your leadership to up-level your agency.
About the Leadership Development Program
Here’s what’s included with Agency Leadership Intensive
The Agency Leadership Intensive was built with agency owners and executives in mind. In this virtual intensive, you’ll get tips to find and live your balance as an agency leader, create a personalized 60-day plan to grow immediately, build your network of like-minded agency leaders, and get group coaching support. Meeting live (timing TBD), the cohort-based program is:
Exclusive: This isn’t a leadership program open to any generic business; it’s agencies-only. And it’s not for first-time managers. The by-application-only program is custom-designed exclusively for agency owners and executive-level leaders.
Transformational: Get personalized insights into yourself and your team, so you can prioritize where to up-level, based on the unique challenges at your agency.
Action-Oriented: It’s not just learning new ideas. You’ll practice what you learn, and you’ll create a custom 60-day “choose your own adventure” plan. And since it’s not enough to just create the plan, you’ll get support to make it happen.
Supportive: Your value continues beyond the program itself. You’ll get access to a private network of fellow agency leaders. This means you’ll get re-energizing support before, during, and after the live sessions. And you’ll get time-saving templates to create a “multiplier effect” for the future.
What A Past Attendee Had to Say:
Frequently Asked Questions
What should we know?
Who's the program for?
This program is for agency leaders (owners and top executives) who want to grow their agency by up-leveling their leadership. Most agencies will have between 5 and 100 team members.
Why should I apply to the Agency Leadership Intensive?
If you feel stuck as an agency owner or executive, the Agency Leadership Intensive (ALI) can help you break through the plateau. You’ll learn new techniques, connect with a network of peers, and get accountability support amidst the busy-ness of your daily life.
What outcomes or results can we expect?
You’re responsible for your results—but we’ve designed the program to help you up-level as a leader, so you can up-level your agency. For some, this means growing the business. For others, it means preparing to create a succession plan. For others, it’s about reducing day-to-day drama.
Can more than one person from our agency go to the Intensive?
Yes, we’ll consider this on a case-by-case basis. In the past, we’ve had a CEO and CEO; two co-Presidents, and two co-founders. Each person should apply separately, and (if accepted) buy their own ticket. There’s an automatic group discount on the second or third person.
Can a boss and their subordinate both go to the Intensive?
Maybe. In your individual applications, you’d need to make the case that it wouldn’t be weird. We don’t want a situation where one person is uncomfortable sharing in front of their #2, or an executive employee is uncomfortable sharing in front of their boss.
Does the program apply to leading a remote agency?
Yes, definitely. It’s harder to run a remote agency, so growing as a leader will help you get better results. And if your team is in-person or hybrid, you’ll benefit, too.
Are there pre-requisites or other requirements?
You need to be an agency owner or top executive, at an agency with a headcount of 5+ people. Likely, all participants will have fewer than 100 people on their team.
Beyond that, we’ll give application preference to people who’ve previously completed an introductory leadership or management training (like Manager Tools, LifeLabs Leader Lab, GS10KSB, or leadership coursework in a graduate program).
To help jumpstart your progress, plan on doing 3-5 hours of “pre-homework” before the first live session. You’ll receive access to the assignments as soon as you’re accepted and paid.
How does this compare to the "Work Less, Earn More" bootcamp?
The two programs are complementary to each other. They’re designed to help agency owners and executives make things easier:
- “Work Less, Earn More” Bootcamp: Helping you increase their income and reduce their hours.
- Agency Leadership Intensive: Helping you up-level your agency by up-leveling your leadership.
Most people will benefit from taking both, but they’re designed to work individually. And you can take them in either order—the Bootcamp and then the Intensive, or the Intensive and then the Bootcamp.
There are similarities in format (100% virtual, live sessions, accountability, creating a plan, accountability support, private community). But only ~10% of the content overlaps between the two.
What if I have a different question?
Glad to help! Email Karl and the team at concierge@sakasandcompany.com with your question.