Look for the helpers

Whenever there was troubling news, the American TV personality Mr Rogers used to say: "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Mr Rogers was speaking to children, reassuring them that good people will make things better again. But as adults, and particularly as leaders, we need to do more than just be reassured. We need to act.

But acting doesn't always mean we need to be the helpers. Often, the most important thing leaders can do is recognise and support the helpers.

The last few years have been hard for so many people, with one crisis after another. And now the news is extremely troubling once again.

Throughout all this, leaders have poured their energy into supporting their teams.

But among your staff will also be the helpers. The helpers didn't make demands of you through these crises. They weren't thinking of themselves. They got busy looking after other team members, or clients, or your wider community. They looked after the agency side by side with you.

It can be easy to unintentionally forget them while focusing on those who call for your attention. But the last few years have been hard on them too.

So this week, look for the helpers in your agency. Support them, appreciate them and celebrate them.

The world, and your agency, is a better place because the helpers are always there.

This week:

• On Thursday I'm speaking to the Agency Collective (on Zoom) about how to make the time to work on your agency, and what to do to make that time highly effective. If you're an AC member, do come along.
• Read our major report on how agencies can successfully use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to create alignment and momentum towards your strategy.
• Explore the Agency Leaders Playbook, which continues to grow into the vital guide for owner-CEOs, and the main page has just been upgraded to make it easier to browse.
• Subscribe to Convivio for £225/month which gets you access to the Playbook, all our reports, plus our monthly Office Hours call to pick our brains and chat with other agency leaders.