Last week I had a chat with an agency leader frustrated that one of her team members was leaving.

But then she admitted there was an element of relief too, because the person in question had been frustrating to manage, with high demands but problematic delivery of work.

I've heard similar stories a lot in recent months.

In many cases, leaders are frustrated at having supported people through the crisis, often at great personal sacrifice and stress, only to have them up and leave as soon as business is booming again.

It's frustrating. It makes leaders feel ‘like throwing in the towel’ (a direct quote from one). But in the long term, I believe we'll look back on the staff churn over this last year and realise it's helped us reach a renewal in our businesses we couldn't have achieved otherwise.

We all have similar changes in any group of people we're part of. It's rare to have exactly the same group of best friends through life. As we go through different stages, direct our lives in different ways, and experience highs and lows, the close connections with others naturally ebb and flow. We have the friends that are right for who we are now.

It's the same with an agency. The same team isn't the perfect team forever. All of you, and the business, will be changing in every way. And a crisis changes people more than anything else.

What we're seeing now is a remaking of the teams in our agencies. It'll bring new energy, new ideas, new connections — all great ingredients for serendipity. This is the big renewal.

It's hard now, but in a year's time we'll be so glad it happened. Seize this chance to renew your agency for what comes next.

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We're researching for a 'What Works' report for Agency Radar on agency board meetings. Does your agency get great value from having regular, well-run meetings of your directors or leadership team? What do you do to achieve that? I'd love to hear your stories and tips to feature in the report — email me at steve.parks@convivio.com to share them, or set up a chat.

We've added some more dates this year for our workshops for agency leaders. Take a look at what's coming up on our Eventbrite page.

The first episode of the Convivio Agency Leaders podcast is in the works with tips and inspiration to help you work on your business. Subscribe in your favourite podcast app now to get it first!