Hey agency owner — your agency’s morale begins with you

If you're frustrated with the attitude permeating your agency, I'd like to remind you that your agency's morale begins with you. You must improve your own attitude before you begin to improve employee morale. I get it.  I've owned my agency for almost 20 years and I'd had more than my share of sleepless nights. The truth is, even when things are going better than anticipated, there are still those nagging concerns. There's always a shoe just waiting to drop. But as agency owners we need to remember that we're the barometer our employees use to take the agency's temperature. If you're uptight, they're uptight.  If you're frustrated with a certain employee, pretty soon they'll be frustrated with that person too.  If you talk about clients like they're a pain -- your employees will treat them that way. Be honest -- when you have the opportunity to chase a big new account, are you excited or do you dread the effort?  Guess what -- your employees take your lead and feel the same way. It's time to take a good look at your agency's culture and do an honest assessment. Is it the kind of culture that you're proud of and would want to work in day, after day?  Is it snarky?  Does everyone help each other or is there a parade out the door at 5 pm? Before you improve employee morale, your agency's morale begins with you. Every single time. You are the agency's visionary and it's your job to wave the company flag, not burn it. So what do you do if you're feeling worn out, frustrated, under appreciated or worried?  You fake it. You don't burden your employees with agency owner worries. [...]