As an agency Account Manager you are a multi-tasker busy running projects, dealing with urgent requests and numerous interruptions in your day-to-day working life.But how often do you take a step back and look at your role and skills to see whether you're progressing or regressing?And if by stepping back and finding you were stagnating and frustrated in your role, what are you prepared to do to change things right now?If you want to give yourself a chance to evaluate your skills to see where you are now and where you want to go, there are some questions you can ask yourself in four key areas:
1. Managing processes
How efficient are the processes you use in your agency? What's slowing you down and stopping you focus on what's important?Do you find there are time consuming activities that could be more streamlined?What's working and what's not working? Do you make suggestions for how things could improve?Agency processes should be optimised to ensure everyone's time is focussed on the most productive areas of the business - the 20% of the results. There is always room for improvement!
Exercise:
Take each process in turn and have a discussion with your colleagues regarding a) whether the process is still valid and necessary b) how it could be improved so that everyone can carry out their jobs more efficiently and c) what would you all gain through changing it?
2. Managing you and your career
Do you feel you are growing in confidence and acquiring skills in your job that you didn't have a year ago? If not, why not?Do you think your skills are keeping up with industry standards? Could you impress a potential new employer?How often are you reassessing your skills and asking for additional training? When was the last time you had some formal training? How about attending industry events and networking with your industry peers?One of the often overlooked areas of your job is taking care of your own progression. Take the time to develop a few action points to address some of the answers to the above questions if you feel you're slipping behind:
Exercise:
Develop 3 actions to address the above questions, examples could be something like this:1. Increase my general industry knowledge by booking half an hour in my online diary once a week to read through an industry magazine2. Make a list of the forthcoming conferences/industry events that I think would be beneficial to me for increasing my knowledge (technical expertise, soft skills etc)3. Identify training courses I believe will help me improve my account management skills.
Managing people
Are you managing a team? If so, how effective are you at leading? How motivated are they? Are they shining under your direction? Or are you struggling to communicate?Have you looked at social styles, a model for understanding others' work styles which can lead to heightened understanding, increased trust and improved communication within your team?
Exercise:
Hold one-on-one catch ups with your team members, take each person in your team for a coffee somewhere off site. Ask them open-ended questions regarding what's going well and what challenges they have experienced. Do they feel like they're on track in their career? Ask how you can help them get there. Stop talking and start listening to what they're saying. Capture the highlights of the meeting and add some action points. Both of you should sign the action plan, and make sure you follow up in a few weeks to check progress.
Managing the client
How is your relationship with your client? Do you know what they really think of the service they're receiving from you? When was the last time you held a formal relationship evaluation? When did you last socialise with your client? How well do you know their business? Is your client's business growing? Contracting?
Exercises:
Make a list of questions you'll ask your client about their business the next time you see them. Invite your client to coffee/lunch/drinks, ensure you ask them about their business and ask for feedback regarding how you can help them achieve their objectives.So from this brief overview of these four key areas, where do you think you are neglecting to spend your time? Where should you be focussing some more time and effort?
