6 Ways to Become More Confident in Your Digital Agency Leadership Skills

Confidence is key when you’re running a business — but you already knew that! Having good agency leadership skills is a foundational part of entrepreneurship. You’ve got an entire team of people (plus your clients’ teams!) looking to you for guidance…you can’t be unsure and wary as you lead them to success! 

How to Grow Your Agency Leadership Skills and Develop Your Confidence 

Confidence leads to intentionality and selectivity. When you run your agency with confidence, you can build a business you truly love that’s fully aligned with your values. Here are my best tips for developing confidence in your agency leadership skills and becoming a stronger, more self-assured agency owner! 

#1: Stop Downplaying Your Expertise 

When you niche down your agency, you can develop deep expertise in your chosen industry. And the more projects you execute and clients you work with, the more your expertise will grow!

Top-tier clients want to work with the true experts in their industry. As you establish yourself as an authority in your space, your dream clients will seek out your expertise and pay a premium for your services. 

Show your clients why they came to you in the first place! Agency leadership extends to your clients, too. When they give you a game plan that you know is totally wrong for their situation, don’t just go with it. Step into your authority as a digital agency owner and give them the guidance they need. 

Don’t shy away from offering your expertise to land a prospective client. Providing your expert guidance will help establish trust, not scare them off. They’ll see that you actually know your stuff and are invested in their success. 

#2: Ditch Your Reactive Mindset and Get Into a Flow State 

When you’re stuck in a reactive mindset, you just take what comes your way and partner with every prospective client who reaches out. But not everyone gets to work with you! You may be a service provider, but you’re still in charge here. 

If a client shows huge red flags on your discovery call, you don’t have to say yes to them to secure that guaranteed revenue. You’re also not obligated to take on every client or family & friend referral. Taking on every lead you get just pushes you toward building a reactive, unfulfilling business. 

The more proactive and purposeful you are with your business, the more you’ll get into a flow state. This is where your agency leadership skills can develop and truly shine! You’ll be fully in the driver’s seat in every aspect of your agency. 

You can be transparent with prospective clients and offer guidance without worrying about their thoughts. Being intentional about your niche, the services you offer, and the clients you work with will become second nature. And you’ll focus on your zone of genius and help your team get into a flow state, too — this is the ultimate goal of everything we cover inside my Elevate Group Coaching program. 

#3: Know Your Value (and the Value of your Agency Leadership) 

Part of being a confident agency owner is knowing your worth and being fully secure in the value you provide to your clients. 

Lots of clients don’t quite understand the true value of PR. During the discovery call stage, you can help clients see your potential impact on their business by showing off your expertise and providing a capabilities deck, case studies, or client testimonials. Your value should be reflected in your retainer pricing, too — don’t undersell yourself or offer a lower retainer just to land a client! 

Feeling secure in your value empowers you as a leader. You’ll be more confident in your agency leadership skills and niche expertise. Making tough decisions will be easier and you’ll naturally be more selective and intentional when taking on new clients. 

Related: How to Explain the Value of PR to Your Clients

#4: Be Decisive and Let Yourself Say No 

Everything you do in your business is a stepping stone to bigger and better opportunities. But when you let yourself go down a path that feels wrong, you’ll just keep attracting work you don’t enjoy! 

Go down paths that excite you — that’s how you work with clients who light you up, gain crucial niche expertise, and form strong relationships in your industry. 

Take a stand for yourself and your business. Say no to what you know won’t serve you and be strong in that decision. If a client comes your way in an industry that just doesn’t interest you long-term, don’t go down that road! 

You deserve to run an agency you love. And when you fall in love with your business, you’ll feel confident in your agency leadership skills every time you sit down at your desk. 

#5: Follow Your Intuition 

Intuition is so important when running your business, especially in the early stages. Your intuition points you in the right direction and speaks up when you’re headed down the wrong path. If you pay attention to how you feel as you talk to prospective clients, work on projects, and collaborate with your team, you’ll gain clarity on what’s right for you. 

Your gut instinct isn’t wrong: if something feels off, change course ASAP! 

Trust your intuition, trust yourself, and trust in your agency leadership. That is the key to being a confident agency owner. When you trust yourself, you’ll feel 100% sure in everything you do and every move you make. Then, you can establish and execute a clear vision for your agency, which is a major focus of my Elevate Group Coaching program. 

#6: Shut Down Your Impostor Syndrome 

You’re an expert and a true leader. Stop listening to the voice in your head that’s telling you otherwise! 

Impostor syndrome is tough to overcome, but it’s a necessary part of developing your agency leadership skills. Feeling like a fraud and wondering when your clients will realize it is not the way to run your business. 

As you grow more secure in your worth, get into a flow state, and step into your role as an expert in your niche, it’ll become easier and easier to quiet your impostor syndrome anxieties. (See how it all works together?!) 

Growth naturally comes with resistance; it’s your mind trying to protect itself from the uncertainties of something new. 

When you feel impostor syndrome rear its ugly head, reframe those thoughts into a positive, confident mindset. Remind yourself that you’re feeling this way because you’re stepping into a big role and you’re becoming a better agency owner in the process. Feeling good about your growth and agency leadership increases your confidence and shuts down impostor syndrome. 

Working on your agency leadership skills is one thing, but becoming truly confident in them is something entirely different! Growing your confidence requires a lot of mindset shifts, but that tough internal work is more than worth it. When you fully embrace your role as a leader, you’ll run your agency from a place of peace, clarity, and total confidence.