Your Team Isn’t Taking Ownership—Here’s How to Fix It

The #1 reason that most agencies won’t get to the $10M mark in annual revenue, isn’t about more sales.

It’s actually about accountability, but most agency owners are getting this wrong. 

I’ve just started a brand new Instagram account this month sharing more agency advice daily. If you’re on IG, hit follow to connect.

Most agency owners think accountability is about checking in, setting deadlines, or pushing employees to get things done. It’s not.

True accountability means every team member takes ownership of results—without you constantly monitoring them. 

The agencies that scale from $2M to $10M+ don’t just set expectations—they create a culture of accountability where employees think, operate, and execute like owners.

Why Most Agencies Struggle with Accountability

The biggest mistake agency owners make?

Assuming accountability happens naturally.

Without a structured system, you’ll see:

• Missed deadlines and excuses → No one takes real ownership of outcomes.

• Inconsistent results → Some employees perform, others drag the team down.

• Owner bottleneck → You spend more time chasing progress than scaling.

The fix? 

A clear accountability structure that ensures employees optimize for agency success—not just their own workload.

How to Build a Culture of Accountability That Drives Profitability

1. Tie every role to business outcomes

   • Every position must have 3-5 key objectives that directly impact client retention, client results, revenue, or productivity.

   • If employees don’t know how their work contributes to growth, they won’t take ownership of results. Or worse, create goals that don’t drive anything worthwhile.

2. Make accountability a process, not an afterthought

   • Set weekly accountability check-ins focused on progress, roadblocks, and solutions. In short - things that actually moved the needle. Not “busywork.”

   • Use KPIs that predict success, not just lagging metrics that show failure after it happens.

3. Hold underperformers accountable—immediately

   • If someone consistently falls short, address it now, not in six months.

   • Don't sandbag feedback. If you do and people step up they’ll think they're ok. When you show them the 2nd half of what they have to work on, you’ll demoralize them.

   • Fix or replace low performers—letting underperformance slide kills scalability. If people miss the mark there’s only two possible outcomes:

     1. Further training of the individual

     2. Progressive discipline (consequences)

     3. There is no 3rd option of no training or consequences

Bottom Line: Agencies That Scale Don’t Carry Dead Weight

When accountability is clear and enforced, your team moves faster, results improve, and profitability skyrockets. 

If you’re still chasing employees for updates, that means you don’t have an accountability system and you have a management problem.

Fix accountability, and you’ll unlock true agency scalability.

Check this training out if you want to figure out how to start fixing accountability:

Ready to scale your agency in 2025?

Book a time with me to connect about how to hold your team accountable to your 2025 revenue goals.

Nick

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