Leadership for people who think in ideas, not hierarchies

A behavioural leadership system shaped by three decades inside creative and experiential agencies.

Leadership for people who think in ideas, not hierarchies.

A behavioural leadership system shaped by three decades inside creative and experiential agencies.

Creative agencies don't struggle because the work is hard.

They struggle because people are promoted into leadership without ever being taught how to lead under pressure.

And in an industry that moves at the speed of clients, pitches and production schedules the way a leader behaves becomes either:

the stabilising force… or the commercial risk.

Below-the-line leadership shows up as:
• pressure absorbed, not communicated
• emotion driving decisions
• escalations spiralling upwards
• founders pulled back into delivery
• talented people burning out quietly
• culture running on unspoken assumptions
• margin leaking through wobble and rework

This isn’t a motivation issue. It’s a behavioural issue and the behaviour is fixable.

the leadership line

A behavioural framework that changes everything.

The Leadership Lin is a behavioural, psychological and commercial operating system that shows leaders exactly how they respond under pressure and how those behaviours impact margin, culture, delivery and client confidence.

It draws a clear line between two states:

ꜜBELOW the line

Where leaders slip when pressure hits.

This is reactive, unconscious leadership
and it is the root cause of most agency friction.

Below the line behaviours include:

  • reacting emotionally

  • taking things personally

  • avoiding difficult conversations

  • rescuing or needing rescue

  • spreading pressure downward

  • inconsistent decisions

  • over-controlling

  • escalating instead of resolving

  • operating from urgency or overwelm

↑ rework
↑ margin leakage
↑ project creep
↑ client escalation
↑ senior burnout
↓ delivery confidence
↓ culture maturity

ꜛABOVE the line

Conscious, mature, commercially grounded leadership.

This is the behaviour your agency needs to scale with stability.

Above the line behaviours include:

  • reacting emotionally

  • taking things personally

  • avoiding difficult conversations

  • rescuing or needing rescue

  • spreading pressure downward

  • inconsistent decisions

  • over-controlling

  • escalating instead of resolving

  • operating from urgency or overwelm

↓ rework and margin leakage
↓ escalation volume
↑ predictable delivery
↑ client trust
↑ psychological safety
↑ talent retention
↑ founder capacity

A LEADERSHIP OPERATING SYSTEM BUILT FOR AGENCIES

The Leadership Line isn’t a training course. It’s the behavioural operating system that anchors how your agency communicates, decides and leads under pressure. It gives every leader a shared language, a consistent standard and a practical way to stay above the line when the stakes rise.

MEET the founder

Hi, I'm Suzy!

I spent nearly three decades inside a creative agency, leading teams, clients and complex delivery in environments that moved faster than anyone was ever trained to handle.


What I learned is simple: agencies don’t struggle because the work is hard, they struggle because the people doing the work were never shown how to lead under pressure.

My work exists to change that. I believe leadership should feel clear, grounded, human and commercially intelligent not reactive or overwhelming.


My values are steadiness, honesty, psychological safety and high standards, and they shape every conversation, every framework and every behaviour we build.

The Leadership Line is the system I wish we’d had years ago: a practical, behavioural operating model for leaders who think in ideas, not hierarchies.

NEXT STEPS?

WHERE YOUR LEADERSHIP WORK BEGINS.

Agencies evolve fast, and each team needs something slightly different.
These offerings give you practical entry points into The Leadership Line from insight, to behaviour change, to long-term leadership development.

LEADERSHIP LINE INDEX

A behavioural diagnostic for your leadership layer.


Reveals how each leader operates under pressure

and where commercial risk or cultural instabiity sits. Your starting point if you want clarity before action.

LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

Practical fast-impact sessions to introduced the line.


Gives teams a shared language, cleaner communication and immediate behavioural shifts.
Ideal for resetting expectations and aligning culture quickly.

1:1 LEADERSHIP PARTNERSHIP

Strategic advisory and mentoring for founders & senior leaders.


Focused, confidential support to strengthen performance, decision-making and emotional steadiness.
For leaders who need to lead at a higher level and create more impact without burning out.

ABOVE THE LINE PROGRAMME

Above the line for commercially mature leaders.


Training, tools and real-world application that stabilises your leadership layer and protects margin, culture and delivery.
The path for teams ready to grow into true agency leadership.

Let's Connect

Based in Henley On Thames the Leadership Line is a behavioural leadership system built for global creative, experiential, events and brand experience agencies. We help founders and leadership teams reduce profit leakage, stabilise delivery and retain high-performers by developing leaders who operate above the line so they are calm, clear and commercially grounded.

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