In this op-ed, Cherie Clonan, autism advocate, CEO and founding director of The Digital Picnic and former B&T Women in Media Woman of the Year, examined the evolving landscape for agency leaders and marketers in 2026, and argued that survival-mode strategies are giving way to outcome-driven work, clearer standards, and leadership with conviction. She highlighted the practical moves that will be rewarded next year—from prioritizing discoverability over loyalty to protecting focus and having the courage to challenge clients.
Last week, I shared a post on LinkedIn about what I believed was genuinely in and out for 2026. It wasn’t a trends list or a manifesto, but a reflection written for agency leaders and marketers who have spent the past few years navigating constant change, rising expectations and shrinking margins. Many are now recognising that the systems normalised during that period are no longer serving the work or the people doing it.
The post was written as a reflection of what I was already seeing across agencies and media businesses: a slow move away from hours-based retainers towards clearer outcomes; a growing focus on discoverability as a driver of growth; increasing discomfort with cultures that prioritise psychological safety without standards; and a recognition that agencies unwilling to challenge clients, protect focus or lead with conviction are finding it harder to sustain both performance and wellbeing.
The response to the post was immediate with commenters neither pushing back or theorising but recognising themselves in it, saving it and treating it as something to return to. That reaction suggested this conversation is overdue, not because these ideas are unfamiliar, but because leaders are increasingly ready to name the tension between what we’ve normalised and what no longer feels sustainable.
What’s changed inside agencies and leadership teams
For several years, the industry has operated in survival mode. In that context, endurance became a proxy for success. If teams were stretched, it was framed as resilience. If margins were thin, it was justified as investment. If culture felt undefined, it was described as flexibility.
What is becoming clear is that many of these compromises were treated as temporary and quietly became permanent. As economic pressure tightens and expectations continue to rise, leaders are being forced to confront the cost of that avoidance. Not just financially, but also culturally and operationally. This moment is less about predicting what comes next and more about acknowledging what can no longer continue.
Moving beyond hours and towards outcomes
One of the most tangible changes is the gradual retreat from hours-based retainers. While they once provided a sense of security, they have increasingly rewarded activity over impact and made it difficult to have clear conversations about value.
>Outcome-led models, while more demanding upfront, require leaders to define success clearly, agree on measurable priorities and be explicit about trade-offs. They also make it easier for teams to focus on doing the work well, rather than justifying how long it took.
The practical implication is not that every business must abandon an hours-based retainer model immediately, but that leaders need to examine whether their commercial models genuinely reflect the outcomes they are accountable for, or whether they are simply familiar.
Discoverability as a growth discipline
Another assumption being challenged is the idea that loyalty amongst audiences alone is enough to drive growth. While community remains important, platforms increasingly reward clarity, relevance and usefulness to people who have not yet encountered your brand.
This shift places greater emphasis on social SEO, searchable formats and content designed to answer real questions rather than reinforce internal narratives. It requires leaders to think less about speaking to those who already know them and more about being understood by those who don’t.
In practice, this means treating discoverability not as a tactical layer, but as a core part of growth strategy.
Psychological safety requires standards
Psychological safety in the workplace has become a priority for many leaders, but it is often applied culturally without being supported by clear expectations or consistent standards. In practice, this can look like avoiding difficult conversations, softening feedback or leaving underperformance unaddressed in the name of care.
The result is not safety, but uncertainty. When expectations are unclear and feedback is inconsistent, people are left guessing where they stand and what good performance actually looks like, which tends to increase anxiety rather than reduce it.
To me, psychological safety is built through predictability. Clear roles, consistent feedback and transparent decision-making allow people to do their work without second-guessing. For leaders, the takeaway is simple: clarity does not undermine care – it enables it.
The cost of avoiding challenge
Agencies, in particular, are feeling the consequences of avoiding difficult conversations with clients. Relationships built on constant agreement may feel harmonious in the short term, but they often conceal unresolved tension around scope, timelines and expectations.
Agencies that struggle to challenge clients respectfully tend to absorb this pressure internally, placing increasing strain on their teams. Over time, this erodes trust, margins and morale.
Challenging a client is not a failure of service. It is a responsibility to the work, the outcome and the people delivering it.
Focus as a leadership advantage (aka. less meetings, more deep work!)
One of the clearest markers of high-performing teams right now is not how much they do, but how deliberately they protect focus. Fewer meetings, clearer ownership and time allocated for deep work are becoming practical advantages rather than idealistic aspirations.
In many organisations, meetings have become a substitute for direction and collaboration and a way to delay decisions. Leaders who are willing to reduce noise and provide clear direction are finding that both performance and wellbeing improve as a result.
Leading with conviction in 2026
As expectations rise, so too does the discomfort of leadership. Setting clearer standards and making firmer decisions often leads to a temporary drop in approval, particularly in cultures accustomed to consensus.
However, teams tend to trust leaders who are consistent, decisive and honest about what the work requires. Conviction, when paired with care, creates stability in uncertain environments.
This conversation is not anti-people or anti-culture, yet it is a recognition that confusion carries its own cost – and that clarity has become one of the most important leadership skills as we move into 2026.
What is changing is not the nature of the work itself, but the willingness to address what is no longer working and to lead with enough honesty to do something about it.
