Business wins and losses are part of life for a media agency, but sometimes the losses can start to outpace the wins and – for whatever reason – negative momentum takes hold.

This was the difficult backdrop against which Kelly Parker and Katie Lee were appointed as Wavemaker UK CEO and COO respectively in 2022. In Parker’s words, the agency had had a “really bad year” in 2021, losing a “large number” of its top 10 clients. “I think it just lost its way as a business,” she says.

Three years on and Parker and Lee have steered the business back to double-digit growth, a turnaround they credit in part to their unconventional working relationship, which they conceptualise as ‘dual leadership’.

Recalling the challenging early days of that effort, Lee says: “I think because there were the two of us, it meant we could be making difficult decisions while at the same time building momentum and energy in the agency. I think if there had been one person, it would have had to feel negative…whereas having the two of us, we could both build and break at the same time.”

This week’s guests on Leadership Lessons, Parker and Lee explain why their ‘dual leadership’ approach continues to pay dividends, helping them to get the best out of their teams, make the most of their respective talents and elevate the work they produce for clients.

This episode was recorded in January 2025.

Credits:

Presenter: Antonia Garrett Peel

Producer: Inga Marsden

Artwork: David Robinson

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