Episode 3 New leader, old team: the inherited hand

Episode notes

Agencies working with a newly appointed communications leader need to understand the hand that leader inherited. A senior client contact may still lack authority over internal stakeholders, content owners, systems, procurement or budget.
Episode 3 shows why that matters for delivery. When the client-side operating model is unsettled, an agency can become the place where internal disagreements surface. Revisions multiply, approvals move and execution is judged without acknowledging the authority gap upstream.
A strong agency response begins with a short diagnostic. Confirm who can approve, which commitments are already fixed, what the new leader may change and where executive sponsorship is required. Sequence foundational work before visible output.
This is not an argument for delay. It is an argument for building on decisions that can hold. The fastest route to durable execution is often to stop pretending that the client-side structure is already settled.
 
 

Question for clients and agencies

Does the client lead have authority over the decisions your project depends on, and what happens when they do not?