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LEAD / Operating System
Board01 / People OS Reading time8 min ForAgency Owners

The Agency
People OS.

A one-page starter system for agency owners. Steal the shape, borrow the thinking, and build a team that holds together when you step back from it.

What you get
The four moves every owner has to get right: how to structure, hire, manage, and promote. Strip it back to the basics. Build from here.
The Cycle Structure → Staff → Steer → Celebrate
gaps become roles new hire → direction success earns reward team reshapes
1 Org Chart

Start with
the shape.

Founder / MD
Client Lead
Delivery Lead
Ops Lead
account mgr
specialist
specialist
finance / ppl
Rules of thumb: one owner per outcome. Max 6 direct reports. Split a role when it serves two different outcomes.
2 Hiring

Start with
the JD.

Every role needs a JD
The What
what they do
  • Duties
  • Outcomes
  • Deliverables
The How
how they do it
  • Behaviours
  • Standards
  • Values in action
Interview Scorecard · score both
Skills (the What)/ 10
Behaviours (the How)/ 10
Values fit/ 10
No JD, no hire. The JD is the contract. And the reference point forever after.
4 Celebrate Success

Celebrate
success.

Promote
grow them
  • Already doing the next level's work. Consistently.
  • Role changes
  • Pay changes
  • Org reshapes
Bonus
reward them
  • Exceptional work at current level
  • Role stays the same
  • One-off payment
  • Recognition, not structure
Both celebrate success. Don't confuse them. Promote to grow. Bonus to recognise. If you only have one lever, you'll pull the wrong one.
3 Managing

Lead them,
don't babysit.

The LEAD formula
Clarity + Expectations + Support + Review = Leadership
↺ Always return to the JD
Every 1:1. Every review. Come back to the What and the How. Same reference, same language. That's how your direct report gets consistency.
Weekly 1:1. Non-negotiable. 30 min. Them first, you second.
Feedback inside 24 hours. Good or bad. Specific, not stored up.
This board is the first page of the LEAD Operating System. If it made you rethink something, imagine what the full thing does.
LEAD / Built for operational leaders
Pinkel · leadership that holds up