Agency teams rarely struggle because they do not understand Agile.
Most agencies I work with already speak the language. Stand ups exist. Retros exist. There are boards, backlogs, and sprint plans. On paper, they are already doing Agile.
Where things start to strain is when those practices meet agency reality.
Multiple clients. Competing deadlines. Retainers alongside fixed scope projects. Specialists pulled across accounts. A constant pressure to say yes, keep momentum, and not wobble in front of a client.
Agile in agencies works differently to product environments, and most agency teams feel that gap quickly.
This page is for agency leaders and teams who recognise that pattern, and want to adapt agile ways of working so they actually fit the environment they are in.
Why Agile feels different in agencies
Agile can work well in agencies. It just runs into constraints that are hard to ignore.
The work arrives in fragments, not a single stream
Agency teams rarely focus on one thing. Retainers, projects, urgent fixes, pitches, internal work, and client questions all compete for attention. Agile loves focus. Agency work interrupts it.
Clients sit inside the system, but outside the sprint
Decisions, approvals, and feedback often live beyond the team. You can plan a sprint, then lose days waiting for a response. That stop start rhythm is common in agency agile delivery.
Priorities shift for commercial reasons
In agencies, priorities change because account dynamics change. A renewal is at risk. A promise is made. A client escalates. The backlog carries revenue and relationships, not just tasks.
Specialists are shared
Agile assumes stable, cross functional teams. Agencies often rely on shared specialists. Planning becomes a negotiation rather than a commitment.
Utilisation shapes behaviour
Even when unspoken, utilisation rewards looking busy. Agile asks teams to limit work in progress. Agencies often reward the opposite.
Done is defined externally
Work is not finished when it is built or designed. It is finished when it is approved, sometimes billed. That uncertainty is hard to model cleanly.
Cadence is hard to protect
Client meetings, workshops, and reactive support dominate calendars. Agile ceremonies work around delivery rather than setting the rhythm.
None of this means Agile is wrong for agencies. It means agency Agile needs adapting.
What Agile coaching looks like in an agency context
Agile coaching for agencies is less about installing a framework, and more about working with reality.
This is less about doing Agile, and more about making agency Agile delivery workable.
Working with interruptions
Instead of protecting a perfect sprint, the focus is on making interruptions visible and negotiable. What is urgent. What repeats. What keeps surprising the team.
Planning that bends
Agency planning needs slack. Enough structure to create confidence, without collapsing when priorities shift.
Talking about trade offs
Every commitment has a cost. Time, focus, energy, relationships. Coaching improves how teams and leaders talk about those costs.
Supporting shared specialists
Rather than forcing stable teams, the focus shifts to managing flow across accounts. Limiting work in progress across the system.
Making retrospectives useful
Many agency retros exist but change little. Coaching creates safety to talk about real constraints, including resourcing and commercial pressure.
Working with leaders and teams together
Delivery is shaped by leadership decisions. Coaching usually spans levels, helping leaders see how choices land and helping teams raise issues clearly.
How I tend to work with agencies
Most agencies are already busy delivering. Clients are live. Deadlines matter. There is little space to stop and redesign everything.
So the work happens alongside delivery.
Real teams, real work
I work with delivery teams, delivery leads, and account teams as they plan and deliver live client work. That is where friction shows up.
Noticing before fixing
Rather than diagnosing upfront, we pay attention to where work gets stuck, where energy drops, and where surprises appear.
Small changes, tested quickly
Agencies move fast, so change needs to as well. Adjustments are small enough to run safely inside live environments.
Teams and leadership as one system
Coaching teams without leadership rarely sticks. Resourcing, prioritisation, and commercial decisions shape delivery every day.
Progress over purity
The goal is not to be agile. It is to make delivery clearer, calmer, and more predictable.
Lighter, not heavier
If a change adds more admin or stress, it is usually the wrong one. The test is simple. Does this help?
Common starting points I see
These patterns show up often, even in healthy looking agencies.
Saying yes too early
Teams commit before the impact is clear. Planning happens after expectations are set.
Polite retrospectives
The meeting exists, but the real issues stay unspoken. Client pressure and resourcing gaps are worked around.
Delivery leads buffering everything
Delivery managers protect teams, translate decisions, chase progress, and firefight. They become essential and exhausted.
Specialists stretched thin
The same people appear on every critical path. Context switching is constant. Plans assume availability that does not exist.
Late surprises
Work looks fine until it suddenly is not. Dependencies surface late. Feedback arrives too late.
Knowing something needs to change
Everything feels connected. Pull one thread and something else tightens. So nothing moves.
What changes tend to follow
The shifts are subtle at first, but they compound.
Clearer commitments
Teams pause before saying yes. Trade offs surface earlier. Fewer late surprises.
More honest planning
Plans reflect reality. Interruptions are expected. Shared specialists are accounted for.
Better client conversations
With clearer capacity, client discussions become calmer and more collaborative.
Less firefighting
Problems surface earlier. Delivery leads spend more time enabling.
Retros that lead to action
Real constraints are visible. Changes are small and tried quickly.
A calmer pace
Agency work stays busy. Teams feel more in control.
Is this the right fit?
This work helps when agencies are delivering, but feeling the strain.
It is usually a good fit if:
- You are looking for Agile agency support, not a generic transformation
- Your teams are capable but overloaded
- Agile practices exist but do not quite fit
- Delivery relies on a few people holding everything together
It is probably not the right fit if:
- You want a framework rollout
- You want a fixed approach everywhere
- Teams are expected to change, but leadership decisions are not
Most agencies sit somewhere in between. Curious, cautious, and aware something needs to shift.
That uncertainty is often the right place to start.
My broader Agile coaching work
This page focuses on Agile in agencies, but the work sits within a broader coaching and delivery practice.
If you want more detail on my background and wider approach, you can read more about my work as an Agile Coach and Delivery Specialist in Manchester.