How to Grow Without Losing Your Mojo

How to scale without compromising what makes your agency great

There’s a tension every ambitious agency faces at some point: how do you grow, expand, evolve -without losing the very things that made you great in the first place?

The things clients fell in love with. The spark that drew your team in. The rhythm and energy that made your agency feel different.

I call this your fighting strength. It’s that sweet spot where you feel in control. Clear on what matters. Resilient. You’re growing—but with purpose, not just momentum. You’re grounded in your values and making choices that are authentic to you as a leader.

But growth has its own gravity. More people. More process. More pressure. And unless you’re careful the original spark can get buried under it all. 

No surprise then that 89% of clients believe agencies often lose what makes them special when they grow (DBA/Up to the Light: What Clients Think 2025).

So how do you grow - and stay great?

1: Know what you’re protecting

Before scaling anything, get clear on the purpose of your agency. What do you care about? What do your best clients praise again and again? What do you want to still feel true when you’ve doubled in size?

This isn’t about a brand slogan. It’s about recognising the values, behaviours, and ways of working that make your agency feel alive and give it its mojo. What’s non-negotiable? What’s worth protecting?

If you can name it, you can build around it.

2: Grow on purpose, not by default

Not all growth is created equal. You can grow in size, revenue, geographic reach, service lines - but which kind of growth serves your long-term ambition and your day-to-day energy?

Agencies with a clear sense of purpose tend to make better decisions about growth. They don’t add new services just because a client asks for them. They don’t chase headcount as a metric of success. Instead, they expand in ways that are true to what they’re about.

Purpose becomes a compass - not just a campaign slogan.

3:  Protect the human-scale magic

The best agencies often feel personal. People know each other. Leaders are visible. Clients feel looked after. These relationships can become harder to maintain as the business expands.

The trick isn’t to stop growing but rather preserve intimacy through structure: smaller teams, cross-functional squads, rituals that reinforce culture, direct lines of communication.

Scaling doesn’t have to mean disconnecting.

4: Don’t confuse culture with perks

Mojo isn’t ping pong tables or early finishes. It’s a sense of purpose, camaraderie, and shared belief. It's your people caring about the work and each other. It's the quiet confidence that what you’re building together matters.

As you grow, your job is to make sure your culture stays felt. Not as a plaque on the wall - but in the way meetings run, how people are recognised, how performance is supported, and how decisions get made.

Leadership that listens, communicates clearly, and still feels human is key.

5: Choose clients (and people) who value the mojo

Growth invites more choices - and more risk of drift. New clients. New hires. New leaders. Each one either strengthens or strains the ties that already existed.

You can’t scale without trust. So choose people - internally and externally - who get it. Who want this, not just any agency. Who value your distinctiveness and help protect it.

Greatness isn’t just something you have. It’s something you guard.

In the end, growth is a creative act.

You can grow. You can scale.
And you can stay great - if you grow with intention and build around the things that matter most.

Protect the magic. Because your mojo isn’t a nice-to-have.
It is the business.

—
Lucy Unger is a BLINK Advisor and Clifton Strengths accredited Coach.

Read Lucy’s bio here.