As an award-winning, client-first and consulting-led group, IPG Mediabrands consists of 18,000 marketing and media specialists operating in over 130 countries. Within Australia, the group spans seven distinct agency brands and five markets with a headcount of over 700.
With a long-standing reputation, its high-profile clients include some of Australia’s most trusted brands and services, alongside some of the best-known brands in the world. Operating in a highly competitive and fast-paced industry, it has long recognised that people are its most powerful asset.
“Our existing leadership development program was highly curated and centrally delivered. But we hit a ceiling. Leaders wanted more flexibility, more personalisation and a way to embed learning into their day-to-day leadership rhythm. That’s where Hellomonday came in,” said Kim Lion, Chief People and Culture Officer at IPG Mediabrands.
Kim Lion
Chief People and Culture Officer
IPG Mediabrands
Over a decade ago, IPG Mediabrands posed a fundamental question; “What does a great leader look like across our agencies?”
In response, it launched a globally developed, locally facilitated leadership development program targeted towards director-level talent over six months, known as “Manager Blueprint”.
Thoughtfully curated with industry-leading practices, this one-of-its-kind program invites a cohort of 50 leaders each year across its agencies to undertake sessions with highly accredited facilitators, alongside opportunities for skill development with theory, practice and reflection activities.
While its success is widely recognised and it remains a strong part of the organisation’s employee value proposition, Manager Blueprint has natural limitations with participant attrition over time and limited flexibility.
“At the end of each program, the same question kept coming up: What’s next?” said Kim.
With increasing demand for more flexible and individualised development, IPG Mediabrands knew it needed to launch the next instalment of the program.
In 2024, IPG Mediabrands partnered with Hellomonday to launch two coaching-based offerings tailored to meet the realities of agency environments: fast-paced, siloed and ever-shifting.
The first program, targeted towards 40 director-level leaders, is Hellomonday Amplify. This consists of three targeted, one-on-one coaching sessions focused on a single capability, such as influencing with impact, leading hybrid teams or setting clear expectations. With a multi-agency delivery, this program is offered across; Initiative, Orion, MAGNA, Kinesso and UM.
While the second program, for more senior leaders, is flexible and individually paced with one-to-one Hellomonday coaching. This allows executives to book sessions as and when they need, tailored to the challenges they are actively facing.
"My coach didn’t just offer advice, they delivered sharp, no-fluff strategies that quietly transformed the way I lead. Subtle shifts, powerful outcomes," said Tase Jaycobs-Steko, Client Director at Initiative.
"What truly stood out?" he reflected. "The way the Accountability program felt like it was designed just for me. Tailored with precision, it aligned perfectly with my goals and was ready to put into action."
To date, IPG Mediabrands’ leaders have completed over 360 coaching sessions with Hellomonday.
As a dynamic, multi-brand organisation, IPG Mediabrands’ coaching strategy needs to work across several agencies. Each agency operates somewhat independently, with its own culture, challenges and maturity level. Coaching helps unify leadership development across these siloes, while respecting each brand’s autonomy.
Kim Lion
“Hellomonday feels like an extension of our team,” said Kim. “The team is just down the road from our Melbourne office, highly responsive to our needs and always ready to co-create the right solution, while never pushing a product.”
For example, when developing the Hellomonday Amplify program it became clear that different agency partners needed bespoke approaches. In response, some agency brands were given the autonomy to select their own focus topics. While for others, key leadership behaviours such as cross-functional collaboration or accountability, were made mandatory.
The coaching also supported culture change, embedding a coaching mindset across the organisation. The benefits weren’t limited to capability development, rather they included improved self-awareness, resilience and the ability to lead with clarity in complex, competitive environments.
With clear demand from participants to continue their coaching journeys, IPG Mediabrands is exploring how to expand coaching access across more layers of the organisation.
In addition to embedding coaching into performance and development planning, there’s a long-term vision to create an “evergreen” coaching culture, where coaching isn’t a perk for a select few, but a practical, everyday tool available to all leaders.
“Our people are hungry for this. When someone finishes coaching and says, ‘I want more,’ that tells us we’ve hit the mark,” said Kim.
With a long-term partnership in place, IPG Mediabrands and Hellomonday are now focused on multi-layered, generational leadership growth. Coaching has proven to be more than just a capability tool; it’s a strategic enabler and powerful lever for transformation.
“It’s not just about capability development. Coaching helps our leaders think for themselves, lead with impact and truly grow. That’s the kind of culture we’re building,” Kim concluded.
