Whether you lead the creative, account, production or entire internal agency team, helping your group be recognized, valued and positioned for success within your organization takes focused initiative. It takes more than just putting out good work to get your team in the limelight.

To lead your team to be a key corporate player and enjoy the success they deserve, you have to be acutely aware of your company’s business goals and align your team’s contributions through specific tactics. Articulate your team’s value in tangible, measurable ways that you can report back to executive management so it’s meaningful to them. And do it regularly through quarterly updates and annual-accomplishment communications.

It’s also vital to build a team of influential advocates within the organization. Internal agencies are always fighting the perception of being less innovative, creative, strategic—you pick the adjective. Though we know it’s not true, it still requires us to step up our game. Finding a few vocal and influential internal business partners who can sing the praises of the in-house team can not only bring you new clients, it can prompt interesting new work from your existing clients. (I’ve experienced this first hand!)

Growing the talent on your team is another important ingredient in leading them to success. When things are fast and furious every day, it can be difficult to make time to guide, mentor, and train—but it’s an imperative at all levels. Adding expertise as well as providing leadership and supervisory growth opportunities keeps staff members engaged in their jobs and with the business, helping them do their best work.

One last area that I believe can’t be overlooked is fostering a team culture where creativity can flourish, yet work is accomplished efficiently. I saw a video-short recently featuring Sam Bacharach of Cornell Institute for Workplace Studies where he discusses the idea of creating a balance of energetic idea generation and practical follow-through. Take a look:www.inc.com/sam-bacharach/build-teams-for-creativity.html.

So I’m curious…what actions have you taken that have elevated your team to new heights?What have you tried with limited success? There’s no one way to lead an internal agency to greatness. Every organization is unique. At IHAF, we learn from one another—through programming, resources and networking that enables the success of in-house teams. Join us atwww.ihaforum.org.