Account Leadership
8 WEEKS, 2 HOURS PER WEEK
(30-MINUTE ON-DEMAND LECTURE, 90-MINUTE LIVE TUTORIAL & ASSESSMENTS)
From execution to influence. Trust, commercial rigour, and great work.
about this course
Moving from running the process to shaping the outcome is a different job, and most people learn it by trial and error on live accounts.
Over eight weeks, you’ll work through essential commercial conversations: pricing, scope, and what to do when it creeps. You’ll learn to read a client’s business well enough to know what keeps them up at night, navigate stakeholders who disagree with each other, and argue for ambitious work in a way that gets it bought.
You’ll leave able to hold a commercial conversation without flinching, protect a scope, and sell an idea you didn’t make.
Who’s it for?
For client-facing leads across creative, media, PR, design, and in-house teams.
Meet your Facilitators & Lecturers
From one of the ad industry’s best agency growth leaders to seasoned managing directors, CEOs, strategic advisors and HR directors, AdSchool Account Leadership gives you access to key insights and learnings from over 15 experts with lived experience.
Weekly facilitators (live session)
Video lecturers (pre-recorded)
COURSE STRUCTURE & CONTENT
Over eight short weeks, you’ll be delivered bite-sized content designed to fit your schedule—anytime, anywhere. The best part? It takes no more than three hours a week.
Duration
Part-time.
Delivery
On-demand 30-minute lectures for flexible learning combined with in-person 90-minute tutorials to help you apply theory to practice. Weekly tutes for online courses will be delivered virtually.
Assessment:
Practical projects, collaborative exercises, and a final capstone presentation to industry peers and mentors.
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Week 1: Leadership
Lecturers: Chiquita King
- Introduction
- What defines great leadership?
- Difference between a manager and a leader
- What defines your leadership now vs. desired future state
Week 2: Building client relationships
Lecturers: Lauren Portelli and Nicole Bardsley
- What clients really need from Account Managers
- How to build trusted client relationships
- Managing client conflict
Week 3: Strategy and effectiveness
Lecturer: Mike Redfern
- What defines great strategy / how do we manufacture effectiveness
- What a great brief looks like / the importance of great insights
- The strategic process
- How to sell great strategy
Week 4: Selling the value of creativity
Lecturer: Sheryl Marjoram
- Key financial tools
- How can you maximise profitability on your project/client?
- How can you grow revenue?
- What your CFO needs from you in your role
Week 5: Grow your career
Lecturer: Lea Walker and Maddy Mursa
- How to take control of your career growth
- The importance of feedback
- How to manage up, down and sideways
- Building your personal brand
- Developing your network / mentors
Week 6: The creative process
Lecturers: Belinda Drew and Damon Stapleton
- How to get the best out of the creative department
- How to write a brilliant brief
- How to judge creative work
- How to give good creative feedback
- How to add value to the creative process
Week 7: Presenting and pitching
Lecturer: Clare Pickens
- How to give a winning presentation
- The difference between pitching and presenting
- The dark art of new business
- Your role in a new business pitch
Week 8: Pitch
This industry-certified course includes homework/assessments.
See how it has worked for others
“Courses like this one have been instrumental in helping me build a stronger foundation and grow with more confidence.”
Gowri Adi
Account Manager, Apparent
“It was incredibly valuable to take a step back from working in our little advertising bubbles and seeing how other people approach the world of account management… It was equal parts valuable and inspiring.”
Josh Staras
Senior Account Manager, Bastion Agency
Why AdSchool?
Quality education you can trust
AdSchool’s industry-certified learning combines rigour with real-world application, preparing you for the dynamic challenges of our industry.
“Fly the Standard” of professionalism
Join a forward-thinking community setting new benchmarks for strategic excellence in Australian advertising and marketing.
Belong to a community
AdSchool’s supportive space for high achievers connects you with industry experts, mentors, and peers committed to advancing their – and your – craft.