Cultivating the best talent.
To accomplish your objectives, you’ll need to rely on your team, which requires a combination of recruiting, training and leadership. “Your team is what makes matters most,” says Kristin Hambleton, VP Marketing, Neolane Communications, now part of Adobe. "You’re not an island – you need collaboration and leadership.”
Kimberly Clark CMO Tony Palmer says, “the smartest thing I did when I started was to go out and hire four or five of the best people I could find in the disciplines. They were people who had a lot of weight in terms of skill set and experience, and that helped enormously. I think that very early on, the organization saw them as a skill set that they didn't recognize, and they tended to therefore be invited in more.”* Adds Tony Wells, CMO of ADT Security Services, “surround yourself with good people – hire people better than you.”
Most importantly, says Ted Rubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer of Collective Bias, “teach mid-level marketing execs to speak to the c-suite in a way they understand – learn to speak their language – talk to me about sales / conversion.” Says Wells, “always look to develop people – make it possible for them do the best work of their career.” And Bloomberg CMO Maureen McGuire says “development of people is a daily task…It’s about coaching people through the process, helping them to understand the business and what’s good or bad about the work that they've done at the moment.”**
“Know yourself, your job, your people, their strengths and weaknesses, says Tony Wells, CMO ADT Security Services. There should always be something exciting going on. Create energy.” Unfortunately, says Karen Masullo, EVP Social Media of Firestorm, “many marketers who move into executive positions tell their teams what to do without soliciting their input – allow your team to help you. Avoid being dictatorial.”
The management consulting firm Hay Group suggests using a variety of leadership styles,*** noting that a poor leader uses a single style, effective leaders use at least four and superb leaders can use six, and know when to use them:
*Succeeding as the Company’s First Chief Marketing Officer, SpencerStuart, 2011
To accomplish your objectives, you’ll need to rely on your team, which requires a combination of recruiting, training and leadership. “Your team is what makes matters most,” says Kristin Hambleton, VP Marketing, Neolane Communications, now part of Adobe. "You’re not an island – you need collaboration and leadership.”
Successful marketing executives recruit the best people they can.
Kimberly Clark CMO Tony Palmer says, “the smartest thing I did when I started was to go out and hire four or five of the best people I could find in the disciplines. They were people who had a lot of weight in terms of skill set and experience, and that helped enormously. I think that very early on, the organization saw them as a skill set that they didn't recognize, and they tended to therefore be invited in more.”* Adds Tony Wells, CMO of ADT Security Services, “surround yourself with good people – hire people better than you.”
Then, they build their team’s capabilities.
Most importantly, says Ted Rubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer of Collective Bias, “teach mid-level marketing execs to speak to the c-suite in a way they understand – learn to speak their language – talk to me about sales / conversion.” Says Wells, “always look to develop people – make it possible for them do the best work of their career.” And Bloomberg CMO Maureen McGuire says “development of people is a daily task…It’s about coaching people through the process, helping them to understand the business and what’s good or bad about the work that they've done at the moment.”**
Finally, leadership is critical.
“Know yourself, your job, your people, their strengths and weaknesses, says Tony Wells, CMO ADT Security Services. There should always be something exciting going on. Create energy.” Unfortunately, says Karen Masullo, EVP Social Media of Firestorm, “many marketers who move into executive positions tell their teams what to do without soliciting their input – allow your team to help you. Avoid being dictatorial.”
- The affiliative leader creates harmony that boosts morale and solves conflicts. A very useful style for healing rifts in a team or motivating during stressful times.
- The participative leader is a superb listener, a team worker, a collaborator, an influencer. By valuing people’s input, this leader gets commitment through participation.
- By listening and helping people identify their own strengths and weaknesses, the coaching leader encourages, delegates and improves performance by building long-term capabilities.
- With a strong drive to achieve, high personal standards and initiative, pacesetters get results from a competent team. Do too much of this and your employees will feel stifled and have less room to grow.
- The directive leader is too inclined to say ‘do it’. It’s a style that demands compliance, and is most effective in a crisis situation when you need to kick-start an urgent turnaround. It is least effective when used with capable and self-motivated employees.
- The visionary leader inspires and is able to explain how and why people’s efforts contribute to the ‘dream.’ Through empathy and clarity, they are able to move people towards shared dreams.
Next: Where Do You Start?
*Succeeding as the Company’s First Chief Marketing Officer, SpencerStuart, 2011
**What do you want from me? How high-performing CMOs exceed expectations," SpencerStuart, 2010
***“The ins and outs of successful leadership,” Hay Group,
No comments:
Post a Comment