The Path to Your Next Role: You’re On It

Last month I attended the marketing trade association’s MMA CEO & CMO Summit in Napa Valley, where I was asked to speak briefly about my journey from CMO to CEO to an incredible group of leaders from all across the country — assembled by the amazing Greg Stuart, CEO of MMA Global.

I saw some fantastic presentations, including from Chief Marketing and Growth Officer of AT&T, Kellyn Smith Kenny, Global CMO of General Motors, Deborah Wahl, and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Peleton, Dara Treseder.

The ask got me thinking. One thing is for sure: there is no CEO school, degree, or playbook. Everybody’s journey is unique. And there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for what to do once you get there. 

As I prepared to share my story with this awesome group, I found myself grounding my thoughts in the same perspective I would share with a first-time employee, a rising star, or anyone looking to advance their career for that matter. 

What my approach has ultimately boiled down to is: Don’t shy away from your weaknesses, lean into challenges, go above and beyond “your job,” and make the most of every step of the journey. Most importantly, you need to get really comfortable stretching beyond your current role and in some cases your current capabilities. 

Less eloquently stated, sometimes being the boss means allowing yourself to have the smallest ego in the room and not always being smartest person in the room either. And you won’t always be right. 

Your Role Doesn’t Define You, You Define Your Role

If you become overly focused on the title and job description you were hired into, it’s easy to miss how much opportunity you have to learn, grow, and add value wherever you are in your career.

Chief Marketing Officers should stick to marketing… right? Well, what does marketing mean? Advertising? Pricing? Promotion? That’s part of it. But to me, it fundamentally means building a brand and driving demand through content, communication and channels. And that’s the same objective for every executive. 

When I was CMO, I had to wear many hats – many of which were not traditionally worn by a CMO. I learned quickly, sometimes the hard way. I had to go beyond the lines of what a CMO typically does and really get down to the core of what it means to build and shape a brand, and how to protect the reputation of a brand that people love and trust. 

I began to understand the business much more holistically and learned so much, both from my amazing colleagues, but also through my own process of trial and error. Ultimately stretching out of my comfort zone in order to do what needed to be done allowed me to add more value than what the job description called for.

Therein lay the magic, the challenge, and the opportunity. The borders are porous, so go for it. 

Make the Most of Every Step of the Journey

Many of us chronically rush off to the next bigger and better thing without appreciating the journey. I’m a curious, competitive person, and it’s a trap I have fallen into too. But it’s a false choice. You can be fully present and fully maximizing whatever opportunity you have right now, while still being an ambitious person looking toward the next thing. You may not realize it, but everything you’re doing in your current role is preparing you for your next role.

So stop and smell the roses, revel in the present, because you have the opportunity to gain new skills right now today. And you never lose the skills you’ve earned and learned. You carry them with you forever. 

And they might just end up being more relevant than you imagined. 

My title has changed many times. However, one of things I’m still doing – whether as a CMO, COO, or CEO – is trying to build a brand and drive demand. 

Growth is the holy grail in any business. And it’s much easier said than done.