"11 Tips to Get Promoted at Work."

Dear Can We Connect? How did you position yourself for marketing leadership roles (e.g. VP/SVP/CMO, etc) and what advice would you have for those who are looking to get there?

Dear Hiran , Let me start by telling you how I got promoted to my first CMO role. I initially joined Univision to run integrated sales marketing. My job was to help us sell strategically to grow our business. Two years into my tenure, Dennis McCauley, our co-head of sales came to see me. He told me that he’d convinced our Chairman Jerry Perenchio that we needed B2B advertising and asked if I could work on the project which would require me to work directly with our President, Ray Rodriguez and Jerry. Despite never having done anything like that? before, I didn’t hesitate to say YES. I dug in, figured out how to get the job done and launched what turned out to be a very successful campaign.?

A few months later Jerry and I had a meeting. After a few niceties, he asked if I knew Ray had been looking for a CMO. I did know. In fact, when I’d heard this rumor awhile back I’d approached Ray. In terms of career moves, CMO was the next role I wanted at Univision (I’d been hired as an SVP). Despite the great work I’d done to date, I wasn’t getting any traction. “We want a big name,” Ray had told me, ending the conversation which was both deflating and frustrating.?

Back to my meeting with Jerry. To my surprise, Jerry’s next question was “what about you?” And that is how I got promoted.

In looking back on how I made that first big leap, I think it happened in large part because I was focused on making a difference no matter what role I was in. I always optimized for the company, had no secondary agenda, and worked to bring others along. From a young age, I wasn’t afraid to speak up or take on assignments that seemed impossible. I focused on doing the work, believing that my work would speak for itself. If you gave me a project, I would run at it like my life depended on it, determined to do work that was good and had impact. Despite the obstacles I faced (and there were many), I always believed in myself. I knew my worth. And so I would raise my hand, advocate for myself and, if that didn’t work, I was willing to move jobs.??

Everybody makes their way differently so I turned to a few friends to help answer this question to give you a broader set of perspectives.

Here are our 11 Tips:?

1. Be that person. Don’t allow yourself to get too distracted by the red carpets, industry speaking events and ‘best of’ lists. Consistently be responsible for driving the best, bravest, and most innovative work that drives the business and makes people fall in love with the brand.” Brad Jakeman .
2. Own the narrative, own the results. As a marketer, it is critical to be right-brained and left-brained. Owning the narrative is about compelling storytelling and owning the results is about proving impact with data. This applies both to your work as well as to the task of developing your own career." Laura Jones?
3. Learn to explain Marketing to people whose expertise is not Marketing. Explain your attribution model to the CFO. Better yet, develop it with the CFO. Explain and report total ROAS to the CEO and Board quarterly, so they’re focused on the big picture over time and see the value of the full funnel in action. Last, and this may be most important: Learn how to sell an IDEA. The best marketers I know do not get lost in metrics, they trust their instincts and can explain why. Jae Goodman
4. Demonstrate a deep understanding of other functions and their KPIs. Exhibit overall commercial savvy, extending well beyond brand stewardship and marketing metrics. Emily Chang
5. Learn everything about the business. This will mean you know more than people who have been in the business for years. This requires learning to listen more than you? talk. Roxanne Taylor
6. Raise your hand. Take on an important project that scares you and thrills you at the same time. While fear can typically hold us back, taking on something like that allows you to stretch yourself and gives you an opportunity to demonstrate to others (and sometimes even discover for yourself) that you are ready for the next level. Lara Mosko ?
7. Be an innovator. Be the person in the organization that looks forward – beyond traditional marketing. Set up conversations and partnerships to give you and your organization new ways to connect to consumers (products, experiences/NFT’s/third party collaborations). Make sure you communicate your ideas to the organization. Pam Kaufman
8. Learn everything about the role. Oftentimes we think getting promoted is what we want because we’re conditioned to believe that success is defined by getting the top job. True success involves spending time doing what you’re most passionate about. So do homework and make sure that you want the promotion – as in you want to spend your time doing what the top job entails. If it is YES then, great! Surround yourself with a group of senior mentors who can help support you on your journey and go for it! Stacey La Torre
9. Build a world class team. Marketers are playing a larger role across more digital customer touch points. As multiple digital functions are starting to converge, hiring good talent is only getting harder. To stand out you need to show that you can recruit, retain and manage a team that can show measurable success across multiple digital functions. Kyle Wong
10. Find your own unique path. Take lateral roles that excite you. There are lots of ways for things to turn out great. Just keep the humans and their needs at the center always and think: how can I make the gap between us and them smaller? Chris Bruzzo
11. Make constructive curiosity a super-power. Have the kind of curiosity that makes you stop, read, pick up the phone and call an expert. Be willing to share that you aren't the expert on the issue...YET! Constructive, because you go into the exploration with an open mind and a commitment to do something with the knowledge. I've found this mindset critical for evolving beyond the limitations placed on me by external pre-conceptions. Roopa Unnikrishnan

Thanks for engaging in the conversation. Questions can be submitted here .?

Please share the newsletter with anyone you think would benefit from the conversation or who you think might have a question they’d like answered.?