Game of the CMOs - Aligning with Peers

CMOs aiming for a leadership role in the organization must align themselves with other functional heads to ensure better alignment with the business. There is a great opportunity to learn from your peers across functions and across geographies and contribute wherever you can. By helping them to achieve their organizational objectives, the CMO tends to gain an understanding of their functions and builds credibility and respect with them. The CMO relies on the CFO for his budget requirements and the CIO for technological implementations; hence, he/she must develop good and mutually beneficial relationships with these functions.

 Finally we come to the question – How can a CMO aspire for the top role (C-Suite) in an organization? The answer is simple – by building a strong marketing function, and being proactive about networking with peers and industry experts. By aligning their goals (professional and personal) with business leadership skills, CMOs can leave a mark on not just the C-Suite executives but also the CEO himself. A CMO’s relationship with the CEO must evolve from being a “trusted second in command” to that of being a “partner in progress”. In his new role as a partner in progress, the CMO must guide the CEO on the importance of customer centricity, developing strong brands, identifying and tapping new opportunities, fostering innovation, new market exploration and marketing excellence. 

With the growing role of a CMO as a strategist, the Board has started looking to him to bring in a fresh breath of air for lateral and creative thinking into the boardroom that till now is governed by traditional and structured thinking pattern.

Be confident, be hungry for more, be consistent

“It’s not about how to get started; it’s about how to get noticed.” 

If you are one of those CMO’s who aspires to be in a C-Suite role, you will need to show how your function (i.e., marketing) infiltrates every aspect of the organization’s profitability and viability. You will need your persuasive and influential powers to show the stakeholders how marketing is integral with corporate success. 

And as the role of marketing continues to evolve and transform, many CMOs will find themselves taking on greater leadership and responsibility for continued growth and exerting more influence over strategy. There is a clear and defined route to the top but reaching it will depend on a CMOs ability to position and ready himself/herself for the role.

[1] Source: The Evolved CMO – A joint research project by Forrester Research and Heidrick and Struggles