CMOs have the shortest tenure of those in the c-suite, with the average only staying in post for 3.6 years, according to a recent report by executive-search firm Spencer Stuart (March, 2018). This compares to a stint of about eight years for a CEO.
It’s understandable that a new CMO would want to rip up their predecessor’s plans, but when it happens often it can have a negative effect on the continuity of the marketing department’s efforts. CMOs should consider finding and nurturing their own successor in order to pass on the baton with minimal disruption.
Taking responsibility for the future
It’s often ideal to promote internally. Hiring someone you know creates less risk, avoids recruitment costs and shows your other employees that promotion is achievable. But who’s responsible for ensuring those successors are match fit? The marketing leaders we spoke to were clear that the onus is on the employee to do the legwork, while it’s the responsibility of their leaders to create a fertile ground for them to do so.
Claire Macland, vice president marketing EMEA at Equinix lets her team know that furthering their career ultimately sits with them. “By asking people to take ownership of it I’m saying I want them to feel empowered, yet it is still the manager’s responsibility to drive the direction of their team member’s career.”
Creating an atmosphere in which this is encouraged allows people to have “pushy conversations” about their careers, without worrying about putting themselves or their managers in a difficult position, says Claire.
A culture of confidence
Showing future leaders a route forward is just one part of succession planning, a wider goal is to create an environment of confidence and success. Every four months, Claire’s company carries out an employee engagement survey. Those 20 questions allow employees to feed back on whether they’re having valuable conversations with their managers, and whether both parties understand the goals and objectives.
“It’s essential the employee has growth opportunities at the company, and they feel their current responsibilities are positioning them for a future at the company,” says Claire, adding that the feedback has provided the push for many for the career development opportunities now in place at Equinix.
Sakina Najmi, director of global marketing at Criteo says individual development planning is essential in identifying the next step for her team members’ training. “I’m a keen advocate of promoting internally and training young people, so that when I have leave, I have a choice of who will take my job. I’ve found one successor in particular who I feel is the right fit for my role when I leave.”
She notes that no two people are the same, so it’s essential to tailor to your management style to help each person achieve their goals. “They all want to be leaders, but they don’t all necessarily want my job,” Sakina says. This means not just regular coaching and guidance, but mentoring, training sessions and spending time with employees when you don’t talk about work so that you may understand what’s really right for them.
Encouraging the reluctant successor
Sometimes a leader’s succession plans just don’t align with those they’re trying to promote, as was the case for Sakina Najmi, director of global marketing at Criteo.
“I had a woman in my team who was extremely talented and hard-working and I thought she could do a lot more,” she says. “I created a dynamic new role that I wanted to give her but she said no. She was happy where she was.”
Employees may need to be convinced before taking a new role, and for that to happen they must trust their manager – only then will they believe they’re capable of taking the next step.
Ask if the person you’re trying to promote is daunted and address why that might be. In this instance it meant mentoring and training, but there must be willingness on both sides.
Sideways to the top
“Younger members of the team are very ambitious, which is great – but they’re also quite impatient,” Sakina notes. “Sometimes they don’t understand why they’re not going to be the CMO within six years.” Part of succession planning is making sure the next generation is prepared for what the role might entail, and has gained experience in different areas. This may mean more of a circuitous career route than they’ve imagined.
“Careers aren’t necessarily linear,” agrees Claire. “A sideways move, or even a backwards move, is often the most important to step forward during the longer-term.” For example, moving from a marketing manager role to become a junior account manager could give you the sales experience you need to take you to a more senior marketing role, explains Claire. But explaining this strategy to a young employee who is looking for a way straight to the top can be challenging.
“When you have a traditional pyramid structure to your organisation, it’s not physically possible to promote lots of people all of the time. By giving people more visibility on what they can do, it shows people have had to move in and out of marketing to get ahead,” she adds.
“A marketer has a really strong skillset for other roles, for example moving into mergers and acquisitions… It’s really rewarding when your plan comes together and someone takes a role that’s different.”
Fit for the future
However, in many sectors the traditional hierarchies are beginning to die out, replaced by flatter structures and a more democratic way of working. “The perceptions and expectations of leaders are undergoing a major generational shift,” says Jada Balster, vice president of marketing at Workfront. “We are witnessing authoritarian styles of leadership slowly fade out in favour of a more consensual style of management.”
This shift should also affect who you select as your successor as they must have the right emotional drivers and soft skills for the future environment. “The expectations on tomorrow’s leaders demand that they be more vulnerable and willing to show an authentic human side,” Jada says. “These traits must be rewarded in workplaces today so they’re instilled in our culture long term.”
And while it might be tempting to choose someone who is simply just like you, the company is likely to benefit from diversity. Jada looks for those who are fit to tackle the problems of tomorrow. “I’m less concerned with finding a clone of myself, I want to see a combination of curiosity and tenacity and an approach that might be different from mine, but leads to the same outcomes.”
Visibility for Equinix’s future leaders
Equinix runs a leadership development programme for its top performers, called Archimedes. The four-month scheme gives employees team projects to manage, which they then present back to the company. The employees are chosen for their high potential and it provides extra visibility where they were previously hidden.
Beyond this, every marketer at Equinix has the opportunity to understand the different fields of marketing and the roles within each. By splitting the different fields into groups, for example product marketing and corporate communications, employees are able to see different job families and the natural stages of progression towards that career. “They can see what a more senior role could look like and what skills they’ll need,” says Claire Macland.
This is discussed in career conversations every three months. These allow a dialogue around ambition and expertise. “The idea of transparency has been really useful because active coaching and guidance has made them feel good,” says Claire, whether this means advice on a career change or a short-term placement onto another team. The result of this is enhanced skills, confidence and extra ambition.
