Leading a team is an absolute privilege and an awesome and challenging experience.
Personally, I feel so grateful to be a marketing leader, and if like me, you enjoy the following:
✔️getting a chance to inspire,
✔️leading by example,
✔️communicating and being honest,
✔️engaging with others,
✔️supporting and taking care of others,
✔️helping your team grow and ready for its next challenge.
... you're in the right place as a people leader to build a successful marketing team!
Who doesn't want to have rock stars on your team? 🤩
We all do, so what does it take to get there? From my 10+ years of marketing leadership experience, here are 7 key things I always keep in mind when I hire new talents and keep a marketing team engaged and successful:
#1: Create a connection & be authentic 💫
My first piece of advice is: Create a connection & be authentic and be yourself!
One of the keys to success is to find great people you can connect with, who will have an awesome personality and great attitude in addition to most of the skills you’ll looking for.
You hire people who can be a great fit for the team, someone who will be authentic with a go-do attitude, someone you can trust, willing to learn, ready to make an impact, and passionate.
For example, during the interview process despite being nervous, it's important to keep in mind that the connection you create with the interviewer/interviewee goes both ways, and in most cases, that is what will probably make the biggest difference in the final decision.
From my experience, I trust my gut feelings when I hire talents, and most of the time, I've been lucky to have made the right choice.
At the end of the day, we're all human beings with our own unique way of showing up so just be you and be awesome!
“The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.” – Leo Buscaglia
#2: Pick the right skill set 💼
In addition to the talent personality, the other 50-70% of the profile will be the skill set and the expertise he/she will bring to the organization.
Especially with new talents starting their career, you cannot expect them to have years of experience but you should be able to foresee what they can bring to your organization and give them the same chance we all had when we started working and help them grow.
Encourage your team members to continuously keep learning in their area and others to develop and be ready for their next career moves.
As a team, they can benefit from each other, and encouraging them to learn from the rest of the team is a great way to empower the team.
▶️ "To succeed as a team is to hold all of the members accountable for their expertise." - Mitch Caplan
#3: Embrace diversity 🌎
Diversity is a topic very dear to my heart, being myself diverse at many levels.
It's a key component of building a successful team because adding diversity will bring so much value to the team. When team members bring diversity through their backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, they are more likely to solve problems and be innovative.
When I hire, I don't look for my clones but people who can bring their background with different ways of thinking, new perspectives, new approaches, and creativity and will be challenging me too.
So finding great talents with any type of diversity is crucial and making sure that once they are onboarded, they also feel included.
▶️ "We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity, life would be very boring." Catherine Pulsifer
#4: It's all about trust 🤝
Trust is the foundation of any relationship, including at work.
Think about it, we spend so much time at work (even more than with our own family sometimes) so as a manager, we have an incredible opportunity to choose the right team players and build a long-term relationship with the team.
It takes time to build it but it’s so critical for success to earn the trust and to maintain it every day. It will make your team feel to come to you at any time to bring new ideas or raise any concerns. And that trust goes both ways of course.
▶️ “Great teams consist of individuals who have learned to trust each other. Over time, they have discovered each other’s strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to play as a coordinated whole.” - Amy Edmondson
#5: Be a good listener 👂
A strong relationship starts with being a good listener and very sensitive to early signs.
Key rule: Engage with each individual and listen to learn more about their needs, challenges, aspirations, and what drives them.
It will help tremendously to assign the right projects to the right person, to find exciting and passionate projects for each as well, to help them grow as part of their development plan, and to be a supportive leader.
#6: Have a clear vision & Empower your team 💪
Setting and sharing clear goals and expectations from the early stage with the team will help avoid any frustration.
Be also a resource to your team at any time and encourage team members to ask for help and help each other as well to create team unity.
Empowering your team by allowing them to take responsibility and have the authority to make decisions, instead of waiting for a manager to issue instructions or approve requests, will go a long way.
▶️ "People with goals succeed because they know where they're going." - Earl Nightingale.
#7: Focus on your team development plan 📈
To retain your talents, have ongoing check-in discussions on a frequent basis, keep them engaged with exciting projects, talk about the future, and get them to build their roadmap and development plan they will own.
As a leader, you can help your team open career doors by:
- advocating for each individual,
- providing guidance and feedback,
- connecting them with mentors,
- collaborating on their development plan.
Mentoring is a great way to impact your team members' engagement and retention in a positive way so I'll definitely push strongly for that.
▶️ "The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Abraham Lincoln
Things to avoid 🛑
Being a people leader is so rewarding, and challenging at the same time. It will require consistent work to keep your team engaged and running effectively.
Here are a few things to keep in mind to avoid:
❌One-sided communication.
❌ Lack of transparency.
❌ Micro-Management.
❌ Not focusing on your talents' development.
In summary
▶️ "You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins." — Jim Stovall
If you have someone with a great personality, who loves to learn, who feels valued in the organization and supported, that’s where you start seeing talents shining. People will go above and beyond.
I like this illustration a lot because it sums up pretty well all the great things we expect from any leader/manager who made a positive impact in our life.
With trust, and transparent communication both ways, an exciting vision for a diverse team, and a development plan for each individual, that’s how you build a great and engaged marketing team.
Let me know how you relate to these criteria and if you have other tips to build a successful team.
📧 Feel free to DM me to connect and continue the discussion.