Do You Have a Marketing Leadership Problem or a Marketing Talent Problem?
When marketing isn't delivering the results you expect, it's natural to question whether you have the right people.
Should you hire someone more experienced? Replace an underperforming employee? Change agencies? Bring in additional expertise?
Any of those decisions might be justified.
But what if the problem isn't the talent? What if it's how that talent is being led, utilized, and held accountable?
Before You Change the Team, Understand What's Really Happening
Throughout my career, I've seen how easy it is to mistake a marketing performance problem for a people problem.
When I assess a marketing organization, I look beyond job titles and organizational charts. That means understanding the strengths, responsibilities, and capabilities of internal employees, agencies, vendors, and freelancers.
I talk with the people doing the work. Where do they believe they're strongest? What gaps do they see? Are there skills or interests that aren't being utilized?
I also get leadership's perspective and observe how decisions are made, priorities are established, and work gets done.
Sometimes the organization needs new talent or expertise. Sometimes resources aren't delivering sufficient value. And sometimes capable people are underperforming because they lack strategic direction, clear responsibilities, or the authority to make decisions.
The goal isn't necessarily to build a bigger team. It's to determine what the business actually needs to achieve its growth objectives.
Sometimes the Leadership Gap Starts at the Top
In founder-led businesses, CEOs often play a significant role in marketing. They've helped establish the brand, approved campaigns, managed agencies, and made important marketing decisions.
That involvement may have been essential to the company's success.
But as the business evolves, the CEO's attention is increasingly needed on broader growth strategy, investment decisions, and organizational priorities.
If they're still directing day-to-day marketing activities, they may unintentionally become a bottleneck.
The team waits for decisions or approvals. Accountability becomes unclear. And the CEO spends valuable time managing marketing rather than leading the business.
The question isn't whether the CEO understands marketing. It's whether they should still be leading it day to day.
CEOs should absolutely be involved in decisions about customers, competitive positioning, growth priorities, and investment. But translating those priorities into marketing strategy and overseeing execution requires dedicated marketing leadership and clear accountability.
Is Your Organization Equipped to Deliver Your Growth Strategy?
Having the right people is only part of the equation. They also need clear priorities, the right capabilities, and leadership that enables them to deliver results.
If you're questioning whether your marketing organization is equipped to support your growth objectives, my five-question CEO Growth Diagnostic can help you take a broader look at the strategic factors that may be holding your business back.
Diagnose Before Making Significant Changes
When marketing results disappoint, replacing employees, hiring additional talent, or changing agencies can feel like decisive action.
But without understanding the underlying problem, those decisions may simply increase costs, disrupt the organization, or leave the real issue unresolved.
The right answer could be stronger leadership, clearer priorities, better utilization of existing talent, new capabilities, or changes to the team and its external partners.
Before making significant changes to your marketing organization, make sure you understand what's preventing it from delivering the results your business needs.
Are You Getting the Most From Your Marketing Organization?
Before making significant changes to your marketing team, agencies, or resources, let's discuss what's really needed to improve results.
Want More Executive Perspectives on Growth?
Subscribe to The Executive's Marketing Playbook for insights on business growth, marketing strategy, and the leadership decisions that move companies forward.
Comments