Landing a Role in the C-Suite: A CMO’s Best Advice
Chief Marketer kicked off its inaugural Brands on Fire Linkedin Live earlier this week, featuring a conversation with SheaMoisture CMO Taydra Mitchell Jackson about its recent “Black Men Love” video series and campaign, purpose-driven marketing tactics, the success of its men’s product business, and much more. The monthly editorial series highlights the brands and the people that are shaping, pushing and disrupting the industry. (ICYMI: our first Marketers on Fire discussion with former Dickies CMO Sarah Crockett.)
Our chat with Mitchell Jackson on Thursday delved deep into the brand’s “Black Men Love” campaign—its inspiration, ideation, partnerships and passion. The marketing chief also shared what it takes to land a role in the C-suite. For the aspiring CMOs out there, here’s her best advice.
1. Bring the Passion
“You have to have a love for the business that you do or that you aspire to do. That might sound really fundamental, but there’s so much that goes into showing up for these roles and jobs, whether you are an entrepreneur, you’re building your own business and you want to be your own CMO, whether you want to be the CMO of a company like Shea, or you aspire to have even larger aspirations—you have to have a love for what you do. And it has to be a love for it in breadth and depth.”
2. Broaden Your Toolset
“If you’re younger in your career in marketing, understand all the aspects [of it.] Marketing is such a broad term. People get really excited about the flash, about seeing the glamor. But there’s a lot around analytics and data, making really insightful decisions and being able to understand numbers and what drives a business—those building blocks.”
3. Be Yourself
“You have to be really comfortable with who you are. There are times when we think that an executive looks a certain way or shows up a certain way, and we may aspire to or attempt to show up in the way that we think we’re supposed to. But this is a marathon; it’s not a sprint. There’s a lot of energy that it takes to not be you, so be who you are. And know and trust that who you are will definitely make room for you.”
4. Be Open to Pivot
“Don’t be afraid to pivot. Don’t be afraid to take opportunities which may appear to be off the beaten path, because every experience that you have when you get to this level and to this seat serves you. The path is not linear. Don’t be fearful of not walking a straight path, but take those opportunities which may—at the time—be giving you a set of different experiences. Embrace those, because it all works together to create a base of knowledge and expertise that serves you when you’re leading people and teams.”
