Why marketing leadership matters more than ever

Too often, companies approach marketing as a collection of tools and tactics. They outsource content, dabble in social media, test a few ads, and maybe create the occasional a newsletter. But without leadership, all of these activities remain disconnected.

They were never aligned or fully planned, so they don’t ladder up to strategy. They don’t drive momentum. And most importantly, they don’t deliver on business goals.

That’s where marketing leadership comes in.

Whether you’re a growing startup or an established business navigating new challenges, marketing leadership is what keeps the machine moving in sync—ensuring your people, tools, activities, and goals are working together to create real impact.

1. Leadership keeps your people aligned and empowered

Today’s marketing teams are more distributed than ever. Freelancers, remote employees, fractional specialists, and agency partners often work side by side—but not always in lockstep. Without someone leading the charge, it’s easy for teams to drift apart, duplicate efforts, or get stuck.

A strong marketing leader makes sure everyone is on the same page. They communicate the plan. They remove roadblocks. They ensure that contributors understand not only what needs to be done, but why. This kind of alignment doesn’t happen by accident—it happens through leadership.

2. Leadership ensures you have the right tools—and use them well

The marketing toolkit has never been more powerful. AI can now help with writing, design, video editing, and more. Platforms abound for analytics, automation, CRM, and personalization. But having access to tools isn’t the same as using them effectively.

A marketing leader evaluates what’s in the stack, identifies what’s missing, and ensures that your team isn’t just acquiring tools—they’re mastering them. The right tools, thoughtfully selected and fully leveraged, can multiply your team’s impact. But someone has to lead that process with an eye toward integration, efficiency, and outcomes.

3. Leadership brings focus to the work that matters most

One of the toughest parts of modern marketing is deciding what not to do. The to-do list is infinite. But budgets, time, and attention are not. Without clear prioritization, even the best teams can become overwhelmed or scattered.

Marketing leadership brings clarity to the chaos. Leaders zoom out. They consider the whole business picture and help decide which initiatives deserve focus now, and which can wait. They also connect marketing activities to real business metrics—so that decisions aren’t just based on trends, but on what will actually move the needle.

4. Leadership keeps everyone anchored to business goals

At the end of the day, marketing isn’t just about output—it’s about impact. A great leader constantly checks: Are we building awareness where it counts? Are we generating the right kind of leads? Are we investing in loyalty and retention in ways that support long-term growth?

Marketing leadership keeps the team aligned with the company’s larger goals. It ensures that every campaign, every piece of content, and every customer interaction is tied back to what the business needs most. And as goals evolve, leadership helps the marketing strategy evolve with them.

What it all means

Marketing doesn’t need more tools. It doesn’t need more noise. What it needs is leadership—someone who can connect the dots between people, platforms, plans, and purpose.

That’s what a marketing leader brings. Not just more activity, but more intention. Not just movement, but momentum.

In a world where execution is everywhere, it’s leadership that creates real progress.

Marketing leadership is not a deliverable

When rushed CEOs and other C-suite leaders try to cut corners with marketing, the line between tactical execution and strategic guidance can sometimes get blurred. Hoping for a quick solution to marketing problems and needs, company execs may look to familiar marketing agencies to fill a leadership void. And there the trouble begins. 

Agencies are expert at producing videos, managing social media calendars, writing blogs—all crucial tasks. But, in the absence of a dedicated marketing leader or strategy, the C-suite may also ask an agency to “handle” the CMO function, as if it could be just another deliverable. 

Let’s be clear: The fact that a firm is coordinating all of your marketing tasks does not mean they can or should act as your marketing leader. They are both essential but hugely different roles.

Strategic marketing leadership—true CMO-level thinking—is about owning the intersection of customer insight, company strategy, and market opportunity. It’s about making hard decisions, aligning teams, and being accountable for outcomes. The CMO is the person who works with the CEO and others to craft a strategic vision for marketing, and then guides the marketing agency as it executes aspects of that vision.

Marketing leadership looks upstream, asking: 

• Who exactly are we targeting – and are we missing important audiences? 

• Why are we losing deals? 

• What market shifts are we not capitalizing on? 

• How do we compare to competitors – in products and messages?

• How do we reposition to win? 

To focus on these types of questions, the head of a marketing agency might well be taking their eyes off of the most important tasks on their plate: Making sure the LinkedIn posts are scheduled properly or the podcasts edited and launched on time. 

There are a few issues that can underlie the tendency to hand off marketing guidance to the wrong people.

• To those who have never worked with a true leader of CMO, marketing may just seem like a series of activities to be lined up and then checked off.   

• Marketing is sometimes viewed as a “cost center,” rather than a growth engine – so investing in a marketing lead may seem like an unnecessary investment.

• When internal stakeholders – often salespeople and even the CEO – have been acting as a de facto marketing department, they may have mixed feelings about fully letting go of their “side hustle.” The truth is they do not have time to do justice to all that marketing should be delivering, and being liberated from this added responsibility will make their lives infinitely easier. 

More is possible – and essential

If you’re a CEO or sales leader, it is truly in your interest to make sure marketing is led, not just done. You wouldn’t ask your finance software provider to act as your CFO. You wouldn’t let your outsourced recruiter define your org chart. Why treat marketing any differently?

Hire or appoint a leader who owns the strategy. Someone who can guide agencies, vendors, and internal teams with clarity and purpose. Someone who speaks the language of revenue and customer lifetime value, not just impressions and clicks.

Because when marketing is led well, everything else becomes more effective. When you engage someone who owns the strategy and the strategic vision, you move from simple deliverables to 

• greater accountability and efficiency

• consistent brand positioning

• sustained cross-functional communication

• faster and smarter decision making

Want to learn how a CMO can guide your planning and execution? Contact me today at this email.

David Stanton is CEO and founder of The Marketing Solver. He brings over 20 years of marketing and communications leadership to every fractional CMO engagement.

Every truly great performer is also a team player

Starting a business can pay dividends in a variety of surprising ways – and I’m not talking about revenue here.

One of the most pleasant side benefits of creating my own brand and building a foundation of support for my business has been looking back over the contacts I have made in a career of 40-something years. From my early days in publishing through two decades in consumer insights, I have worked with so many smart and memorable people — some of whom I haven’t thought about in way too long.

And now I have a great excuse to reconnect with them!

It is wonderful to be reminded just how talented and inspiring and diverse these folks are – professionals with extraordinary skills from every part of the world, all still vivid in my memory. I am sure I learned from every one of them somehow or other.

The alchemy of teams

This all got me to thinking about the nature of teams and teamwork. Wherever I have worked, I have been part of a team – and often a series of intelocked teams whose activities were highly coordinated and interdependent (or intended to be … ).

And when you work in teams, you learn certain things about how they work, and how they affect the productivity and intelligence of you as an individual. There are definitely smart and not-so-smart ways to approach teamwork, and I feel I know a little about what that means. Here are a few observations from my modest experience.

1. Trust the work of others

We all have plenty of things to get done – and in a well-designed team, there should be little or no overlap between roles. But sometimes we may feel that we know better than someone else how to do something, even when it is not our job. More often than not, this reflects some kind of insecurity on our part, or maybe dissatisfaction with the role that is actually ours. The upshot, however, is likely to be wasted time and possibly growing frustration and confusion for the team.

When these urges to jump into someone else’s lane hit, take a mindful look at what is going on. If there are fundamental issues with the team, or a sense of not feeling fulfilled by your own role, address those head on, rather than breaking the org chart and causing grief for everyone.

2. Share credit generously

In a well-functioning team, there should be little or no need to worry about who is getting the spotlight at any given moment. Everyone should know that they will get the recognition they have earned, and no one should be hungering for more than their fair share of glory. 

So, when the opportunities arise, share credit warmly and fully, making sure that you are more inclusive rather than less. A split second of recognition from the right person in the right context can validate months of work and set the foundation for continued shared achievement. But the moment that anyone feels ignored, or that one team member is getting credit for more than they may deserve, bad feelings will ensue and the whole system can ride off the rails. Why take that chance?

3. Don’t blame, and never make excuses

Sometimes it seems, in corporate life, as if deflecitng blame and finding people to take the heat for a given failure is some kind of science or art form. We know people who are masters at the craft – but do we respect them or ever want to work with them if we can avoid it?

Blaming and excuse making rate very high on the toxicity index when it comes to work environments – and anyone who puts you in a position where you need to throw someone else under the bus is a colleague worth avoiding at all costs. There is no end to the damage that this kind of nonsense can do to crucial work relationships – and there is no telling how much good will you build when you own up to your mistakes and tell everyone you will do better. 

The dangerous thing about heroes

In US society, particularly, the legendary status of the solo-preneur has a kind of intoxicating power. We all celebrate Edison, Steve Jobs, Michael Bloomberg, and others who have stood at the top of wildly successful brands and organizations. Among other things, they were or are brilliant at building their own hero stories and marketing themselves as geniuses – and, in the process, gave their brands foundational stories that can inspire customer loyalty.

But this focus on the hero obscures the truth of achievement: That nothing complex can be created, launched, and sustained without help – usually a lot of it. So, as much as the hero story may be appealing, tread with great care in this area; it is better to sow the seeds of future, continuing success by recognizing your team than succumbing to the desire to claim all the glory yourself.

David Stanton is CEO of The Marketing Solver and a Marketing leader with over 20 years of experience. Contact him at this address.