Can tape fix road cracks in the long run?

Marketing managers are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from the constant spinning of plates and wheels between developing their teams and delivering results in their fast-paced roles.

I've had a few conversations with marketing leaders in the past few months, and noticed a common theme emerging around the struggles they face managing their numerous responsibilities.

A key pain point highlighted is frustration with junior team members not taking initiative or "standing up" to take on more work and responsibility. With a lot of pressure to meet their  targets and KPIs, marketing managers often revert to simply taking on tasks themselves rather than spending time mentoring or coaching less experienced marketers. This obviosusly takes a toll on their stress level and impacts their capacity to lead (management vs leadership, anyone?!)

As a marketing manager, do you remember your early career and how you were eager to try, do, learn? When people did it for you, to get it done faster, how did this make you feel? Remember that? 

"I want to develop my team to take on more responsibility but when deadlines are around the corner, it's often quicker and less stressful to just do the work myself," one London-based marketing director shared with me just a week ago. "But then I end up overwhelmed and resentful." 

These well intended "oh, let me just do this, it'll be quicker" are easy to come out, but actually lead to disastrous consequences for you, your team and the brands' results!

This absolute eagerness to get things done and prioritise tasks over team development is a common reaction among marketing leaders facing bloody heavy workloads. But let's remember this is short-term focused. The stuff gets done (by them and not the team members) and what then happens to the said team members in terms of growth? When 70% of our skills are learnt on the job, how's that for helping them out to learn and grow? Teach a man how to fish and feed him for life!

 "I know I need to make time to train my junior execs but when my CEO is pushing for results, I feel I have no choice but to take over campaigns myself to ensure they are delivered on time and on budget" is what a marketing head told me in Q4 of last year.

Aaaah, the pressure of the last quarter! He then went on to say to me: "I end up working late nights and weekends just to keep up." How's this for a sustainable working pattern? 

The immense pressure from leadership to deliver results quarter after quarter with limited resources is clearly taking its toll on marketing managers' stress level and capacity to manage high-performing teams. This is not new, of course. But it's still valid these days, that's the problem. There is a need for investing time to understandthe team development requirements.

The short and the long impact of it

Without addressing these challenges, these marketing leaders will continue to feel exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed. And continue to struggle to manage team growth and deliver results.

I know budget levels differ from company to company. Just as creativity feeds the way we look at brand, we can look at development and growth with a difference set of lenses. Ask yourself:  

• What challenges are you and your team currently facing?
• Where do you see the gaps to be?
• What would be beneficial for them to learn?
• What are the learning styles of your team members?

Results are not going to show in your P&L, your brand perf, but also the engagement, motivation and energy levels of the team. Rise them talents!

Thinking outside of the obvious

There are resources marketing managers and directors can turn to for support in better balancing their priorities and growing their team. With the right support system and management approaches, marketing directors may be better equipped to nurture their team talent while still driving business results, without burning out.

Examples of my programmes that have helped teams:

☑️1:1 coaching

☑️Group coaching workshops (half day or full day)

☑️A session within your marketing team meeting

☑️UPON my newest memership where you get:

• Access to UPON Leadership Course for marketers
• Access to the UPON Community which provides every month:
  •  Masterclasses / group workshops
  • Live Q&A sessions with me
  • Monthly challenges to practice these skills in your marketing job
  • Actionable tips, useful templates, and my best frameworks
  • Online meet-ups with UPONers
  • Space to chat, share and build connections with marketing peers

There are many, many ways your team can grow, based on your goals, budget and availability. 

It begins with you thinking about them now.