Organisational transformation: Should the CMO play a role?

At first glance - probably not.

However the role of the CMO has been growing, changing and adapting to support the many many parts of the business which interact with brand, customer and product.

Fortunately, EY and Oxford University carried out research to help us better understand what it takes to lead a successful transformation within an organisation.

To put it in context of a CMO, Seth Matlins, Janet Balis, and Carla Zakhem-Hassan recently provided their insights on the subject, and how CMOs can play a role.

This topic caught my eye because organisational change is becoming increasingly commonplace, or at the very least more visible to insiders and even outsiders.

So, to cut to the chase...in this week's newsletter:

📌 Gems from CMOs and how they approach organisational transformation

📌 6 Lessons from EY on the CMO’s role in transformation

Lots to cover in this edition... Let's get started with some unique industry insights.

📌 Gems from CMOs and how they approach organisational transformation

According to the joint EY/ University of Oxford research, over two-thirds (67%) of senior leaders have gone through at least one underperforming effort in the past five years.

But that still leaves the question, what impact can a CMO have on the success of these major organisational changes?

The Human Side of Change

Transformations are human experiences too.

The research found that successfully managing the emotional context surrounding organisational change increased the likelihood of success. Negative emotions among employees rose exponentially during unsuccessful transformations.

Clearly, the "people side" of change matters tremendously.

Janet Balis (EY Marketing Practice Leader) makes it clear that it is essential to acknowledge the human factors inherent in any process of organisational transformation.

🔼 Video: The Human Side of Organisational Transformation 🔼

The adverse effects of a poorly managed transformation can be significantly amplified, especially among those staff members already contending with elevated levels of stress. Circumstances like these often cultivate an environment of distrust, impacting individuals on both a professional and personal level.

CMOs' Unique Abilities

With skills in inspiring, collaborating, and caring, CMOs are uniquely positioned to help guide the human side of transformations.

They are adept communicators, persuaders, and dot-connectors across diverse company functions. However, CMOs are often underutilised in transformation strategy by other C-suite leaders.

Carla Zakhem-Hassan (Chief Marketing Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co.) expands on what a CMO can really bring to the table.

🔼 Video: Unleash Your Superpowers as a CMO and Drive Business Growth 🔼

CMOs should fully embrace and communicate their broad strategic capabilities beyond marketing. They should position themselves as growth drivers and strategic thinkers who understand the full business needs. CMOs should ask for a seat at the table in transformation discussions.

Navigating Change as the CMO

However, it’s important to not lose sight of the ‘why’.

CEOs should recognise the CMO's human-centred attributes and involve them deeply in transformations, not just on marketing issues. Their skills can help derisk and drive success for major change initiatives.

Consider this, CMOs are really powerful human centred storytellers They have incredible powers of persuasion by building memorable brand experiences in their core day-to-day job across brand marketing and in customer experiences.

With the CMO's specialised abilities focused on the people side, companies can inspire their workforce and transform their organisations.

Janet Balis sums this up nicely.

🔼 Video: Unleashing the Power of Persuasion Inspiring Transformation through Storytelling 🔼

If you take anything away from these insights, it's that the CMO has their finger on the pulse and can be a fantastic piece of the puzzle to ensure your organisation pulls off a successful transformation.

And I wholeheartedly encourage you to watch the original interview.

📌 6 Lessons from EY on the CMO’s role in transformation

In the interests of giving you insights galore, here are six lessons which EY have bundled up into one long article. So, instead I've suammrised them here for your low-effort reading pleasure.

1.  Collaborate: Unlock the power of CMOs as Chief Dot Connectors

CMOs have long served as chief dot connectors, and they can use the strength of their cross-functional and often cross-geographic relationships to help drive effective change. The nature of a CMO’s job requires strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration, preparing them uniquely as leaders for broader transformation efforts.

2. Care: Take advantage of CMOs as transparent communicators

CMOs deeply understand the importance of clarity and authenticity, as it is the currency of being a strong marketer. And, in major transformations, human emotions often breed skepticism around key messages and communication.

3. Inspire: Tap CMOs as human-centered storytellers

Leaders need to create a vision that everyone can believe in, compelling teams to commit to the change experience. In the research, 71% of workers agreed that for the vision to be real, leaders need to clearly communicate why change is needed, not just what they need to do.

4. Empower: Embrace innovation through the CMO’s affinity for testing and learning

Change is a constant for CMOs. As such, they are inherently testers and learners, always seeking ways to effectively build brand equity and performance.

A CMO’s test-and-learn mindset, which is constantly seeking new ideas (and proof points of results), is well-suited to sit at the heart of a broader transformation effort.

5. Build: Use CMO expertise as digital transformation leaders to create value at scale

Technology is a critical ingredient in realising the transformation vision and accelerating how benefits get realised.

Broader transformations require the connective tissue accelerated by data, automation and technology. CMOs have vital experience to apply this know-how to serve enterprise-wide transformations.

6. Lead: Drive successful change by tapping into the CMOs’ ability to be powerful cultural ambassador

CMOs are powerful cultural ambassadors.

They are steeped in culture and trends externally and well-attuned to the internal dynamics. Tasked with creating awareness, consideration, intention and action throughout the marketing “funnel,” CMOs drive impact with consumers through an optimised mix of message reach and frequency, and they are often an organisation’s expert in behavioral change.

As always, I encourage you to read the source material here: Why Chief Marketing Officers should be central to every transformation

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