I understand firsthand the importance of building and leading a high-performing marketing team. I’ve worked across North America, Africa, the UK, and Austral-Asia and uncovered valuable lessons for creating winning teams. It's not just about crafting disruptive campaigns or devising creative strategies; success ultimately hinges on the team's strength. 

The Foundation of Success

At the heart of any high-performing marketing team lies a solid foundation of trust, built on communication and aligned goals. You have to set a goal standard and precedent.  

I've learned success begins with assembling a diverse group of individuals who bring unique skills and work styles and share a passion for the brand and its mission. When you can foster a team that offers different perspectives and skills, you do not have a sea of sameness, you can foster an environment where team members feel empowered and safe to contribute their ideas, and we can harness the collective brain trust of the team. 

Steve Jobs famously said, “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

Key Attributes of a High-Performing Team

Vision: Leaders need to use their X-ray vision. Vision is the art of seeing what’s invisible to others. A high-performing marketing team operates with a clear understanding of the company's objectives and how their efforts contribute to its success. Aligning team goals with your big harry audacious goals ensures everyone is working towards the holy grail, a common vision.

To be the market leader, you have to hold a feasible vision that can achieve the dreams of everyone in your tribe. 

‍

‍

Purpose: The true purpose of a leader is to protect and defend a happy, healthy, wealthy culture. You need to be able to consistently exude a positive, safe work environment that propels your tribe toward their goals. When your goals fit their goals, you create momentum. When your goals are not aligned, you get friction. Think of it like brakes scraping on the rotors, slowing profitable growth. 

Mission: You had a way you wanted to do things when you started your business. We call this Commander’s Intent. My research uncovered the three rules of engagement (ROEs) that serve high-performing teams best—helping people win, being trustworthy, and living gratefully. 

Using these ROEs you can articulate what this means for your business. This becomes your mission statement. From there, you simply have to define your departmental objective and allow your team to take their hill their way. 

Every battle plan is lost at the moment of first contact. The Commander needs to relinquish authority to allow for adaptability. This reduces friction and creates momentum to win the battle at hand. 

Beliefs vs. Values: There’s an important lesson to learn when leading a high-performing team. Your beliefs are worthless. Hear me out. 

Beliefs are worthless because they’re conveniently interchangeable. You choose the belief that suits the situation. The belief you choose is decided by which side of the table you’re sitting on. 

A convicted murderer wants mercy. The victims' family, justice. I think we can all agree that both justice and mercy are virtuous beliefs, yet it is an easy decision for each party. 

Value occurs when you choose the inconvenient. When the accused wants justice, and the victim's family wants mercy, they express a core value, not merely a convenient belief. It’s the hard thing to do. This is what makes real values valuable. All the other “core values” companies have posted up on the wall are merely worthless beliefs. Unsubstantiated claims that don’t hold up when the bullets start flying. 

When you choose what to stand for and stand against, you become a true leader. A leader who does the hard thing when facing a defining moment, is the leader top talent are eager to follow. This is the moment they were waiting for. This tells them that they made the right choice. Or not. As a leader, you are a part of their motivation matrix of self-worth and tribal alignment—their identity. 

Advice on Talent Acquisition and Team Development

When it comes to building a high-performing marketing team, talent acquisition is just the beginning. Nurturing and developing that talent over time is equally important. 

Taking a holistic approach to team development, I focus on attitude, aptitude, and abilities. They bring with them a skill set superpower, an aptitude for effective communication, and a positive demeanour.   

My leaders are humble, happy, hardworking, hands-on, and hungry. 

Additionally, providing and protecting a safe space for continuous feedback and recognition boosts morale and fosters a sense of belonging. Celebrating successes, acknowledging contributions, and providing constructive feedback create a happy and healthy environment. 

Tackling issues is far more important than tackling the people who were involved in the issue. 

In the realm of talent acquisition and team development, one of the fundamental truths I've come to realize is that there's never a bad time to hire top talent. Always be on the lookout for these unicorns, because there’s a very good chance they’re not looking for a job. 

Someone, somewhere knows what they’ve got and is coddling their unicorn, keeping them fat and happy.   

Your brand is your culture, and your culture is your brand. The better your brand, the better the talent you attract. Superstars don’t work for losers. 

To optimize your appeal, here are a few quick tips to find and attract the best talent: 

Continuous Networking: Building a network of industry friends is invaluable for meeting top talent. 

Attend industry events, participate in online forums, and engage in networking opportunities to establish connections with individuals who may be a good fit for your team. 

Ask for Referrals: Leverage your existing network and encourage referrals from current employees, clients, friends, family, and vendors. 

Employee referrals often yield high-quality candidates who are a cultural fit and come with strong endorsements from trusted sources.

Invest in Employment Branding & Company Culture: Cultivate a strong company culture and brand that showcases your company's vision, purpose, mission, culture, values, and opportunities for growth. 

Highlighting what sets your organization apart can attract top talent who are seeking more than just a job but a meaningful career opportunity. I like to show people all the effort we put into making their jobs simple. When we make it easier for them to do their job, we make it easier for them to be a part of a successful company. 

Be Proactive in Outreach: Talent acquisition is an endless process that requires proactive effort. Don't wait for talent to come to you; actively seek out potential candidates through strategic outreach efforts. This may involve reaching out to potential candidates on professional networking platforms, attending career fairs, or even cold outreach via Indeed or LinkedIn.

Offer Slightly Uncompetitive Compensation and Benefits: In today's competitive job market, offering competitive compensation and benefits is not quite enough bait for the big fish. You can ensure your salary and benefits packages are just above industry standards and determine how to add internal motivations to satiate the ambitious. 

Give them an adventure, and they’ll happily come along for the ride. 

Focus on Leadership Development: Developing strong leaders within your organization is key to long-term success. 

Invest in leadership development programs, mentorship initiatives, and opportunities for growth to nurture the next generation of leaders from within your team. This is especially true for junior positions that otherwise have little appeal in the daily grind. 

The ultimate value of a leader is how many leaders they help develop. 

Provide a Positive Candidate Experience: The candidate experience plays a significant role in retaining top talent. From the initial application process to the final interview stages, when the person feels valued, respected, and informed every step of the way, they stay. 

A positive candidate experience leaves a lasting impression and helps you stand out as the employer of choice.

As I've learned throughout my career, building and leading a high-performing marketing team requires dedication, vision, and a deep commitment to fostering a happy, healthy, wealthy culture. 

By prioritizing communication, collaboration, and continuous learning, we can unlock the full potential of our teams and they will drive meaningful results for our organization. 

Success in marketing is far less about the campaigns we run or the metrics we achieve; it's about the strength of the teams we build and the relationships we cultivate along the way to win together. 

No one ever achieved great success in a vacuum. It takes a tribe to raise a market-leading brand.