‘Don’t hire in the mould of yourself’: Marketing leaders on balancing skills and personalities when building teams

Date: November 26, 2024

‘Don’t hire in the mould of yourself’: Marketing leaders on balancing skills and personalities when building teams

Building Strong, High-Performing Marketing Teams: The Challenges Faced by CMOs

The Complexity of Team Dynamics

Creating a successful marketing team is a challenge for even the most seasoned CMOs. With a wide range of personality types, working styles, and strengths to consider, it can be difficult to strike the right balance.
The variety of tools available to assess candidates—like psychometric tests, personality inventories (Myers-Briggs, Belbin), or mapping personality types—often leaves leaders feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of team dynamics.
While these methods offer insights, there is no single formula for assembling the ideal team. CMOs must consider not just skill sets, but how individuals will collaborate and complement each other’s strengths.

The Dangers of Hiring in Your Own Image

The Risk of Bias in Hiring

A common pitfall in team-building is hiring people who mirror the leader’s personality, background, or skillset. This can create a homogenous team with limited perspectives.
Paige O’Neill, CMO at Seismic, warns against this tendency, stressing that good leaders should aim to fill gaps in their own skill set and personality to create a more balanced, well-rounded team.
Without diversity in thought, experience, and personality, marketing teams can struggle to innovate and tackle challenges from multiple angles.

Understanding Personality Types: Striking a Balance

The Spectrum of Personality Traits

Introverts vs. Extraverts: Marketing teams need both introverts who excel at deep analysis and strategy, as well as extraverts who thrive in client-facing roles and creative brainstorming sessions.
Red vs. Blue: According to models like Belbin, “Red” types are often action-oriented and driven, while “Blue” types focus on precision, analysis, and structure. Understanding these contrasts helps teams assign the right roles and responsibilities.
Leader vs. Executor: A good marketing team requires a blend of strategic leaders and operational executors. Leaders drive vision and direction, while executors ensure tactical implementation and efficiency.

Filling the Gaps: How to Build a Balanced Team

Leveraging Complementary Strengths

Effective CMOs seek to balance the team by filling their own weaknesses with people who possess strengths in those areas. This creates a team dynamic that supports growth and development.
For example, if a CMO excels in creative thinking but struggles with data analysis, they may prioritize hiring data-driven team members to complement their own skills, ensuring the team works cohesively.
Team members should be selected not just for their individual talents but for how well they can work together to achieve a common goal.

Psychometric Testing: A Tool for Understanding, Not Defining

Using Tests to Enhance Team Dynamics

Tools like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Belbin Team Roles can provide valuable insights into individual personalities, preferences, and behavioral tendencies. These tools can help identify strengths and potential areas for growth.
However, it’s important not to rely on these tests alone. They should be used as one piece of the puzzle, not as definitive factors in hiring decisions.
The goal is to understand how personality traits can contribute to team dynamics and performance, not to pigeonhole individuals into specific roles based solely on a test result.

Creating a Collaborative, High-Performance Culture

Fostering Effective Teamwork and Communication

Beyond personality types and skillsets, the key to a successful team is fostering an open, collaborative environment where individuals feel valued and understood.
CMOs should prioritize clear communication and ensure team members are aligned on goals and expectations. This creates a culture of mutual respect and trust, where strengths are recognized and weaknesses are supported.
Encouraging cross-functional collaboration and ongoing feedback ensures that team members continue to learn, adapt, and improve over time.

Conclusion: No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Team Building

Building a strong, high-performing marketing team requires a thoughtful approach that considers not only skills and experience but also personality traits, diversity, and collaboration. While tools like psychometric tests can provide useful insights, CMOs must also be mindful of the importance of fostering a balanced, inclusive team environment where different strengths and perspectives can thrive. The ultimate goal is to create a team that works cohesively toward shared goals while supporting each other’s growth and development.