I recently completed The Marketing Leadership Masterclass, a 12-week program run by Thomas Barta and Syl Saller. This is a leadership course for marketers, as Thomas explains, ‘leading marketing isn’t the same as doing marketing’ and the course aims to equip you with tools and skills to become a better change leader.
The program includes a range of modules, interactive discussions and activities to help you understand yourself and how to lead more effectively. The content is based on Thomas’s excellent book, The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader, created following the biggest study of marketing leadership ever undertaken.
The most powerful aspect of the masterclass is being able to network with peers, understand their issues, support one another and learn and grow through collaboration. This is achieved on a dedicated online platform with regular sessions and tasks to discuss and tackle key aspects of the course.
You learn how to manage upwards, sideways, in teams and also yourself. At the heart of the program is the idea of delivering value and solving big problems. This is about getting the balance right between meeting customer and organisational needs.
There are a variety of tools and techniques to help you network better, know how to work with different personality types and have influence. The program looks at how you can deliver more effectively, and that covers things around focusing on results, having a clear story and how to communicate effectively, and ultimately being an agent for change.
Given the amount of digital transformation and change going on in organisations today this was particularly helpful for me and I took away a number of change tools that I’ll be looking to use in my work.
Another key focus is looking at how to lead teams more effectively. And a lot of that is about servant leadership, being brave, curious, compassionate and enabling teams to deliver innovative work. How to create space to deliver innovation, to say no and collaborate better are also explored.
One of the most interesting aspects of the masterclass is the self-reflection that’s involved. In order to be a braver, more authentic and effective leader you need to understand yourself, to know what inspires you and makes you tick so that you too can inspire.
Overall, it’s a useful and motivating course that helps you connect with peers and set your future direction. And it has certainly shone a light on areas where I can be a better leader. If you are a marketing leader or just interested in being a better leader, I would thoroughly recommend it.
The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader
Inspiring leadership book for marketers that will help you to become a better leader. Packed with thought-provoking content based on feedback from marketers around the world, the twelve powers each provide a range of tips and advice to help you succeed.
There are a range of exercises to help you understand your leadership preferences and where you can start to exert influence. It will help you manage better in all directions – upwards, sideways, and in teams. A playbook for success that should be in every marketer’s collection.
