Recently read an article in CMO magazine about the evolving role of today’s CMO and just how important the role is becoming – IF you as the CMO are capable of making it just that.

And I wrote a post back in February about the existential crisis facing CMOs.

The CMO role used to be much more disposable.  Sales fall, fire the CMO and then fire the agency (or the next CMO can fire the agency).

There was a day when the average tenure of a CMO was barely 2 years.  Today it runs closer to other c-level executives – more like 4 years.  Not great, but not bad.

Longer tenure means the opportunity for a longer view of the company’s world.

It also means you can have more time to embrace all the complexities of today’s marketplace and build power through knowledge and power through smart team building and partner collaboration.

But this takes time and effort.  The author of the article states: “But as the complexity of the job grows, it requires you to offer more than just cheerleading. Now you need to also be a perpetual student, with a willingness to be trained in the intricacies of the latest innovations in the marketplace.”

And it takes your ability to build a well-oiled, supportive team.  Earning the confidence of your organization starts with having complete confidence in the teams you have assembled.

That starts with the people you hire and the partners externally you bring in, so support your efforts for the organization.

You want people and partners that can challenge you and be there to support you with their knowledge and expertise.  It’s your job to package all of that and direct in a way that pushes your company and brand in a better, more productive direction.

So as you think about bringing a new marketing agency on board, as an example, don’t just think about them in the context of how creative they are or how cost efficient they are, think in terms of their ability to help you drive strategy and smart thinking for your business.

Same with other partners and other employees. Building a solid team takes time and effort, but at the end of the day, having a sound and well-oiled team will make the CMO job easier and importantly, longer-lasting.