In defense of NOT wanting to be a CMO
I don’t want to be a CMO.
Like, ever.
I never want to be at a big enough law firm to be a CMO. Does that make me unambitious? I’d say no. Because I know what I want, and as usual, I refuse to take the paths someone else expects of me. I can have a successful career and not have the CMO title. Sometimes it seems like we admire ambition so long as it comes with a C-suite office and salary.
Success isn’t – and shouldn’t be – a singular title or position. Success benchmarks should be based on the individual whose success we’re measuring. Not that you’ve gotten to the top of the hierarchical food chain.
I’d argue that we’re passing over so many awesome people for leadership roles or otherwise because they don’t share that particular path to success.
I think most of us have gotten the memo that as humans, we’re all different in some way. Our career paths are not on a straight, man-made highway – sometimes they start out on gravel and end up on a patchy interstate with some awesome nature views. Just like some people like to travel in big cities, others prefer camping in the remote woods.
OK, OK. I’m done with the metaphors. Let’s talk about why we don’t all want to be CMOs. And let’s take me for example (because who else am I going to talk about?).
Your experiences shape you.
My high school class graduation had 37 kids, that tells you how small my school was. I’m used to knowing everyone (and all their relatives & their drama). I attended a small college, too, with class sizes as big as 30 to as small as 7. I enjoyed participating heavily without having to compete with 100 others to have a conversation (I’m a lit major, so most of my classes were discussions).
I’ve worked at firms of all sizes, from small, 50-lawyer shops to AmLaw100 firms. I found that:
- I like small departments because (1) I can work collaboratively with peers rather than competing for favor or an open job position and (2) context. The context part helps me do my job better. At the bigger law firm, I didn’t know what other team members were doing and thus found it harder to create great communications when I only had part of the information.
- I really hate competing with team members when we were supposed to be on the same team!
- I realized I wasn’t willing to “play the game” to get to the top – whether that meant dressing up like the “traditional woman” (yeah, I hate heels) or crawling over others to vie for a position.
- I produced better product when I was invested, and a lot of times, that meant knowing the individual attorneys I was working with. And they seem to trust me more when we have an actual relationship in the workplace.
Knowing yourself leads to personal success.
Take stock of your own preferences. Do you like having bigger teams and focusing on a specialty? Do you have multiple strengths that you like to use and find fulfillment from? Do you like being relatively anonymous or have an integral part in everyday operations?
It’s important to know what makes you tick, because at the end of the day, many of us spend the majority of our lives working. You’re going to do better work when it’s something you enjoy…or at least, don’t hate.
How happy will you be working 60 hours a week with little time at home? What about traveling often? How much stress can you deal with? (Or really, how much stress do you want to deal with?) Don’t just think about the title and salary – think about what you want in your life.
As a working mom, I can tell you it’s tough. My children spend more time with our daycare provider than at home, and that’s something you have to come to terms with if you want an ambitious career. I’ve always wanted my own career, and I own that I’d be a really terrible stay-at-home parent. But I relish the time I can step away from working and go home to my crazy children.
And look at it this way: who gets to decide what your success looks like? Is it an outdated worldview that success is only distributed to those at the top, or is it YOU, the one who lives it day in and day out?
Strategic vs. Tactical
In a lot of leadership roles I’ve taken in over the years, there’s always this distinction between the “true leaders” and those who actually do the work. It’s pervasive that to be a leader, one must be strategic while not focusing on the tactical.
Disagree.
One can be both. And again, being successful doesn’t mean not doing the actual work. In a mega firm, yeah, you can do that. But when you’ve got one to two people? No, it’s gotta get done by you.
I see this most often through my LMA board roles. It’d be nice to delegate, but more often than not, it’s the volunteers who get it all done. For me, it’s rewarding, and I like keeping my skills sharp. There are things I don’t always enjoy doing – heck, I’d love an assistant to do some of my general administrative work, but that’s not an option right now. Does any of that change my success? Nope. Does it mean I can’t be a leader? No way.
Those who yell the loudest aren’t always the majority.
The internet is an interesting place (said in the most Minnesotan way possible). It’s easy to sit behind a screen and announce your opinion like it’s the only way to go. But for every opinion out there, there are plenty of unspoken ones you don’t see. So why let them dictate how you feel about your career?
Learn from all.
When I started my legal marketing career, I had a fantastic supervisor. What I loved about her most was that she listened and learned from me (in addition to her mentorship, of course). She did not have that barrier that so many people have: “I’m older and more experienced and therefore right.”
We all bring different and unique experiences to the table. A job title does not make you more or less brilliant than anyone else. And we don’t know everything there is to know – even in our chosen field. Take advantage of other experiences and ideas. You don’t know what you don’t know.
Don’t discount someone’s leadership skills because “Chief” doesn’t accompany their title. Find the relevance in all places.
Final thoughts…
- A job title doesn’t automatically make you successful or a leader.
- Leadership and success don’t arrive because of your job title.
