Earlier this year, Alex Craddock was named Citi's chief marketing and content officer. Business Insider asked Craddock for what advice he’d offer to anyone aiming to become a marketing leader.
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00:00I think, you know, as I sort of reflect on my career, there's probably four things that have really helped me be successful.
00:05Hi, I'm Alex Craddock. I'm the Chief Marketing and Content Officer at Citigroup.
00:10One is being curious. I think as a marketer in a world that is evolving very, very fast, you need to be endlessly curious.
00:18And I think, you know, that means being willing to sit at home and engage with the world and culture and find out what's going on and where it actually can be helpful.
00:28So be curious, be courageous. And what I mean by that is be bold and be brave and be willing to act on those insights that you glean from your curiosity.
00:36Sometimes you'll get it very right.
00:38Maybe sometimes you'll get it a little bit wrong. But one thing is for sure, by being courageous and actually taking the risk,
00:44you will move forward as a marketer, as a leader, and you will move your team forward and give your team massive opportunities to grow.
00:50Be highly collaborative. I think what is interesting about the world that we work in today,
00:55whatever function you're in, no one can actually deliver on their own. It's just not possible.
01:00And I think, you know, if I think back in my career very early on,
01:03I think there were functions that actually could act completely autonomously and do whatever they were going to do and everyone would be grateful.
01:08I think nowadays everybody has to work together.
01:10So building that collaborative muscle within your function, across the business, with partners,
01:16think about the ecosystem you need around you to be successful.
01:19It's so big and broad now as a CMO, you can't do it on your own.
01:22So that collaborative muscle has got to be incredibly important.
01:25And then last but not least, be kind. You know, I think as a leader,
01:28we've learned a lot in the last five, 10 years about leading with compassion,
01:33really connecting with people at a human level, not just at a business level or a professional level.
01:38And I have to say, you know, I look back on my career.
01:41I always thrived when I had a manager who connected with me at a human level and actually took the time to get to know me.
01:47And it's something that I've always sort of bought into my leadership approach.
01:51And I think if you want to be a successful leader, you've got to be kind and you've got to be able to lead with compassion
01:56and create that human connection.
01:58And remember the fact that, you know, half the time we're not saving lives.
02:01You know, we're actually here to have a lot of fun and get obviously some great work done that has a commercial impact.
02:06But we've got to be able to enjoy the people we're working with.
02:09And I think when you create that environment, significantly better things happen.