What leadership qualities do you focus on most in your marketing manager training/upskilling? Why?

Firstly, effective communication is foundational. It ensures that every team member clearly understands their roles and responsibilities, fostering a collaborative environment where questions and clarifications are encouraged. This open communication culture is critical not only for aligning team efforts but also for adapting quickly to changes in strategy or market conditions.

Secondly, proficient time management is crucial. Marketing managers must excel at prioritizing tasks, meeting deadlines, and efficiently managing their schedules to ensure smooth execution of marketing plans. This ability directly influences the team's capacity to deliver projects on time and maintain the agility required in a fast-paced market.

Lastly, a strong command over tracking and interpreting metrics is vital. Understanding and analyzing performance data is key, which enables to set realistic future goals, adjust strategies as needed, and effectively communicate needs and results to upper management. This analytical capability ensures that decisions are data-driven, enhancing the strategic impact of the marketing efforts and optimizing resource allocation.

Considering my personal experience, I can tell you what is useful to me : In the first place I put empathy and the ability to involve other people: marketing is not for marketing... but for the whole company and if it isn't shared it doesn't work.to do this, you must be trained! I am a professional coach and I often train in schools with kids to learn how to communicate with "grown-ups". in second place I put the ability to be assertive: as with all jobs, knowing how to do it is not a given. But since many believe that marketing is "posting on social media" many people tend to "interfere". I always give space to ideas but if I'm convinced of what I'm doing, I do it! last point (but essential) is continuous training. This is a world that changes every day, words and media change and our audience moves rapidly from one place (virtual or physical) to another. It is necessary to be curious and always experiment. "We've always done it this way" is the grave of our work :) 

Time is being spent in a few focus areas. 1. Data, Analytics and CRM, 2. AI (content development and implementation) and 3. executing and implementing the brand.