Building a High-Performing Marketing Team.

Leading a high-performing marketing team is both rewarding and challenging. If you’re transitioning into the role of Director, there’s a lot to navigate. It calls for a combination of strategic insight, emotional intelligence, and a deep understanding of your team’s unique talents and potential.

When you foster the right environment and nurture key elements your team values, you can transform your team from simply enjoying their work to becoming truly passionate about it. Based on my own experience, here are the key foundational values, what I like to call my top five, for building a high-performing marketing team:

1. Meaningfulness
2. Collaboration
3. Empowerment
4. Transparency
5. Recognition

Meaningfulness

As a new leader, your first priority is to clearly define and communicate a vision that aligns with your organization’s broader goals. It’s important that your team not only understands this vision but also embraces it. In my experience, both from leading my own teams and consulting with clients, the first step is always the same: talking to the team. Time and time again, I’ve found that team members often don’t fully understand why they do what they do. They may enjoy their tasks, but without a connection to the bigger picture, it’s hard to ignite true passion. It’s not universal, but it’s common enough to notice. To truly build a high-performing team, each person needs to feel that their contributions matter, both individually and collectively. When work has meaning, it changes the game.

If you’ve never seen the TedTalk, “Start with Why  How Great Leaders Inspire Action” by Simon Sinek, take a few minutes to watch it. Simon breaks it down in what he calls the “Golden Circle”. He drives home the message that “every organization and its people know what they do, 100%.  Some know how they do it. But very few know why they do what they do.” 

Collaboration

Creating a culture of collaboration is equally important. When team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and working together, they develop a sense of ownership over the outcome. By involving them in decisions and listening to their feedback, you demonstrates their input is valued. Regular check-ins, brainstorming sessions, and asking for their ideas—even when you might already know the answer—go a long way. Encouraging cross-functional collaboration also strengthens the team and helps develop new skills.

Empowerment

Empower your team by giving them the autonomy to make decisions and take full ownership of their projects. Creative individuals especially thrive when they have the freedom to explore and innovate. This sense of autonomy boosts morale, fosters accountability, and sparks innovation. Cultivate an environment where everyone feels heard, respected, and empowered to do their best work.

Transparency

Trust is the foundation of any successful team, and that’s where transparency comes in. Be open about the big picture, the challenges you face, and the opportunities ahead. It not only gets your team thinking about solutions, but also creates transparent communication. I’ve always maintained an open-door policy. It helps build trust, creating a space where your team can feel comfortable sharing their ideas.

Recognition 

Never underestimate the power of recognition. Small gestures can make a big impact. Whether it’s a personal thank-you card, a shout-out in a team meeting, or a company-wide email recognizing someone’s hard work, acknowledgment is a powerful motivator. When I took vacations, I’d give each member of my (all-women) team a bouquet of flowers as a token of appreciation for holding down the fort while I was gone. The gratitude that this small gesture inspired was mutually impactful on both a personal and professional level as a high preforming team.