Being an effective marketer can take shape in many ways, but some skills and capabilities are more underrated – and overrated – than others.
Curiosity, a formal business education and the ability to understand a P&L were highlighted as undervalued traits by three marketers speaking in the latest edition of Marketing Week’s webinar series The Lowdown.
In line with this year’s Festival of Marketing theme, Seize the Opportunity, editor-in-chief Russell Parsons was joined by columnist and consultant Dr Helen Edwards, ISBA president Pete Markey and Magic Numbers founder and Marketing Week columnist Dr Grace Kite to discuss the skills and relationships needed to excel as a marketing leader.
Being an effective marketer can take shape in many ways, but some skills and capabilities are more underrated – and overrated – than others.
Curiosity, a formal business education and the ability to understand a P&L were highlighted as undervalued traits by three marketers speaking in the latest edition of Marketing Week’s webinar series The Lowdown.
In line with this year’s Festival of Marketing theme, Seize the Opportunity, editor-in-chief Russell Parsons was joined by columnist and consultant Dr Helen Edwards, ISBA president Pete Markey and Magic Numbers founder and Marketing Week columnist Dr Grace Kite to discuss the skills and relationships needed to excel as a marketing leader.
Ask and listen
Markey argued that curiosity was too often overlooked. He said leaders sometimes neglect to ask questions, focusing instead on being the loudest voice in the room.
“The ability to go and ask questions about the business, be curious, find out more about how things operate at work, and then get to ask those better questions is underrated,” he said. “Curiosity drives things forward and makes things better.”
It’s this curiosity, Markey said, that can prompt interesting conversations that lead to better outcomes. By contrast, he warned that being the loudest voice was overrated, as it often stifled collaboration and diverse perspectives.
“The sense that you’ve got to be the loudest voice in the room, and everyone looks to you in a godlike way, particularly as a marketing leader, is wrong. You need to listen, reflect, and take your team on board,” he explained.
This ability to listen, Markey argued, was key to building the relationships that underpin effective marketing. He suggested making the finance team a marketer’s “best friend” to ensure the value of marketing was understood across the business.
Edwards highlighted formal education, such as an MBA, as another undervalued asset.
Nearly three-quarters of CMOs have some form of higher education, but less than a fifth (19.6%) hold an undergraduate degree in marketing, although over a quarter (26.7%) have an undergraduate degree in another subject, according to the 2025 Career and Salary survey. Some 12% have a marketing postgraduate diploma, while 14.1% hold a master’s degree in marketing.
“I think too often in marketing, we believe anyone can do it. You’ve just got to be creative, or you can learn it on the job. But I’ve noticed that students who are fully qualified do not get the respect that they would in other countries,” she said.
Commercial acumen
A formal business education can also help marketers have a greater understanding of the commercial side of a business. Kite added the ability to understand a P&L is an underrated skill, enabling marketers to speak the language of the boardroom and secure budgets.
“Many marketers don’t think this is their area,” she noted. “Over time, more and more analytics and numbers have come into marketing, and more and more, we’re talking about return on investment, and we’re talking about what marketing actually does do for the business. So we’re on a path.”
Markey agreed, arguing that to be a “rockstar CMO” today, marketers had to be “super commercial”.
“That makes your CMO role much more interesting, because you’re not just seen as a marketer around the table, you’re seen as a commercial leader and a change agent around the table,” he added.
Meanwhile, working long hours was considered an overrated element, according to Kite.
According to Marketing Week’s Career and Salary survey, over half of the more than 3,500 marketers surveyed have felt overwhelmed (58.1%) and undervalued (56.1%) over the past 12 months. Half of respondents (50.8%) have experienced emotional exhaustion during the past year, while 48.2% admit to a lack of enjoyment in work that used to engage them.
“Dedication to the cause, presenteeism, showing your boss that you’re willing to answer at 10pm is overrated and it needs to stop in marketing,” Kite added.
She urged marketers to set boundaries and say no positively in order to deliver more effective work.
Elsewhere, the speakers discussed the importance of resilience, long-term strategic thinking and staying close to customers as fundamental, evergreen skills for marketers.
