Putting talent at the centre of strategy
17 Jun 2025
How growth-minded CMOs are rethinking their approach
By Teodora Ninova, Commercial Partner UK
CMOs are under more pressure than ever, expected to drive growth, elevate brand value and deliver measurable results, all while simultaneously managing complexity and a rapidly expanding remit across disciplines.
Growth leaders must now navigate this complexity against a backdrop of tighter budgets, talent shortages and demands for high ROI, making traditional operating models feel increasingly outdated.
The mandate is clear: do more, do it better and do it with less. This constant balancing act between strategic ambition and operational efficiency is stretching teams thin. Sustainable growth now depends on smarter, more adaptive approaches to structure, skills and delivery.
Are today’s operating models fit for purpose? How do we secure the right skills, quickly, to fuel growth? And what will unlock the kind of efficiency modern marketing now demands?
The truth is simple: even the best operating models will fail without the right talent to activate them.
According to McKinsey research, companies that prioritize talent as a core strategic asset deliver stronger shareholder returns than their competitors.
This article outlines five key themes B2B organizations can consider to level up their talent game:
Build a skills-based strategic workforce planning capability
Start by identifying the roles and skills most critical to delivering your strategic business objectives. Roles are evolving faster than university curricula can keep pace, so reconfigure your hiring focus from credentials to capabilities. Aligning talent with business priorities helps marketing teams close skill gaps and place the right people in the right roles faster.
Crucially, skills planning shouldn’t be an afterthought – it needs to be baked into both your marketing and your delivery model from day one.
Create a strategic recruitment engine to attract exceptional talent
Attracting standout talent for business-critical roles remains one of the toughest challenges for B2B marketing leaders. In response, forward-thinking teams are building smarter, faster recruitment engines designed to attract and retain the right people. This means expanding talent pools, using data to sharpen job descriptions, speed up hiring processes and strengthening the employee value proposition to offer a better, more engaging candidate experience.
Embrace agile talent models: Navigating a volatile global economy through strategic partnerships
In our volatile global economy, forward-thinking organizations are reconfiguring how they access and deploy talent. One shift that stands out is the rise of hybrid talent models, blending full-time, freelance and remote expertise across borders.
These models give businesses access to broader, more diverse talent pools while reducing costs through location flexibility. they also enable faster scaling and greater adaptability, allowing teams to meet changing business demands without compromising on quality or consistency.
Invest in learning and development
In this climate, continuous learning is a strategic necessity. Prioritize personalized, adaptive training programs that evolve with your business needs. Done well, L&D closes skill gaps, boosts productivity and prepares your people for what’s coming, while driving engagement, loyalty and long-term retention.
Learning is about more than skills – it’s a catalyst for innovation. If your teams are continually exposed to new thinking, they become better equipped to challenge assumptions and pivot quickly to using new tools or reframing problems.
Establish a high-performance, values-driven culture
Culture is how you play the long game. Foster an environment that champions creativity, diversity of thought and individual accountability, while recognizing and rewarding excellence. Set clear performance expectations, provide regular feedback people can act on and model behaviors that reflect your values. A culture built on trust, transparency and purpose attracts exceptional talent – and helps keep them.
The new formula, “do more with less”, puts talent at the center of strategy. CMOs who emphasize skills, culture and agility in their operating models are better placed to build high-performing teams, unlock efficiencies and keep ahead of change. The smartest growth moves in 2025 won’t come from working harder, but from working with the right people in the right way.
