On Transformational Leadership

Organizations that successfully transform and generate remarkable results for their business have one thing in common: strong leadership. Transformational marketing leaders know that their success depends on the simplicity, clarity, and alignment of their brand’s story, strategy, and systems.

Yet, they also understand that big change is difficult to achieve from the “top down” – there must be understanding, alignment, and commitment across the organization.

Here are a few tips from some of the leaders I admire most and whom I have had the pleasure of working with on their respective transformational journeys:

“The key is to drive simplicity, clarity, and alignment in the story of why this really matters, and what it is specifically that is changing.”

— Lydia Frayne, Director of Operations at Dell Technologies

“Define the vision — the future state your company is looking towards — and understand the path to get there. Get everyone focused and aligned around that simple, clear, and compelling Story.”

— Scott Klinger, VP & Head of Global eCommerce Product Marketing/Development
at First Data

“Get the team on board. They are interfacing with customers; they are the ones that can identify the exact problems customers are facing. The team needs to be on board to help drive change and transformation within the organization first to be able to successfully drive change externally.”

— Jim Brady, President/CEO of Brady Services



“The most important activity is identifying and creating the Brand Narrative, at the very top level. We have a clear idea of what the Story is for the company, that’s been the key touchstone to translate down for other elements were doing as a Marketing Team.”

— Scott Barton, Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University



“There is a debate at the moment that we’ve perhaps tilted the field too much into the swampland of all the mechanics of the technology, that we have lost a bit of that grand vision of what the Story is, to actually guide how we use the technology.”

— Scott Brinker, Editor/Publisher at chiefmartec.com

“My mantra is: always get the right message, at the right time, with the right audience, via the right platform.”

— Andrea Koslow, Senior Director of National Brand Strategy & Marketing Production at PBS

“Transform the company, not just in the sales and marketing department. To transform the company, we had to develop a simple and clear message to everyone across the organization as well as those who were communicating with our customers.”

— Mike Ziegler, VP Sales, Ameritox



“Transformational Marketing requires you to walk in the shoes of the customer, experiencing the landscape from the customer’s point of view.”

— Kelly Chmielewski, Brand, Strategy + Design Innovator/Former VP, PBS Creative Lab

I hope these thoughts will inspire you as much as they have inspired me to look beyond “better sameness” and become a true transformational leader.

To take on “big change fast” and achieve greatness, market leaders must activate the right Story, the right Strategy, and the right Systems, all measured through the lens of Simplicity, Clarity, and Alignment.

Learn more about how to transform your business and drive measurable results in our eBook: Transformational Marketing – Moving to the TopRight.