CMOs hard on the wind

The six characteristics of "Learning Agility".FROM JACQUES AMEY*The environment of today's companies is subject to rapid change. The US military has coined the acronym VUCA to describe this: Accordingly, today's world is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Digital and mobile connectivity, big data, social media, emerging global markets and much more: companies face new challenges on a daily basis, and successfully mastering them is crucial to their competitiveness.a key figure in this process is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). His or her job profile has changed fundamentally with the technological and social changes. In order to successfully navigate companies through the volatile jungle, the CMO today needs one thing above all: learning agility. This is the ability to use and apply experience in such a way that even unforeseen situations can be mastered. Martin Schlatter, ex-CMO of Wrigley, now at FIFA, describes this as follows: "CMOs will be successful if they are able to adapt to new circumstances at lightning speed and recognize which things will (not) change."Emotional intelligence as the key to successIn general, people with a high level of Learning Agility have the following six characteristics:- They are not afraid to challenge the status quo;- Remain calm even when difficulties arise;- Take time to reflect on experiences;- Actively seek out challenges;- Are eager to learn;- Are never defensive when faced with difficulties.Not only Learning Agility is important to succeed as a Chief Marketing Officer, but also Emotional Intelligence (EQ). This is the way we deal with our own feelings and the feelings of other people. It is no longer IQ that determines whether you rise or fall in your career. People may be hired because of their IQ, but they are promoted because of their EQ. It is therefore not surprising that surveys show that emotional intelligence is one of the most important prerequisites for high performance. According to the US journalist Daniel Goleman, who coined the term EQ, emotional intelligence consists of the components of self-awareness, self-control, motivation, social skills and empathy. These form the foundation of numerous essential assets that need to be mastered, particularly in the position of CMO: stress tolerance, team spirit, decision-making skills, cultural sensitivity, etc. Let's take the latter as an example: a CMO can be very good professionally, but if he works with a Chinese person, that alone is of little use to him. As a CMO, he must be able to look beyond his own cultural horizons and empathize with his counterpart. Emotional intelligence is essential, not least in the Chief Marketing Officer's main business: customer management. CMOs must be able to understand their customers and consumers in order to create brands that arouse emotions.Learning agility and emotional intelligence can be learnedWhile research assumes that IQ is more or less inflexible, emotional intelligence - just like learning agility - can be continuously improved and developed through training and experience (regardless of age). To do this, you should listen to yourself. Because if you sensitize yourself to your own feelings, you also have a chance of noticing other people's feelings. Physical training also helps to improve emotional intelligence: you can ask yourself how much energy you have left and whether you feel pleasure or disgust when doing something. Last but not least, it can help to read books and stories where you have to put yourself in other people's shoes. Those who improve their emotional intelligence in these ways will automatically be more capable of acquiring learning agility: Plato already pointed out that all learning has an emotional basis.Marc Speichert, ex-CMO of L'Oréal, now at Google, summarizes the role of the CMO as follows: "The world is changing rapidly - CMOs have to constantly rethink, even rethink circumstances - and do things differently than before." This puts the CMO in a position to steer the company's ship safely to its destination, even in stormy times.