In my direct marketing career, I’ve worked as an employee or consultant with many types of leaders. As I recall the bosses and clients who produced the best outcome for their respective organizations, they all had empathy, listened to those on the frontlines, made go or no-go decisions quickly, and had a magnetic personality that made them very likeable. Three positive traits of people I’ve worked with over the years, who were “great” direct marketers, and had these styles of leadership:
- Tough as nails, but want everyone to succeed as individuals.
- Delegated every decision about copy and creative to the professionals.
- Were cheerleaders who empathized, knew every department’s responsibility and brought out the best in human behavior.
Then there are traits of other direct marketing leaders who weren’t at a Level 5 and got in the way of being effective:
- The only good ideas came from them.
- Decisions were painfully slow, or non-existent, and marketing opportunities were missed.
- Chased the latest, bright shiny technology object, wasting time, and failed to test anything.
So, back to neuroscience and the opportunity to change yourself: Whether you’re the leader or aspire to become the leader. I challenge you to ask yourself:
- Do you nurture emotions?
- Are you social?
- Do you display genuine empathy?
- Are you more productive because you engage with the emotions of co-workers or staff?
- Do you channel your ego away from yourself and lift up others?
- Should your swagger be moved down a notch?
- While keeping everything else in check, are you producing sustained positive outcomes?
(Read more about using neuroscience in marketing, along with left brain/right brain thinking in my new book, “Crack the Customer Mind Code” available at the DirectMarketingIQ bookstore. Download my free seven-step guide to help you align your messaging with how the primitive mind thinks. It’s titled “When You Need More Customers, This Is What You Do.” )
2 thoughts on “Neuroscience, Leadership and 7 Challenges for DM Leaders”