The role of a CMO has become all-encompassing. They are expected to be strategist, technician, manager… and sometimes even mentor. But trying to do everything carries a clear risk: not doing anything well.

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Marketing departments are unlike any other. A CMO may oversee a social media intern, a CRM expert, a content freelancer, a media agency, and sometimes even teams spread across multiple countries. Unlike a CFO, who manages finance professionals, or a CTO, who manages developers, the CMO must orchestrate a mosaic of profiles with radically different mindsets and cultures.

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In this context, it’s unrealistic to expect them to be an expert in everything. Their role is not to master every technical lever, but to communicate a business vision, translate it into clear, motivating objectives, and manage their teams to achieve them.

Classical management includes career development, internal mobility, and HR support. Mentoring, on the other hand—helping make decisions, challenging viewpoints, giving concrete guidance to improve execution—is equally essential.

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This is where the misunderstanding lies: CMOs don’t have to do everything. Their role is to be managers—set direction, give meaning, and align teams on business goals. Mentoring can be delegated to others. Supporting a junior in analyzing KPIs, teaching a product manager to test a digital offering, or challenging paid campaign decisions are all essential missions—but they can be handled by trusted partners.

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Marketing has become too complex to be embodied by a single person. A CMO cannot be a manager, strategist, and mentor all at once. Their role is to embody the vision, chart the path, and hold the course. But for teams to grow and make the right decisions day-to-day, they need a different kind of support: an external, technical, hands-on perspective that can guide where the manager doesn’t have time to go.

Giving mentoring its proper place frees the CMO from an impossible mission and provides teams with the means to grow.

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By Coralie Dussart, CEO of Spaag