CMO Spotlight | Trish Nettleship - NCR Voyix
The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high-performing marketing leaders.
Setup CEO + Founder, Joe Koufman, spoke with Trish Nettleship, the Chief Marketing Officer at NCR Voyix, about understanding your “why,” the power of relationships and listening, passion, and more.
“As long as I stay focused on my personal ‘Why,’ which is about people, I can handle the day-to-day challenges.”
WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW (SCROLL TO THE END FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW)
Q1 | What advice would you share with marketers?
Nettleship shared that she never had a plan and wished she had mapped out her journey to be more methodical and purposeful. At the same time, however, she advocates taking risks.
“Think about what you want to do and the best path to get there, but don't be so rigid that you have to do it a certain way. Take some risks, take some laterals.” It’s all about balance.
Q2 | What is your superpower?
“My superpower is building relationships. I believe that everything I'm capable of doing comes from the people I surround myself with. I want to build relationships across the organization with everybody because I don't know where the next great idea is going to come from.”
Her number one priority when entering a new role is to get to know all the different people. She wants to know where people are coming from, their agendas, and goals, and then how she can help them achieve that.
“Work is the relationships I build, and to me, that’s what’s helped me be successful.”
Q3 | What values are important to you?
The most important values to Nettleship are transparency and passion.
“I’m a big fan of transparency—telling people what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, so they can get behind it. They don’t have to agree, but if they understand the why, it’s a lot easier for them to support it and support you as you’re making changes. The more I can share with the team about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, the more they’re going to feel empowered and part of the process.”
At Setup, we love this mindset. We not only are transparent with our Clients, but we hold a weekly GGOS meeting where we discuss goals, financials, and progress. Letting your team into the bigger picture and status gives them accountability and stakes.
Nettleship is not a fan of people who just want to stay in their lane. “I love seeing excitement and passion in team members. They see what they need to do, and they also see opportunities to connect the dots and make us all better.”
Q4 | Tell us about an impactful campaign.
Nettleship came into the pharmaceutical industry without experience and with too much confidence. The social media campaign she led focused on targeting patients, which was new for them. “I faced roadblock after roadblock—compliance, regulatory, medical, legal approvals. Everyone said ‘no,’ and I felt like I couldn't do anything.”
She relied on her superpower of building relationships to meet with the compliance team, legal, regulatory, and medical departments. By having conversations, she was able to understand their concerns and fears, which were rooted in the unfamiliar. After addressing the concerns, her team reset and successfully launched one of the most impactful social media communities for epilepsy.
“The lesson: bring people along on the journey. Even if you think you know best. You have to bring people with you to avoid resistance.”
Q5 | What book inspires you?
What started as an assignment for a leadership program turned into a game changing think piece that changed how Nettleship viewed her job and her career.
Simon Sinke’s “Start with Why” helps leaders understand their business and themselves and, by Nettleship’s standards, is crucial. “It transforms how you view your daily work. As long as I stay focused on my personal ‘Why,’ which is about people, I can handle the day-to-day challenges.”
For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of marketing executives in various industries, be sure to watch the full interview with Trish Nettleship, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.
If you know an impactful marketing leader who would be a good candidate for the #CMOSpotlight series, nominate them here.
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Whether you’re an Agency or Brand marketing leader, or the point person (Account Services/Project Manager) in an Agency-Client relationship, it’s important to make people feel valued. We’ve compiled notes from countless conversations on what makes a relationship sustainable, and what can ruin it. Check it out!