Are you a marketing manager? You shouldn’t be.

You should be a leader.

Leaders hire other leaders.

Leaders hire other leaders who are so good at what they do, even they find it intimidating.

These are the rock stars who will challenge you and stretch your own abilities, helping you and your business grow.

As a recruiter for marketing professionals, I get to hear all of the brutal truths directly from top candidates as to why they left or are looking to leave their current position. The overwhelmingly common theme is poor management.

People don’t quit good jobs. They quit bad managers.

Try holding a rockstar back – stifle their ability to fully utilize their skills, prevent them from seeking and sharing new information, or force trade-offs between work and home – and they’re going to get frustrated. They’re going to get bored. They’re going to lose their motivation. They could burn out.

Working for B- or C-grade managers is slow poison to marketing rock stars. Rock stars are built for speed and if you try to hold them back, guess what?

They leave.

Exit weak, territorial, and easily threatened managers quickly.

Ask for, expect, and accept that your top players are going to keep you accountable. They’re going to expect you to constantly improve, to bring your A-game and encourage them to bring theirs. They will call you out when you don’t.

This is exactly what you want. This will make you a better leader.

When you create a marketing environment that allows people to thrive, you build the foundation for an innovative environment where top players can’t imagine ever leaving.