In this episode of CMO Therapy, Lucy meets with the brilliant Sinead Willis for a very honest conversation about the messy reality of the modern CMO. Because sometimes the role you’re sold in the interview process and the role you actually walk into are two very different things.

Together, they explore why so many senior marketers end up in businesses that say they want strategic marketing leadership, but don’t actually create the conditions for it to work. They get into red flags, due diligence, broken systems, moving goalposts, and the difference between a role that stretches you and one that slowly grinds you down.

They also unpack why communication matters so much at this level, because being good at marketing is one thing, but being able to hold your own in rooms full of strong opinions is another.

As Sinead puts it, “They’re not stretching, they’re basically eroding.”

If that hits a nerve, this episode is for you.

Music clip by Filo Starquez, Divergence