Take a Back Seat without Being a Back Seat Driver

Just like the majority of mothers out there, marketers often take a back seat to the action. Let me tell you a story.

Both of my daughters show sheep and cattle, and they’re pretty darned good at it. Even from the very beginning, though, showing became a “dad thing.” Though I showed horses for eight years and dabbled in showing lambs and heifers, my level of “expertise” couldn’t begin to compete with my husband’s many, MANY years of showing and judging livestock. I’m barely a big enough person to admit he knows more than I do in this subject.

This shift in responsibilities was a big change for everyone. As a mom with a pretty flexible work schedule who is married to a rancher, I tend to do the majority of activities with the girls. If you’re in a farming or ranching family, you get it. However, adjusting to taking a back seat without being a back seat driver has been admittedly a bit of a challenge. I must relinquish control of the schedule, duties (hee hee, duties; you laughed, too!), and advice-giving. I’ve also been told that I give too many compliments, but that’s another story for another blog. I take my support staff responsibilities seriously and am VERY supportive!

I also have to let the girls take all the attention. But let’s be honest, if you’re a mother, that’s what you, and you couldn’t be prouder of your children and their successes. Or failures, but that’s also another story along the lines of “You Can’t Be Good at Everything.”

Alas, we all have our roles to play, but little did I know my adult roles would include Chief Pitchfork Operator (CPO), Manager of Clothes and Livestock Fitting Products – which smell exceedingly better than human fragrances, and Livestock Handler Only When Competitor Has To Use The Bathroom – try fitting that onto a business card; I hope there’s a QR code for it, or a hashtag! But I digress.

The support staff role I find myself in before, during, and immediately following each livestock show has a lot of similarities to a marketing role, of which I thought about a lot on the several hundred trips to and from the pickup, trailer, wash rack, and barn this weekend. We marketers are in the job to make the organization or product look good – to help grow membership or to increase social awareness. You won’t see a lot of marketing professionals in front of a camera or speaking into a microphone because, frankly, that’s not a job in which we’re interested. Confident enough to let others take the limelight, your friendly marketing professional measures their own kind of success and looks for the next opportunity to help someone else shine. Read this article from Harvard Business Review for more information on marketing as an introvert! 

So the next time I’m practicing my shoveling technique or seeing how many cans of Freshen Up, Game Changer, and Flare (Thank you, Sullivan Supply!), I can balance in my hand with a brush and a curry comb in the other, I’m going to remind myself it’s just a little professional development and thank the heavens for the wonderful opportunity to watch someone else shine.