“Take the role that leverages what you’re great at and that scares you because it forces you to learn something different.”  

Lindsey Irvine, Chief Marketing Officer at Square, is speaking with Visha Kudhail on the importance of embracing opportunities and being comfortable with the uncomfortable in the latest installment of the Behind the Face of Success podcast.

Irvine has an impressive marketing career spanning global brands like Salesforce and MuleSoft. At Square, she is responsible for overseeing global marketing efforts, driving awareness and market growth around the world. As well as this she is mum to two girls, as well as an avid traveller and hiker. Her authenticity, willingness to try new things and ability to make an impact, all contribute to her unique vision of success. 

The traits of a leader

Irvine remembers walking with her mother and tackling the topic of what she would like to be when she grows up. She remembers wanting to be a scientist, sharing: “Scientists had the coolest job because they get to discover things and really understand how things work.” While she might not work in science now, she remains passionate about discovery.

With a mum from a small town and a dad from Norway, Irvine shares that she learnt distinct lessons from both parents. “Mum taught me the value of family, empathy and being aware of how others are feeling,” she shares, “She also had grit, she went through cancer twice.”

Irvine shares that her mum taught her: “Life’s going to throw a lot at you. You got to roll with it and figure it out. You’re tough, you can do it.” While her Dad, who came to America with nothing and built a business, taught her the values of hard work. Grit and empathy in combination with strong business acumen are traits indicative of a great leader, notes Kudhail. 

Marketing as the engine of the machine 

Irvine began her career with a fellowship at the National Institute of Health in the cancer research department hoping she could help fix the system and accelerate discovery. At the time tech companies were beginning to launch health offerings and Irvine saw an opportunity. 

“I was the young, no-problem-too-big, and was able to personally get in touch with the then-head of Google Health, Adam Bosworth to forge the first public-private partnership between the NCI and tech. As part of that, we got Microsoft and Intel to also join,” says Irvine. 

Unbeknownst to her this was Irvine’s first experience of partnerships and put her on her tech path which has been filled with many different experiences across internal team functions.

Irvine ended up in marketing due to a love of business and storytelling. “In every one of those chapters of my career, you are as successful as you are able to tell your story,” she explains. “In every job, I leaned into marketing because marketing owns the story, the message.”

“I love storytelling. I’ve seen the impact that marketing can have on revenue more broadly,” she adds. “The thing that I love about marketing is the combination of effective storytelling and brand building in a way that genuinely resonates with the audience you are trying to reach, and it's a high-impact part of the engine. A meaningful contributor to the revenue of the business.”

“As a CMO your role is to sit at the table and help run the business,” says Irvine. She advocates for CMOs to spend time learning from non-marketing parts of a business to understand what story there is to tell and help all the different parts of a business to come together. 

Irvine’s varied career has seen her run towards things that have opened doors to the next. 

“No one is going to develop your career for you. Go own it. Go find the opportunity,” she says. “Take the role that leverages what you’re great at and scares you because it forces you to learn something different.”

Well-rounded leadership

In embracing challenge, Irvine notes that things aren’t always going to go as planned. As a CMO she is spread thin and wears many hats. 

“Give yourself permission that there will always be more balls in the air than you can catch,” she says. One of her biggest challenges is figuring out what she needs to be on top of and what in turn needs to be allowed to drop a little.

“I’m constantly being pulled from one team to the next,” she adds, “the ability to switch context and know what to focus on is the number one thing I’m constantly working to get better at. You can’t do it all.”

For well-rounded and successful leadership, Irvine advocates for getting comfortable with failure and embracing a growth mindset. She also has learnt the importance of boundaries and maintains that having a life outside of work helps shape you as a leader. 

“You have to set your own boundaries,” Irvine says. “People will take as much as you are willing to give.” Her current boundary is 6pm when her children get home from their activities so that as a family they can sit and eat. It is in these moments they get to connect and share about their days. “Know those ‘not to be missed’ moments,” she adds. 

Making an impact

Having a big impact can start with honing in on the small. Taking things week by week, setting out clear priorities every Sunday and making room in the calendar for the things that matter help Irvine to have a clear focus and make space for the big and the small. 

In a global workforce, Irvine has achieved staying connected and present in remote conditions by making time to listen to her teams. “Listening is a skill we all need to flex and practise,” she says. As a woman in tech, she also knows the importance of filling space and having impact. 

“As a female to get your voice elevated it's on you to have the impact,” she says. In times when she might be one of the few female voices around a table, she has sought to use her voice to have impact on the things that matter to a business. She urges other women to also own their space. Kudhail reinforces that it is important to be the role model you look for in others and push others forward. By uplifting ourselves we are also able to uplift our peers and the next generation. 

In finding a career that aligns with her values so that ‘work doesn’t feel like work’, Irvine has shaped her own version of success by embracing opportunities. In her work and personal life, she is always looking for her next adventure. With grit, perseverance and strong relationships Irvine makes an impact wherever she goes.

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