What people think a CMO does?“

By Raquel Alonso – Fractional CMO @Equanima

“What people think a CMO does?“

Approve pretty campaigns.”

Cute.

But completely disconnected from reality.

Because the real job?

It’s a whole emotional universe people never see.

Us CMOs spend more time holding the company together than “choosing colors.”

• Soothing egos
• Realigning chaos
• Translating the impossible
• Making decisions no one wants to make
• Protecting teams that are burning out quietly
• Carrying the emotional load no one talks about

And here’s the part people forget:

• None of that shows up on a job description.
• But it’s exactly what keeps a business from collapsing.

I’ve lived this too.

Smiling in meetings while your team is breaking.
Pushing for long-term thinking in a short-term culture.
Giving energy you don’t have because everyone else needs you strong.

The job isn’t “marketing.”
It’s emotional leadership.

It’s being calm in rooms that panic.
It’s creating clarity when nothing is clear.
It’s staying steady when the pressure spikes.

So I made this visual for every CMO who feels unseen.
For every leader doing the invisible work that keeps the lights on.

Here’s the real list — no gloss, no glam:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐂𝐌𝐎 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬.

And if you feel any of those lines in your bones?

You’re not alone.
You’re just doing the real work.