Every marketing leadership job posting asks for "documented success," but most marketers freeze when asked to prove their impact. After analyzing hundreds of job listings, it's clear companies aren't asking for one type of proof—they want three: revenue metrics for performance roles, campaign portfolios for creative roles, and team evidence for leadership positions. The problem? Most marketers try to reconstruct their success after the fact, when they've already lost access to dashboards and forgotten the details.

This episode breaks down what "documented" actually means, how to build a simple capture system before you need it, and how to present your work when you don't have perfect metrics. Plus, six practical templates to start documenting your wins this week—because the marketers who advance fastest aren't doing better work, they're just better at showing it.

Job listings say they want "creative visionaries who craft compelling narratives AND drive revenue through CAC, ROAS, and conversion optimization." Translation: They want Shakespeare who also runs a spreadsheet empire.

Marketing leadership roles that used to be two separate positions have collapsed into one. Companies now expect you to lead creative reviews and defend campaign ROI in the same day.

Why do two identical marketing leadership roles ask for completely different things? One wants "strategic planning with tactical execution." The other wants "executive presence and stakeholder influence." Same job, same pay. One difference: hybrid versus onsite. Companies aren't asking for different skills—they're asking for different operating styles.

After seven years as Head of Marketing and a decade in various marketing roles, I thought he knew how to read a job listing. This episode introduces Marketing Leader, Decoded—a podcast that systematically analyzes real marketing leadership job listings to uncover what companies actually want versus what they say. An honest analysis of the patterns, tensions, signals hiding in job descriptions for Head of Marketing and similar