I used to think managers had to be the best at everything.
Then I met the CMO of Cluely.
At our offsite, he ran a session on how he drives millions of views every month, and casually dropped one of the most career-defining insights I’ve ever heard.
When I asked if he works with agencies to scale his marketing...
He said, “Only to learn.”
That surprised me.
Because when you're early in your marketing career, agencies often feel like the answer.
You hire them to execute paid media, SEO, creative, social… whatever you need.
And yes, they can help you scale faster.
But here’s the trap: you become dependent.
You don’t actually learn the skill.
You just manage outputs.
And then, if you're ever in-house without that agency… you're stuck.
That’s why his approach blew me away.
He uses agencies as learning partners.
If he wants to go deep on YouTube ads or performance creative, he’ll hire an agency: not to outsource, but to level himself up to 75% proficiency.
Once he hits that point?
He hands it off to someone else who can truly own it.
That unlocked something for me.
Because as someone growing in both marketing and sales leadership, I’ve always felt pressure to be the “expert.”
But his mindset flipped that on its head.
You don’t need to master every skill.
You need to understand enough to lead.
To ask the right questions.
To guide your team.
It reminded me of something random I used to wonder:
Why are some basketball coaches out of shape?
Shouldn’t they be just as athletic as the players?
Then I realized… coaching is a different game.
As a coach, your job isn't to do the thing.
It's to see the game.
To move the pieces.
To elevate the whole team.
That’s what leadership is.
So if you’re stepping into a leadership role…
Stop trying to be the best player.
Start learning how to coach.
-Alif