The Lonely Marketing Leader: (And 5 Things We Learnt Building a Community to Fix It)

Leadership isolation is a well-documented corporate reality. Leadership data published in the Harvard Business Review reveals that over 50% of CEOs and senior executives report experiencing distinct feelings of loneliness in their roles, with 61% believing that this isolation directly hinders their operational performance. In the creative and marketing spaces, this isolation is often amplified by the relentless pace of digital transformation, fluctuating budgets, and the pressure of constant ROI delivery. Industry studies show that senior marketers are increasingly turning away from massive, automated networking platforms in favour of smaller, high-trust, niche professional communities that offer peer-to-peer psychological safety and unfiltered insight.

If we are being completely honest, leadership can be a surprisingly lonely existence. When we were navigating our respective roles as CMOs and senior marketers in the travel space, we both felt a distinct gap. 

There were plenty of generic travel industry groups out there, and plenty of broad marketing forums.  But there wasn't a dedicated, safe sanctuary for the people who truly get the unique, fast-paced, and beautifully chaotic world of travel marketing.

That shared feeling was the exact spark for Travel Marketing Professionals (TraMP). We wanted to build something with a genuinely human face in a corporate world that feels increasingly automated and digital. And that’s exactly why joining forces with the CIM Travel Group to co-found the Travel Marketing Group (TMG) felt less like a strategic merger and more like finding our tribe. It was hands-down the best decision we made, simply because it allowed us to surround ourselves with an incredibly inspiring, passionate team of people.

We are still right at the beginning of this journey, but looking back at how far we've come, we wanted to share five honest, experience-based lessons we’ve learnt about what it really takes to build a community from scratch:

• 1. Start with a real, human truth:  You can’t successfully build a community around a corporate KPI or a spreadsheet; it has to come from a validated, emotional insight. For us, it was that exact feeling of isolation at the top. We knew that if we were feeling it, others were too. When you build a physical or digital space that addresses how people actually feel, you create something meaningful that lasts.

• 2. Don’t let the "radio silence" break your heart:  At our very first event years ago, only a handful of people turned up. It’s incredibly easy to feel exposed and defensive in those moments, but looking back, it was an absolute blessing. We talked, we listened, and we learnt a massive amount from that intimate group. If you start small, embrace it. Don't let a quiet room beat you before you've even begun.

• 3. Quiet listeners are still listening:  When you put yourself out there, share insights, and get zero immediate replies, it’s easy to assume you’re shouting into an empty void. But we’ve come to realise that healthy communities need two types of people: those who "lean in" and chat publicly, and those who "lean out" and quietly observe. Both are incredibly valuable. Just because someone isn't replying doesn't mean they aren't incredibly glad to be in the room.

• 4. Keep it beautifully simple:  It’s so tempting to overcomplicate things with fancy community platforms, separate apps, and complex tech ecosystems. We learnt quickly not to run before we could walk. Guess what our best channels still are? Good old-fashioned face-to-face meetups and direct emails, with WhatsApp catching up at a serious pace. Keep the friction low and the human connection high.

• 5. You simply cannot do it alone:  This has been the single biggest game-changer for us. You need a brilliant, energetic team around you to get things off the ground and keep the momentum alive. Partnering with the CIM Travel Group gave us that vital heartbeat. Surrounding ourselves with people who share the vision has made all the difference, and we are incredibly grateful for the team we work with.

Join the Conversation

We are still learning every single day, but we believe more than ever that there is huge value in creating spaces for real, unfiltered conversations. If you haven’t signed up for the Travel Marketing Group yet, we would love for you to join us. No algorithms, no corporate fluff, just good people talking honestly about the industry we love.

Join the Conversation

We are still learning every single day, but we believe more than ever that there is huge value in creating spaces for real, unfiltered conversations. If you haven’t signed up for the Travel Marketing Group yet, we would love for you to join us. No algorithms, no corporate fluff, just good people talking honestly about the industry we love.

We’d love to see you in our community. You can jump directly into ourTMG WhatsApp Community Group Here to join the conversation.