Episode 15

The Whole Marketer Ep139 - Personal Understanding with guest Kirsten McPherson

Published on: 17th December, 2024

Episode #139. Today’s focus is on Personal Understanding, which is a fundamental pillar of the Whole Marketer philosophy and what we believe is the key to having a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. 

Abby’s guest to discuss the benefits of developing your personal understanding is Kirsten McPherson. As Marketing Director at Mondelez, Kirsten is responsible for heading up two of the UK's top brands, Philadelphia and Dairylea. Her previous experience includes Procter and Gamble, where she spent more than a decade working on an array of billion-dollar brands, driving global change initiatives such as Always ‘end period poverty’. 

In this episode, Kirsten shares her definition of personal development and its importance for leadership development, her formula for personal energy, implementing ‘prison Fridays’ and the role of community and mentoring in developing your personal understanding. 

Plus Kirsten shares her advice for career highs and learnings, and advice for marketers.


00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Personal Understanding  

00:02:07 What is Personal Development? 

00:05:03 Personal and Professional Growth and Leadership 

00:07:56 Kirsten’s Formula for Personal Energy 

00:08:19 Purpose, Motivation and Confronting Limiting Beliefs  

00:13:17 The Importance of Coaching 

00:15:33 3 Key Areas for Marketers  

00:16:14 The Concept of "Prison Fridays"  

00:21:59 The Role of Community in Personal Development  

00:25:19 Creating Community Initiatives at Mondelez  

00:29:23 Advice for Starting Community Initiatives 

00:30:46 Kirsten’s Career Highs and Learnings  

00:34:24 Advice for Future Marketers



Host: Abigail (Abby) Dixon FCIM/ICF | LinkedIn

Guest: Kirsten McPherson | LinkedIn



The Whole Marketer podcast is here to support and empower the people behind brands and businesses with the latest technical tools, soft and leadership skills and personal understanding for a fulfilling marketing career and life as a whole. For more info go to www.thewholemarketer.com 

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About the Podcast

The Marketing Society podcast
The Marketing Society is a progressive global community of senior marketers. Our purpose is to empower our members to be brave leaders. Since 1959, we have grown into an influential network of 2500 members.
The Marketing Society is a progressive global community of senior marketers. Our purpose is to empower our members to be brave leaders. Since 1959, we have grown into an influential network of more than 3000+ members across our global hubs: London, Scotland, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE and New York. Our members are mostly senior clients (over seventy per cent) from brands such as ASOS, Barclays, IBM, Disney, HSBC, Mars, Samsung, Unilever and Vodafone.

Everything we do is through a brave lens – pushing boundaries, tackling taboos, providing comfortable spaces to have important conversations and building meaningful connections. We speak up, inspire one another, share best practice and discuss the challenges and opportunities we face. We work together to make our industry better for business and better for the world around us.

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