Toast’s CMO and chief operating officer is balancing two senior roles by giving away more of the work she once handled herself and focusing on decisions where her involvement can materially affect the business.
Esten has spent nine years at the restaurant technology company, overseeing product launches, leading partnerships and helping expand its work with larger restaurant groups. Her combined remit now spans marketing, operations, digital ordering and payments.
The operational side of the job has increasingly taken priority, she said, forcing her to be more selective about where she devotes her “time and, more importantly, energy and attention”.
“I get to supervise, but I don’t get to do the work anymore,” Esten said, describing the shift from owning tasks directly to managing the people responsible for delivering them.
She still contributes to areas she previously led, but has raised the threshold for becoming involved in detail. If a team repeatedly needs her input before making decisions, she regards that as evidence that she has not given it enough authority.
Otherwise, she said, she risks becoming a bottleneck. Delegation, however, depends on ensuring staff have the information and context needed to act independently.
How Toast’s CMO and COO shares information
Esten said she recognised the importance of sharing information more widely while running product marketing. Decisions made by senior leaders did not always reach her team, while useful information from the team did not consistently travel upwards.
In response, she began sending weekly updates outlining what she was considering, working on and prioritising. She continues to send two updates each week: one to the marketing team and another to the enterprise organisation.
Her approach has become more important as she has moved from managing individual contributors to overseeing managers and executives. Providing greater visibility, she said, allows teams to make decisions without waiting for her direct involvement.
Esten has also discussed how moving between marketing and operations has shaped the way she leads both functions, as well as whether artificial intelligence could further blur the boundaries between C-suite responsibilities.
