AMA: Databricks Senior Director, Demand Generation, Kelley Sandoval on Stakeholder Management

When addressing alignment with executive stakeholders it is important to drive clear goals, KPIs, RACIs, and a strategy that outlines the pros and cons. This can include the following:  Goal alignment: You need to align with both stakeholders up front on the core problem we are trying to solve. By driving this alignment you ensure that everyone is on the same page around the goals we are trying to achieve. Without this, your strategy won’t align. Organized swimlanes: It is important to build a R ...Read More

One of the most challenging parts of a cross-functional role is managing a project with people across the organization who do not report directly to you or your function, but it is necessary. To be a good cross-functional leader you will need to provide clear direction and be a trusted business partner. Here are a few things I’d suggest in your work with other teams: Leadership alignment: Ensure that the leaders in your organization and their organization are aligned on the strategic importance ...Read More

Always approach the discussion with an open mind to understand the “why” behind the ask. When people come to you asking about ownership it may be to create clarity, remove duplicative work, or something else. Once you understand the “why” you can start to dive into the specifics of the project workflows and areas of ownership to have a discussion on the “how” to solve it. This then becomes a discussion on the process, pieces of the project, and potentially re-reviewing a RACI built previously. I ...Read More

Depending on your organization’s goals bringing in sales, CS, and operations can be key to running successful Demand Generation campaigns. I have more experience working in the B2B Enterprise space and the relationship with Sales and CS has been important to success. In large-scale Enterprise sales (where deal lengths can extend beyond a year), the Field (sales, sales engineers, etc.) is critical to moving a deal from TOFU opportunities to POC and closed-won opportunities. Sales can help you und ...Read More

For each cross-functional project, I build a clear RACI with one ultimate decision-maker for each milestone. This defines who has the power to green-light the project, and it is shared during the introduction phase of the project. It’s important to make clear who has decision-making power vs. consultative power early on in the project and get buy-in from leadership.  Likewise, it’s important to provide a strong workback schedule with go-no-go dates that have to be met and be clear on when deadli ...Read More