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

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. If this impacts headcount or resources leadership may need to weigh in. By coming in with a curious mindset, I’ve found people are excited to be heard, and you learn how to work better together and build a try compromise where needed. 

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 deadlines will push and which teams will be impacted. If needed, this work can be up-leveled to managers if too many projects are impacting downstream teams.

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: 1. 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. 2. Organized swimlanes: It is important to build a RACI with an ultimate decision maker, including who can make the final decision and escalation paths as needed if these two stakeholders disagree. 3. Influencer mindset alignment: It is your job to understand their core KPIs and business needs, which you can highlight in the options you share. This includes their personal and professional drivers, which may influence their decision-making later in the process. 4. A company-first strategy: The proposed strategy should include the pros, cons, and risks. Different leaders may assign different values to each of these areas. Ideally, you align these to your company or organization's priorities to make it easier to see from a company-first perspective. Ultimately, when you provide a suggested strategy, it should be the one that provides the overall company with the least amount of risk meeting the core objectives you agreed to solve for. If needed, you can use the escalation paths in your RACI, but ideally, doing the upfront alignment will be needed less often.

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 of the project you are working on together. The buy-in will be key. * Drive clarity: Create clear roles and responsibilities along with timelines to set expectations and, upfront, have them confirm they are bought in to be a part of the effort. * Understand their availability: Understand clearly what other priorities they may have and how this may impact their support of your project. This includes their own personal vacation schedule. Work this into your overall timeline. * Be a trusted business partner: Develop strong working relationships with them. Meet all your deliverables and timelines to show them you are someone they can depend on. * Hold a high standard for quality of work: Provide constructive feedback with a lens back to the project's original intent. Point back to the project's objective or best practices. This makes your feedback more impactful and aligned with what you are both trying to achieve. If needed, bring in other SMEs to back up your feedback so they understand it is coming from a place where you are all trying to deliver the highest-quality work. * Be open: Be willing to receive their feedback on your work and/or communication style.

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 understand the core influencers and buyers in the sales cycles and the problems customers are trying to solve. It’s important to align on the top accounts and how you are best positioned in the market. * Customer Success becomes more important in B2B buying cycles because customers who churn are very costly to the business. In addition, happy customers will buy more over time. If you have a large product portfolio, CS can be another seller for you, helping drive additional upsells and cross-sell opportunities in the buying cycle. Both of these teams help accelerate opportunities and can provide a unique perspective you may not have considered in past Demand Generation campaigns.