AMA: Databricks Senior Group Manager, Demand Generation, Kayla Rockwell on Demand Generation Career Path

I measure my success in a role in a few different ways. First, am I hitting my targets? KPIs, goals, etc as aligned and agreed upon by the business. Think of these as quarterly or yearly metrics that you build plans against, execute, and deliver results. If I’m not hitting my targets this is where I spend the bulk of my energy. Second, am I building relationships and cultivating a company culture and set of values that I can be proud of? The how of getting work done is so important and it can set employees apart from each other especially when leadership looks at opportunities for advancement among employees with the same caliber of performance. Being thoughtful about investments in these areas, not only makes work more enjoyable; you’ll also come to value and look for these traits in future opportunities. Third, where are my gaps and how am I going to work on addressing them? Getting regular feedback on performance and areas of opportunity is essential to measuring your success in your role and the difference between the next level up if you're eyeing a promotion. It’s important to have regular conversations with your manager about where you want to improve and what projects, tasks, presentations, etc will help stretch you to build those skill sets.

A Demand generation manager career path usually takes one of two routes. 1. A specialized expertise in a particular area, audience, GTM motion, vertical, technology focus, etc. 2. A people manager role, helping teams execute. Depending on your organization there may be several levels within each of these paths that allow for various amounts of responsibility, expertise, and scope. Spending time reflecting on what aligns with your aspirations will be important as you progress throughout your career.

Ohhh! Interesting question. Demand generation has come a long way in the last several years thanks to marketing automation, analytics, and more. We can measure, slice and dice data, and optimize in ways we never thought possible. I believe many of these systems will get smarter, likely augmented at least in some part by AI. Data will become even more important going forward. Long gone are the days when a partial picture of campaign performance is acceptable. Campaign and demand generation managers should continue to focus and hone their skills around data manipulation, analysis, optimization, and using data to tell stories. They should understand how tools with AI can help their tech stacks, program performance, and more.

I’m not a CMO but there are a few backgrounds I see consistently showing up in top CMOs. Two I see often are a background in product marketing or demand generation. Demand generation is a solid foundational skill set for understanding marketing, but if you aspire to be a CMO one day, you’ll want to push the boundaries of your knowledge. Perhaps doing a rotation in an area of marketing you don’t know much about if your in demand generation consider field or product marketing. Folks with well-rounded skillsets will be the ones who are able to truly lead a department well and represent its efforts to the broader organization.

I believe the top traits across demand generation candidates are as follows: * Sense of urgency * Attention to detail * Curiosity * Have a point of view but hold it lightly * Growth mindset, willingness to learn continuously * Solution-oriented thinking