What hard skills are must haves to be a revenue operations leader? What are nice to haves?

In my opinion, soft skills are more imporatnt than hard in this role; however, there are a few hard skills that are important:

• Practical sales and/or marketing experience. It's important that you can resonate and empathize with the teams you are supporting.  This also provides credibility. 
• Strong experience with CRM and related technologies. My deep knowledge and expreience of Salesforce, Marketo, and other sales/marketing tools is a big reason I've been successful in this role.
• Experience with budgeting and data analysis. RevOps leaders need practical experience telling stories through data to enable the org to make better business decisions.

Honestly, I believe revenue operations leaders need soft skills more than hard skills. Hopefully they are coming from a background where hard skills like data analysis and visualization and Excel/SQL were needed, but broadening this question out to general skills - data analysis, storytelling, and communication and collaboration are the most important.

• Data analysis: Revenue operations leaders and teams are working with and responsible for the data that supports their stakeholders, so leaders should have a strong skillset in taking that data and using it to answer questions and solve problems so they can support stakeholders as well as help their teams do the same.
• Storytelling: This is kind of an extension of data analysis, but all the best data analysts are also outstanding storytellers. The CEO of your company is often not going to want the nitty gritty details of an analysis project, and so revenue operations leaders and professionals need to be able to distill complex topics into simple stories and narratives that someone who is not in the weeds will understand and take action on. 
• Collaboration: This is obviously important in MOST jobs, but revenue operations leaders are constantly working to align different teams and stakeholders across business functions, as well as help their own teams make the right strategy decisions. For example, Sales and Marketing are so reliant on each other, but oftentimes aren't collaborating nearly as much as they should be. A RevOps leader needs to be able to quickly identify those gaps and drive action based on aligned data, priorities, and initiatives. 

Qualities and Skills of Strong RevOps Leaders:

1. Data-Driven Decision Making

   1. Understanding: Proficiency in analyzing and interpreting data to make informed decisions. Great Revenue Operations leaders rely on data to identify trends, forecast revenues, and optimize strategies.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations heavily rely on data analytics to align sales, marketing, and customer success strategies. Expertise in data-driven decision-making is invaluable.

2. Cross-Functional Collaboration

   1. Understanding: Experience in collaborating with various teams, including marketing, sales, finance, and customer success, to achieve common objectives.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations require seamless collaboration between departments. Leaders need to bridge gaps and facilitate effective communication among different functions.

3. Process Optimization

   1. Understanding: Expertise in streamlining processes, identifying bottlenecks, and enhancing operational efficiency.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations leaders optimize end-to-end processes, ensuring smooth transitions from marketing-generated leads to sales and customer success interactions.

4. Technology Proficiency

   1. Understanding: Familiarity with CRM systems, marketing automation tools, analytics platforms, and other technologies used in Revenue Operations.

   2. Importance: Proficiency in technology enables Revenue Operations leaders to integrate systems, automate workflows, and leverage tools for data analysis and reporting.

5. Strategic Vision

   1. Understanding: Ability to see the bigger picture, align operations with business goals, and develop long-term strategies for revenue growth.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations leaders formulate strategic plans, ensuring that operational activities are in line with the company's overarching revenue and growth objectives.

6. Customer-Centric Focus

   1. Understanding: Understanding of customer journeys and the impact of operational decisions on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations leaders design processes that enhance customer experience, contributing to customer retention and lifetime value.

7. Adaptability 

   1. Understanding: Willingness to adapt to new technologies, industry trends, and best practices in revenue generation.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations is dynamic, and leaders must stay updated with evolving technologies and market demands to drive continuous improvement.

8. Leadership and Communication Skills

   1. Understanding: Strong leadership qualities, including effective communication, delegation, and conflict resolution skills.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations leaders lead cross-functional teams, making leadership and communication crucial for fostering collaboration and maintaining team morale.

9. Problem-Solving Abilities

   1. Understanding: Ability to identify challenges, analyze root causes, and develop creative solutions to complex problems.

   2. Importance: Revenue Operations leaders encounter diverse challenges that require innovative problem-solving to optimize processes and drive revenue growth.

10. Decision Making

    1. Understanding: Commitment to ethical business practices and making decisions that align with the organization's values.

    2. Importance: Ethical decision-making ensures that revenue strategies are sustainable and contribute positively to the organization's reputation and customer relationships.

The must have for a revenue operations leader data driven decision making and the ability to turn data into insights and insights to impact! Connecting the dots, identifying risks and opportunities to fuel growth is a differentiator!

Another must have as a leader is dealing with ambiguity ! Revops at its best, is Solving complex problems )at times with inadequate information), designing initiatives, setting objects and breaking organizational objectives into byte-size consumable chunks for the rest of the organization and mobilizing change across departments working with a wide-variety of stakeholders and constantly shifting priorities. How to do this is not a series of steps or a simple playbook, it requires one to look beyond what's possible and operate in a state of managed ambiguity (don’t pass chaos or complexity to your teams or stakeholders). This is an important differentiator to set yourself apart as an effective leader! 

In terms of soft skills - effective communication, ability to simplify and communicate vision/ideas clearly, good stakeholder management, collaboration and adaptability to change are all valuable!