Essential Truths to Success in Go-To-Market Orgs with Russ Stanziale

Rev Ops Revolution

Essential Truths to Success in Go-To-Market Orgs with Russ Stanziale

Those who work in SaaS know how fast things come at you and how much may be asked of you on any given day. When you add in an org that’s literally operating 24/7 with more time zones than you can keep up with and more cultural nuances than you can count, you have to get strategic about how you’re empowering and driving change. It doesn’t happen by accident, and my guest, Russ Stanziale, shares this in so many ways in our conversation. His intentional moves have led to some amazing growth and team dynamics!

Working Around the Globe

It’s easy to underestimate the complexities of international organizations. You have to have sensitivity to those cultural differences, not just with customers but with the internal team members.

Change Management

Driving change can be difficult within your own culture, but when you try to change culture across multiple cultures and time zones creates even more challenges. Change starts with you first as a leader. Once you can do that, you can start to bring change through your team and an entire organization. Preparation and data can be helpful for the narrative and change you are trying to bring. Set up the why first and then you can help move people into the new process. Don’t take it for granted that they’re going to follow through. Be careful to assess your internal and external stakeholders to see if they’re buying into the new change.

To Re-Org or Not to Re-Org

There’s probably five different ways to win in any situation you’re dealing with. We could spend all year long reorganization, but the important thing was making sure people were aligned and focused, regardless of who is reporting to whom. There are often arguments for both sides of a decent decision. At some point you have to make the best decision you can with what you have in that moment.

Perspective is Power

Embrace the people on your team who think differently and have different perspectives about a situation. You have a wealth of perspectives and insights from the people on your team. Check your ego at the door and embrace these perspectives and get buy-in from your team. The question you should always be asking is how you can make the people around you successful.

Attributes for Solid Teams

When you’re growing an organization your people are so powerful. Look for professional curiosity on how to improve the organization they are joining. Look for people who can problem solve and be direct and concise. This is a sign of being focused and focused people get work done!

Driving Culture for Go-To-Market

As a leader, you get to drive culture for your team, and we all know well and good how fast our teams are moving at any given moment. So, what drives a healthy culture in this scenario? People leaning into their team instead of telling them what to do brings greater results. Respect is paramount. Another thing to consider is that sometimes the objectives we’re asking people to do get in the way of even greater opportunities for the org. Looking at things from a higher level perspective can help you see what the better objective is at the moment.

Empowerment is also incredibly important to drive culture in a go-to-market mentality. Every opportunity to mentor somebody doesn't need to be executed upon. Sometimes empowering someone else’s ideas is a simple way to build confidence while moving toward objectives and driving forward motion for the team.

Board & Executive Level Leadership

There’s a delicate balance of managing expectations with executive leaders, boards, and other stakeholders. When the team is aligned with leadership and the board it can be such an amazing experience. Mutual trust and transparency is also a must for success. Look for a board and leadership that attacks problems, not people.