RevOps is a “team role,” not a solo role.

As a leader in RevOps, you need to grow your ability to negotiate continuously, influence, engage, convince and persuade effectively to get things done. I was taught that “Management is the art of getting things done through others.” So what has that to do with Office Politics. According to Gerald Ferris, professor of management and psychology at Florida State University, “it is the ability to neutralize workplace stressors and enhance performance, reputation, success, and career progression.”

Wait, but Office Politics is a dirty word, right! Most people, when they think about it, they think of people who display narcissistic tendencies! Who wants to work in an environment where you have others that steal credit for other people’s work, lie, cheat, suck up, create unnecessary drama, and play different teams or people against each other. Most honest people want nothing to do with that.

Now I want to have you consider the following: If you are in any organization, you will be part of the office politics. That does not mean you “play” the game! You already are a participant, even if you do not want to be involved. My suggestion is not for you to become a highly political person, instead, become aware of the politics in your company.

To be effective in your role, you need to be able to bring others along with you. The four pillars of Revenue Operations are People, Process, Tools, and Insights.

These pillars can be traced back to the people, process, technology (PPT) framework. This framework has been in use since the mid-1960s and was designed to improve the operational efficiency of the Business.

With people at the center, you will have politics enter as a natural part of the company. As a manager, your failure to see this will diminish your effectiveness in creating an efficient team that delivers results.

The absolute truth is that you need to work to influence others all the time. In your role, you can affect Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success. You need to become politically savvy.

Being a skilled orator is not what people see; instead, Your action and interactions with people matter. Your behaviors are what others see.

Be honest and answer these questions in your daily interactions:

• Are you authentic?
• Are you reliable?
• Are you honest?
• Are you effective?
• Have you built a strong reputation?
• Do you strive to keep conflict to a minimum?
• Do you focus on developing cross-functional partnerships and alliances?

To be effective in your role, you need to understand your company’s culture, the various functions, and their contribution to the company, who are the key influencers in each position.

One of my favorite blogs on this is from the Center for Creative Leadership, and they define the 6 Characteristics Associated with Political Skills:

• Social astuteness
• Interpersonal influence
• Networking ability
• Thinking before speaking
• Managing up
• Apparent sincerity

As the RevOps leader, you must learn these skills to leverage your relationships from the c-suite to the individual contributors. These learned behaviors will propel your personal, team, and company performance.