Revenue Operations

CHAPTER 5Use One of Three Leadership Models: The Tsar, the Federation, and the Chief of Staff

As demonstrated in the prior chapter, organizations are experimenting with different leadership structures to find a better way to align revenue teams and unlock higher growth. The functional model that has grown dominant over the last half century provides a comforting familiarity with minimal disruption. Many organizations have become too comfortable in their current set up and find themselves burdened with outdated structures and frustrated staff. A few innovative leaders, however, have moved beyond the status quo and clustered around three new leadership models for Revenue Operations: the Tsar, the Federation, and the Chief of Staff. Like different political systems – autocracy, democracy, or monarchy – none of them is perfect, and there are certainly shades of gray between them. Still, these three archetypes represent new approaches to draw upon and potentially sources of competitive differentiation. In this chapter you will find a profile of each, including typical pros and cons, and examples of how leading firms have deployed these leadership models.

The Tsar: Putting a “CXO” in Charge of Revenue Teams

The first organizational model that emerged from our research and conversations with industry leaders is called the “Tsar.”

The Tsar uses institutional authority to align all the revenue teams. In this approach, the company consolidates decision making and operational control ...