The 7 Roles of an Effective Operations Leader

Also - GTM Technology Red Flags to Watch out For

In this edition:

1. The 7 Roles of an Effective Operations Leader

2. GTM Technology Red Flags to Watch out For

3. Interviewing Martech Expert Austin Hay on AI Agents and The Future of Martech

4. For Paid Subscribers: The Pros and Cons of Working in Enterprise Marketing Operations

5. Reminder! Join the Marketing Ops Interview Bootcamp for free on Jan 15.

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You’ll learn exactly how to build, lead, and scale a marketing ops function from scratch—drawing from real-world lessons I’ve learned leading teams and solving complex problems. Sign up here.

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The 7 Roles of an Effective Operations Leader

There’s a lot more to marketing ops and revenue ops than meets the eye.

Operations leaders must play multiple roles simultaneously to lead their teams to success and create value for customers.

This diagram highlights the 7 essential roles that make up an effective operations leader. Depending on the situation, they quickly switch hats and execute, all while keeping the entire revenue engine running.

👉 The Strategist – Aligns team efforts with company objectives through long-term planning.
👉 The Protector – Safeguards team bandwidth and keeps priorities on track.
👉 The Analyst – Monitors performance data and optimizes continuously.
👉 The Integrator – Ensures cross-departmental alignment.
👉 The Communicator – Translates processes into clear, actionable steps and coaches future leaders.
👉 The Technologist – Implements tools to boost productivity and scalability.
👉 The Process Optimizer – Refines workflows to maximize efficiency and reduce waste.

If you’re in marketing ops or rev ops, ask yourself – which of these roles are you strongest in? Which could you develop further?

These are the skills that not only make teams effective but position leaders to drive transformative growth.

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GTM Technology Red Flags to Watch Out For

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Interviewing Martech Expert Austin Hay on AI Agents and The Future of Martech

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Austin Hay, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Clarify and Martech Teacher at Reforge.

Summary: Something extraordinary is brewing in the world of martech. In the near future, Austin thinks AI agents will cross with ambient computing, anticipating your needs before you have to make a request or assign any tasks, while vanishing into the background of your workday. But the real revolution unfolds in the seemingly mundane machinery of marketing operations, where innovative companies are transforming their spaghetti mess of data pipes and platforms into something approachable for any business user. The fundamental building blocks of our systems aren’t disappearing but the best in breed stack is dead, and CDPs have evolved dramatically. Hear it from one of our industry’s most thoughtful teacher turned builder.

In this Episode…

• AI Agents and the Hidden Promise of Ambient Computing

• The Core Primitives of Martech and the Path to Self-Designing APIs

• Modern Infrastructure Requirements for Marketing Technology Stacks

• Historical Evolution of Customer Data Platforms and Composability

• Foundational Technology Stack Decisions During Early Company Growth

• Collaborative Decision Making Approaches in Technology Teams

• Technical Literacy Requirements for Effective AI Collaboration

• How to Use AI for Writing Without Losing Your Original Voice

• Reimagining CRM Through Modern Automation