We've seen it dozens of times: A company hires a senior leader of RevOps, hands them a broken GTM engine, and expects miracles. Six months later, the forecasting is still a disaster, teams are still misaligned, and the CRO is wondering why their expensive new hire "isn't moving the needle."
The problem isn't the RevOps leader. It's the empowerment gap.
If your C-suite expects RevOps to align GTM teams, drive data accountability, improve forecasting accuracy, reduce funnel friction, and implement systems that scale, but won't give them a seat at the strategy table, then you're setting everyone up to fail. In this post, we'll break down what C-suite leaders get wrong about RevOps leadership, and what it takes to actually empower RevOps to deliver the results you hired them for in the first place.
When we work with executive teams on RevOps consulting engagements, they typically want RevOps to own five critical outcomes:
1. GTM alignment across sales, marketing, and customer success. No more finger-pointing when deals stall or churn spikes. RevOps should be the connective tissue that keeps everyone rowing in the same direction.
2. Data-driven accountability. Clean data, accurate dashboards, and metrics that actually matter. Not vanity metrics—real leading indicators that predict revenue.
3. Forecasting accuracy. According to research from SiriusDecisions, companies with mature RevOps functions see forecast accuracy improve by 15-25%. That's the difference between planning with confidence and flying blind.
4. Reduced friction across the funnel. From first touch to renewal, RevOps should eliminate bottlenecks, whether that's quote-to-cash inefficiencies, territory conflicts, or handoff breakdowns.
5. Scalable systems and processes. Tools that grow with the business, not against it. Automation that actually works. A tech stack that doesn't require a PhD to operate. Things that aren't going to get grown out of in a year.
These expectations aren't crazy. This is literally what RevOps exists to do. But here's where the wheels fall off.
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You can't hand RevOps a broken GTM engine, give them an Asana board resembling a request queue dungeon, and say "good luck!" That's not empowerment—that's punishment.
We've audited RevOps operations at dozens of B2B companies, and the pattern is always the same: high expectations, low authority, zero strategic input. Here's what that looks like in practice:
They're excluded from strategic planning. RevOps gets a recap after the C-suite has already decided to launch a new product line, enter a new market, or restructure comp plans. Then they're expected to "make it work" in Salesforce by next Tuesday.
They have no visibility into cross-functional initiatives. Marketing launches a campaign without telling RevOps. Product changes pricing without consulting them. Finance tweaks revenue recognition rules and RevOps finds out when reports break.
They have no authority to drive alignment. When sales and marketing can't agree on lead definitions, RevOps is supposed to "figure it out," but they have no power to enforce decisions. When Sales wants to package something in a unique way, their manager just approves it. Everyone runs their own playbook, and leadership wonders why revenue stalls.
They're treated as order-takers, not orchestrators. "Can you build me a dashboard?" "Can you update this field?" "Can you pull this report?" RevOps becomes the Salesforce or HubSpot help desk instead of the neutral orchestrator of GTM strategy.
A recent report from Pavilion found that only 38% of RevOps leaders report directly to the CEO or CRO—and those who don't are three times more likely to say they lack the authority to drive meaningful change.
If you want RevOps to operate at the level you expect impact from, here's what needs to change:
RevOps should be in the room when you're planning new GTM motions, product launches, comp plan changes, or territory redesigns. Why? Because they're the ones who will have to operationalize it, and they know where the landmines are.
Bottom line: If the decision will impact GTM execution, RevOps should have input before the decision is made, not after.
RevOps can't orchestrate what they can't see. That means they need a window into what Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, and Finance are planning.
This doesn't mean RevOps needs to approve every initiative—but they should be informed early enough to identify dependencies, surface risks, and build the infrastructure to support execution.
Practical tactic: Add RevOps to your monthly cross-functional GTM sync. Even if they're just listening, it prevents the "surprise launches" that create operational chaos.
RevOps should be empowered to make calls on process, definitions, and tooling. This is especially true when teams disagree. If Marketing and Sales can't agree on what qualifies as an MQL, RevOps should have the authority to make the final call (with C-suite backing).
Bottom line: RevOps can't drive alignment if every decision requires consensus from five stakeholders. Empower them to make calls, and back them up when people push back.
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The fastest way to kill RevOps morale (and effectiveness) is to treat them like the person who "just updates the CRM." RevOps professionals are strategic operators, and many have run sales teams, led marketing ops, or built entire GTM functions from scratch.
When you reduce them to report-builders and data janitors, you waste their strategic horsepower. Instead, position them as the neutral orchestrator of your GTM engine and the function that ensures all the parts work together.
Practical tactic: In meetings, ask RevOps for their strategic input first—before diving into tactical requests. "What are you seeing in the data? What's broken that we're not talking about? What should we prioritize?"
The difference between empowered and disempowered RevOps isn't subtle. Here's what we see in the data:
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RevOps is the connective tissue of your business. When you empower it properly with strategic access, cross-functional visibility, decision authority, and respect, you get a GTM engine that runs like a Swiss watch.
When you don't, you get chaos in a dashboarding tool.
The ROI of empowered RevOps isn't theoretical. It shows up in forecast accuracy, sales efficiency, customer retention, and ultimately predictable revenue growth. But it requires C-suite leaders to make a shift: from treating RevOps as a support function to recognizing it as a strategic one.
If your RevOps team is struggling to deliver impact, ask yourself: Have we actually empowered them to succeed? Or are we expecting miracles from people we've locked in a tactical cage?
The answer will tell you everything you need to know.