The Director of Sales Enablement – A Day in the Life

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual contributors and do not reflect the official policy or position of their current or previous employers. This content is for informational purposes only.

Introduction

In my quest to provide an in-depth, on-the-ground perspective on sales enablement as a career, we’ve already explored what a typical day in the life of the sales enablement specialist and the sales enablement manager looks like. 

To complete the picture, I set out to do the same for the role of the sales enablement director.

As always, I didn’t rely solely on my own experience. Instead, I sought to bring you a diverse range of perspectives directly from some of the world’s most accomplished sales and revenue enablement leaders.

Seventeen directors generously shared their journeys – how they rose to the position, the responsibilities they carry, the skills they’ve honed to succeed, and much more.

You’ll also gain insight into what it’s like to lead enablement departments day-to-day and how they work tirelessly to support their sales and GTM organisations.

These 17 sales and revenue enablement directors include:

Christina Ortega

Claire Davis

Danica Bangert

Dwayne Bess

Eric Magnuson

Fiona NicChoiligh

Fiona Simpson

Kayleigh Hogan

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor

Lindsay Lane

Lisa Giusto

Michele Parente DeFonzo

Michelle Curtis

Milko George

Natasha Lindsay

Tanuja Paruchuri

Tim Stansky

It’s now time to dive in.

Note: For simplicity, I refer to the title of sales or revenue enablement director as the highest leadership position in enablement. In some organisations, this role may be held by a VP or even a C-level executive. Since it’s challenging to account for all possible variations across contexts, references to “enablement directors” throughout this piece will signify the equivalent of the function’s leader.

Meet our contributors – how did they become sales and revenue enablement directors?

Our contributors were kind enough to share their very personal stories about their journeys towards becoming the leaders of the sales or revenue enablement function.

As you will find out, every enablement director path has been diffferent, reinforcing the sense of inclusivity that makes enablement so great. 

I thought their individual journeys would also provide the perfect opportunity to give a more exhaustive introduction to our contributors.

Christina Ortega, the Director of Sales Enablement at a company behind an integrated platform for the management of clinical research workflows, has been in enablement for an incredible 18 years and immediately shares her approach of looking at enablement from the viewpoint of the salespeople:

“I started in early sales, then sales support, then marketing, then training and development. I have been in enablement for over 18 years. Always curious about ways to help sales folks succeed.  Asking, “what did I need to be successful?””

Claire Davis, the Director of GTM Enablement at one of the biggest MarTech companies in the world, officially transitioned into enablement following an acquisition – despite having already managed many of the function’s responsibilities:

“I have spent time in previous roles, working with sellers on RFPs, navigating contracting, etc. Spent a lot of time supporting Sales VPs, managing comms and running Sales Training events and completed an implementation of Salesforce at my company. Through an acquisition, I was moved to Enablement for the first time and my role has grown from there.”

Danica Bangert, the Senior Director of Revenue Enablement at an AgTech company behind a  predictable commerce platform, transitioned into enablement through a natural progression rooted in product expertise, customer understanding, and mentoring. She explains:

“My path to enablement started with my initial role in sales at Zendesk, where I quickly excelled in understanding both the product and customer needs. My success in driving customer satisfaction not only fueled my passion for the industry but also led me to embrace a mentorship role for new reps. 

I took the initiative to join the enablement team there to build our onboarding programs that helped new hires ramp up quickly and effectively, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

As I continued to develop my skills in mentoring, I transitioned into a formal leadership role within sales enablement. This position allowed me to take on greater responsibility and broaden my scope, ultimately leading to the design and implementation of larger-scale programs that spanned global and role-based teams.

By leveraging my sales experience and insights, I focused on creating tailored training resources that empowered teams to succeed across diverse markets, solidifying my commitment to driving sales excellence through effective enablement strategies.”

Dwayne Bess, the Director of Sales Training & Development at a healthtech company with more than 5,000 employees, attributes his journey to reaching the director level to extensive experience:

“15 years in sales and 10 years in sales leadership consulting.”

Eric Magnuson, the Director of Sales enablement at one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies, proves that one’s educational background can have unexpected benefits for one’s enablement journey:

“I was a History major and started working in retail coming out of university before I moved into SaaS/technology. Storytelling and effective communication have always mattered to me. If you’re a History major or supporting sellers, you have to help them be great storytellers and great communicators.”

Fiona NicChoiligh, the Director of International Revenue Enablement at one of the world’s most popular revenue intelligence companies, shared a story of incredible effort and persistence while also not glossing over the setbacks: 

“It’s been a long and winding journey where I have learnt a lot and met so many incredible people along the way.  

I started off my career in sales many years ago and quickly found a passion for helping new hires when they joined the team “learn the ropes” (onboarding programs didn’t exist back then!!) 

Then, I made a move into the public sector, where for over 10 years I helped job seekers reskill and find work that actually fulfilled them. This is where I realised my passion for coaching and finding work that you love. I also went back to university during this time as an adult student and studied Adult Education.  

It was incredibly rewarding work but being in the public sector is pretty limiting and I knew I needed to take a bet on myself and then this company, LinkedIn, popped up – it was so aligned to my personal mission – their mission being providing economic opportunity for the global workforce – so I made it my mission to get IN! It look a while – after 13 interviews first time around, I came down to final 2 but the internal candidate got the job.  

I was devastated but not deterred! Six months later, another much more exciting and suitable role came up, and after another 9 interviews, I got it! 

And it turned out to be one of the best teams I’ve ever been part of. We were responsible for enabling the Customer Support teams. I learnt so much in that role, but about a year into it, a maternity leave cover came up in the Sales Enablement team – I really wanted to make the move as it felt like the perfect job to marry my love for Sales and Learning.  

I got it but with a twist: because it was a maternity cover, I had to give up my permanent contract – so I did (with the support of my partner, who backed me all the way). It was a big risk, but it paid off! I went on the road and rolled out The Linked Way Sales Methodology. I built onboarding programs and coaching programs. It was a truly transformative experience with some of the best leadership teams I’ve ever met.  

Then Qualtrics came knocking, and that was an incredible opportunity to build the function from the ground up. I built out an amazing team, and we did some incredible work, then I moved onto Udemy, where I led a Global Revenue Enablement team, and now I’m where I am.” 

Seasoned enablement leader, Fiona Simpson, began her journey in customer success. She shares:

“I started my tech career in Customer Success & Support, including moving into a new hire training role for a period of time, well before I knew what enablement or onboarding even were. After a few more years as a highly successful CSM, I was asked to move into a sales ‘support’ function that turned out to be a mix of sales enablement and solutions engineering.  Five years later, I have moved up to a director capacity, in both full-time and fractional capacities.”

Kayleigh Hogan, the Director of Sales Training and Enablement at a company that develops a proprietary process orchestration platform, moved up the enablement ranks over the years:

“I’ve been in enablement for over a decade now, starting out in Sales Operations and then moving into a Sales Enablement Program Manager role at DocuSign. Then I navigated a few different teams over the years. At Genesys, I became a Sr Manager and then at Pindrop I became a Director. Currently, I’m a Director of Sales Training & Growth at my current company.”

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor, the Global Sales Enablement Director at the world’s largest web hosting software, merged his expertise in sales and digital marketing to forge a successful career in enablement. He explains:

“I got my start in SMB sales back in 2013, but began teaching digital marketing to businesses on the side shortly after. 

No matter whether I was working in Marketing or Sales, I always maintained a side gig teaching and soon realized that I had a knack for translating complex information.

In 2020, I discovered a Gartner study on Buyer Enablement and I realized that it characterized the intersection of what I’d been doing for the past 6 years.

I moved to the UK shortly after and began contracting to teach sales teams at B2B tech companies. After doing that for over a year, I decided to take an opportunity to work internally at a Cybersecurity Unicorn building their enablement team from the ground up, and have since served as Director of Enablement at multiple companies.”

Lindsay Lane, the Senior Director of Revenue Enablement at a leading enterprise cloud software company, describes her move from sales to sales operations and then to enablement: 

“Early on in my career I was in sales and spent a few years building confidence on the phone and closing business.

Looking back, these were pivotal years, and I encourage people to start their careers making sales dials. It builds character, and I think people find their voices more in those moments. I loved being around salespeople – there’s a lot of energy and dynamic personalities that, when you’re in an office, make the day go by fast. 

But sales wasn’t my thing, so I moved into an ops role where I was performing sales ops work and could still be centralized around salespeople. I loved this job, the company, and the people I worked with. This helped me solidify that I really enjoyed the process and all the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes salespeople successful. 

Following that, I organically found myself interested in roles that centered around development, training, strategic thinking, and execution of processes, and I thrived in these environments. I worked to build solid relationships with the sales leaders, learning and anticipating what executives are looking for, asking questions, and putting myself in a ‘what would a rep want/need’ space. 

Enablement was fairly new in the tech space when I got into it, so I fully capitalized on learning and growing as much as I could, and as someone who was once a seller, I used my own experience as a way to identify enablement structure.  

As I organically moved up in title, the big things that stuck with me are: building relationships with leaders, finding out what they want or don’t want, and anticipating needs. But also get to know the sales teams as well. It’s just as important to learn downstream as much as upstream. Enablement customers are the GTM leaders and GTM teams.” 

Lisa Giusto, the Director of Sales Enablement at a market-leading virtual data room (VDR) services company, emphasised how she sharpened her analytical skills over the course of her career prior to getting into enablement:

“My background is in commercial training and events, where I initially worked as a product manager and later as a program manager. In those roles, I was responsible for defining the marketing and sales strategies for my events, which sharpened my ability to assess market potential and identify where to invest in new product launches.

This experience sharpened my analytical skills, enabling me to evaluate market opportunities, understand customer needs, and translate those insights into viable products while managing their go-to-market launches and tracking and influencing sales performance.

These skills are fundamental to my current role, where understanding what the end customer needs and helping sales teams connect with those needs is key. I’m very much a builder at heart, enjoying the process of starting initiatives from scratch.

Throughout my career, I’ve consistently focused on setting up new teams, launching projects, and driving change, positioning myself as a change agent.”

Michele Parente DeFonzo, an experienced Director of Sales Training & Enablement shared her experience with various aspects that make up enablement:

“Throughout my career, I wore many hats. Most roles included a piece of enablement: training, coaching, onboarding, data analysis, project management, etc. Based on my experience, I was approached to build an enablement function from scratch.”

Michelle Curtis, the Director of GTC Programs at an enterprise platform for account growth, leveraged her education background to build a successful career in enablement. She explains:

“I started in the education and training space, working first at a primary school and then eventually at a university.  

Once I broke into the enablement space, I worked at a few companies as the sole enabler, which required me to not only execute on tasks but to provide a strategy for the function.  Because of that experience, I was able to work my way up from a specialist to a manager to senior manager, and then director.”

Milko George, the Global Director of Sales Enablement at a global commerce media company, started off in marketing, and as a subject matter expert, he organically moved into enablement. He shares:

“I began my career in marketing and then transitioned into sales, which led me into Learning & Development (L&D), primarily as a subject matter expert. This foundation allowed me to build a deep understanding of the skills and behaviours that drive sales success. 

Over time, my career progressed from L&D consultant and trainer to roles as a Sales Training Manager and eventually a Sales Enablement Director. Moving from L&D to sales enablement was an organic shift, as it enabled me to focus on practical solutions – removing friction in the sales process and building the necessary competencies for success.”

Natasha Lindsay, the Director of Sales Enablement & Development at one of the world’s largest audio equipment manufacturers, began her career as an apprentice and steadily advanced through the ranks:

“I started my career as an apprentice for a large telecoms organization before moving into sales. I joined my current company over 9 years ago as a salesperson and worked in various roles across the organization. 3-4 years ago, I wanted to move into an operational or enablement role, so I started to look for small projects I could support and drive, and finally, a role became available. I applied, and after 3 rounds of interviews, I was successful.  I have then been in that role for 2.5 years and was recently promoted into a director role, following key successes in that role. “

Tanuja Paruchuri, the Global Director of Revenue Enablement at an automated endpoint management platform, took the familiar sales to sales operations to sales enablement route:

“I started as a Territory Sales Manager, became an SDR, and eventually moved into Sales Operations in 2008. From there, I primarily did enablement-type duties, but officially got the title of Sales Enablement Program Manager in 2012. 

From there, I continued to work in Enablement at Blackboard until I was laid off in 2016. At that point, I actually had started a health coaching and food business in 2014, so I continued to work on that until I went back to Enablement full-time in 2018 at Zillow. Then, I made an intentional decision to increase my income. 

After about 1.5 years, I moved to GitLab, then after 2.5 years, I jumped to Okta, and then after about 10 months, I got my first opportunity as a director at H1. I jumped at the opportunity! After about one year there, they eliminated the enablement position and asked me to move into a Product Marketing role. I made the move but didn’t enjoy PMM. 

I then decided to make another move to my current company, where I’m now a Global Director of Revenue Enablement, where I manage several direct reports globally and am responsible for hundreds of sellers globally.”

Tim Stansky, the Lead Enablement Partner at the world’s leading automation platform for email marketing and SMS, has had a very dynamic career journey. He explains:

“I started my career in radio sales before the business was deregulated by the US government.  The restrictions on radio ownership created marketplaces with many operators, resulting in very high competition, and customers wanted results from ad dollars spent. This taught me how to sell competitively and with imaginative creativity.

Soon I was training teams of salespeople ways to sell bigger contracts with more lucrative rewards.  

As digital media and the internet started the funeral for traditional media, I transitioned.

I became a trainer for a digital media company and witnessed the change from “”trainer”” to the creation of the term “”sales enablement”” in the late 1990s.  I facilitated sales methods and sales skills at Oracle for almost 5 years, then took a chance on a startup as Global Sales Enablement Manager.  I built a department from scratch, hired, and was promoted to Director of Global Sales Enablement.”

Key responsibilities of the director of sales enablement

Being a Director of Sales Enablement myself, I am well aware of the wide variety of responsibilities that come with the role.

Despite that, just reading through everything that the contributors shared on this topic made me slightly dizzy. 

As the highest-positioned enablement people at their organisations, sales and revenue enablement directors focus on the strategic level, often serving as pivotal conduits between various go-to-market departments to enhance sales effectiveness and efficiency and drive revenue growth. 

While there is much overlap between what was shared, the contributing leaders descriptions of the main sales enablement director responsibilities show that even at the highest level, enablement functions differ greatly depending on factors such as company size, industry, and GTM motions. 

I identified four main areas of responsibility that emerged as the overarching umbrella themes:

• Strategic alignment and cross-functional collaboration

• Empowering sales teams

• Technology management

• Continuous improvement and change management

I will now try my best to convey all the big and little things our contributors see as their responsibilities. 

Strategic alignment and cross-functional collaboration

One of the most important responsibilities for sales and revenue enablement directors is to serve as the bridge between a company’s strategic goals and the sales organisation’s ability to achieve them.

Their core responsibility extends beyond aligning objectives – it involves identifying and addressing gaps, driving collaboration across GTM functions, and ensuring initiatives are implemented effectively to impact revenue and business outcomes.

Fiona Simpson succinctly highlights this strategic linchpin role, explaining:

“Understand priorities of all GTM functions and how they could impact the sales org. Navigate the strategic objectives of the priorities and where there are gaps between the sales org’s current skills, knowledge, and execution, and where they need to be to meet the priorities and expectations.”

Michelle Curtis similarly underscores the importance of a high-level perspective across the GTM unit, focusing on “…uncovering gaps across GTM departments that are hindering revenue and then building programs that fill those gaps.”

She then further identifies specific areas where these gaps often arise:

• Knowledge gaps

• Sales process

• Collaboration/communication internally and with clients/customers

• Content strategy

• Messaging

• Sales velocity

• Onboarding and retention

Danica Bangert describes the strategic aspect of her role in terms of aligning with her company’s business goals:

“Designing and implementing enablement strategies that align with business goals/OKRs and drive revenue growth.”

Fiona NicChoiligh points out how essential strategic alignment is for revenue enablement, especially in the case of big bet initiatives, as she calls them:

“In my role as Revenue Enablement Director my critical responsibilities are to partner with our Executive Leadership team to prioritise our big bet initiatives each quarter and agree on what metrics/outcomes we want to change or improve. 

I believe enablement is in the business of change – whether that’s unlearning and breaking old habits and building new ones or learning brand new skills.

Alignment with executives is key: negotiating and agreeing on big bet initiative, the outcomes and metrics we will impact and measure, ensuring to do our due diligence from a data perspective that we are working on the right things vital partnership with Rev Ops here.”

Natasha Lindsay describes her strategic leadership like this:

“Spearheading key initiatives, managing scope, resources, budget, and business cases, including designing and delivering key initiatives of the new organizational strategy.”

She also gives us a great segue into a prerequisite for making enablement strategic – spearheading cross-functional collaboration. She frames it as marketing & partner collaboration, and networking & community building:

“Working closely with marketing and partners to ensure collaboration and engagement and leading internal networking events to foster collaboration across divisions.”

Eric Magnuson and Lindsay Lane also espouse the importance of creating and maintaining alignment with multiple cross-functional teams, including sales, sales operations, product marketing, general marketing, partnerships, and other business functions.

Milko George explains the benefits of working with key stakeholders across Product, Marketing, Customer Success, Sales Leadership, Revenue Operations, and Financial Planning and Analysis:

“This cross-functional approach provides sales teams with relevant insights and tools that enhance onboarding, training, and performance while fostering a unified strategy across the organisation.”

Empowering sales teams

Another key responsibility for every sales and revenue enablement director is to enable sales teams in their organisation to sell more and do it effectively and efficiently.

As Christina Ortega succinctly puts it:

“I enable, empower, and equip the sales org with what they need to be successful.”

Lindsay Lane expands on this idea, emphasising the importance of providing salespeople with the knowledge, tools, and resources necessary to “effectively articulate sales motions across the company.”

This empowerment takes many forms.

For Eric Magnuson, it is about driving (and measuring) sales productivity through various means, “…creating content and programming that drives an increase in seller productivity (measured through increased sales velocity, increased conversion rates, etc.)”

Sales methodologies and process optimisation

A significant part of empowering the sales force at scale is through implementing sales methodologies and optimising the sales processes. 

For Lisa Giusto, sales methodologies are an integral part of training and development of the sales personnel.

Kayleigh Hogan is also responsible for implementing sales methodologies at her company and making sure the sales playbook is aligned with the chosen methodology.

To further support her salespeople, Kayleigh also conducts deal reviews and organises sales kick-off events.

Sales methodologies also fall under Tanuja Paruchuri’s purview, giving her the perfect tool for empowering teams across the sales cycle: “…pre-sales, post-sales, and technical teams ready to sell, demo, upsell, and cross-sell new products.”

Milko George even shares which sales methodology they use – consultative selling. He is also responsible for “…driving the adoption of sales methodologies and qualification frameworks to support consistent performance.”

Consistent analysis and improvement of the sales process was mentioned by a number of our contributors, such as Michele Parente DeFonzo, Natasha Lindsay, and Lisa Giusto.

Training and development

One of the most impactful ways to empower salespeople is by onboarding them effectively, training them comprehensively, and providing ongoing development through means like coaching and continuous upskilling.

This is why training, coaching, and overall development were highlighted by nearly all of our contributors as essential responsibilities.

Dwayne Bess outlines his focus areas as:

• Product launches

• New hire training

• First and second-line leader training

• Field sales training program

• Organisational sales acumen

This highlights the breadth of training responsibilities, from onboarding new hires to developing leadership skills within the sales team.

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor phrases it like this:

“Giving sales reps the knowledge and decision-making capabilities to produce outputs that generate revenue.”

Natasha Lindsay owns “…the global training calendar, ensuring consistency and a focused learning approach.” She also shares that some of the training is done in person and some virtually.

Danica Bangert’s training areas of focus include sales techniques and product knowledge:

“Creating training programs to equip customer-facing teams with the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to succeed/hit their goals, including product knowledge and sales techniques.”

Lisa Giusto’s responsibilities also involve training and development, “…covering sales methodologies, onboarding, upskilling, coaching, maintaining the sales knowledge base, and product enablement.”

Kayleigh Hogan designs “…role-specific onboarding and certification programs, [as well as ] coaching”.

Tanuja Paruchuri’s responsibilities also entail, “…onboarding and training new hires and training on sales skills and sales methodologies.”

Even if all quotes haven’t been included in this particular subsection, virtually all of our contributors at least mentioned training and development as being included in their responsibilities.

Content creation and management

In order to be able to sell effectively and efficiently, salespeople need to have access to the right sales content at the right time.

This is mirrored by the large portion of our contributors who are also responsible for sales enablement assets and materials. 

Natasha Lindsay, Danica Bangert, Kayleigh Hogan, and Milko George are just some of the directors who also oversee at least some of the content creation and management, usually in collaboration with the marketing team.

Danica is the only one who elaborated on some of the types of sales content her team supplies:

• Slide presentations

• Case studies

• Call libraries

• Objection-handling guides

The absence of more specific content-related activities and details is likely due to the seniority of the contributors and the fact that most of them oversee enablement teams responsible for constructing and managing sales content directly.

Technology management

Sales teams today have more technology at their disposal than ever before, but without proper oversight, these tools can become unwieldy and even hinder their ability to do their jobs effectively.

Some sales enablement directors take on the critical task of tech oversight themselves.

Natasha Lindsay, for example, manages “…the technology roadmap and preference for all technology across the organisation,” ensuring that sales, marketing, and product management teams have the tools they need. This includes overseeing budgets and collaborating with IT.

Lisa Giusto sees her oversight of technology as a part of the SalesOps aspect of her role. 

Danica Bangert describes her tech-related responsibilities as “overseeing the implementation and management of sales enablement tools and platforms to streamline processes and enhance productivity”.

Many of the contributors also highlighted tools as a key part of the arsenal they provide to support sellers and their teams.

Continuous improvement and change management

As strategic leaders, sales and revenue enablement directors play a key role in driving the continuous improvement of their function and its impact on GTM teams.

At the heart of this responsibility lies effective change management.

Lindsay Lane frames continuous improvement as a means to prepare the sales force for market changes and enhance customer engagement:

“I focus on driving continuous improvement cycles for GTM teams through data-driven insights and training, onboarding, content management, making sure we are enabling these teams on market changes and customer engagement.”

Danica Bangert focuses on how the enablement function itself needs to always improve and how she approaches this responsibility,

“Analyzing performance data and adoption metrics to identify areas for improvement and refine enablement strategies.” Danica also points out how important it is to establish feedback loops with revenue leadership to ensure enablement is moving in the right direction and increasing its effectiveness.

For Fiona NicChoiligh, this means no one-and-done programmes:

“I’m a huge advocate of programmatic enablement. I love the model: Learn > Practice/Do > Validate > Sustain.”

Fiona is also very clear about who the key linchpin is in sustaining the change:

“As we all know, most of our programs live or die on the shoulders of our front-line leaders. 

Enabling them to drive the behaviour change is key – ensuring to enable them first, or even better, including them in the build of the program, then empowering them with scorecards to consistently coach to the new behaviour, using trackers and initiative boards to track adoption, and then, most importantly, correlate that to the lagging indicators chosen with the leaders at the beginning of the program.” 

Natasha Lindsay shares her preferred approach to change management, citing the ADKAR Model as a framework for guiding and sustaining change effectively.

What skills do sales enablement directors need to succeed?

When I asked our contributors about the essential skills needed to excel as a director of sales, their responses revealed a diverse and insightful range of perspectives.

While common themes emerged, each director shared a unique take on what it takes to thrive in this role.

Let’s delve deeper into their insights.

Leadership and strategic vision

Leadership is undeniably a cornerstone skill for a director of sales enablement. This extends beyond managing teams to embodying a visionary approach that aligns enablement initiatives with overarching business goals.

One contributor emphasised the importance of “enterprise thinking,” where understanding the organisation holistically allows for strategic alignment across departments.

Eric Magnuson highlighted the necessity of strategic thinking, particularly in identifying enablement work that drives business growth and proving its value. This involves setting a clear direction and sales enablement strategy, making informed decisions, and inspiring others to follow suit.

Claire Davis echoed this sentiment, underscoring adaptability and the ability to foster collaboration as key leadership traits.

Effective communication and influencing skills

Communication emerged as another critical skill, encompassing both the ability to convey ideas clearly and to influence others without formal authority.

Michelle Curtis pointed out that being a great communicator and collaborator is essential since “…our job outcomes rely on our relationship with people.”

Crafting compelling internal narratives, as Eric Magnuson noted, helps align teams and drive initiatives forward.

The ability to simplify complex ideas into actionable insights ensures that everyone, from executives to frontline sales reps, understands and buys into the enablement strategies.

Eric also noted the importance of being able to influence senior leaders on the need for change, especially when enablement might be undervalued or misunderstood. 

Influencing skills are particularly important when working cross-functionally. Lindsay Lane mentioned the need to “influence without authority” due to the collaborative nature of the role.

Building strong relationships and demonstrating credibility enable directors to guide stakeholders towards shared objectives effectively.

Fiona Simpson emphasised the importance of understanding cross-functional roles and how to build alignment, frequently asking, “Why are we doing this?” 

Building and maintaining strong relationships across the organisation facilitates collaboration and ensures that enablement initiatives receive the necessary support.

Milko George highlighted the challenge of shifting perceptions of enablement from merely training to a resource that enhances performance and drives results.

Understanding of sales processes and buyer journeys

A deep comprehension of sales methodologies, processes, and the buyer’s journey is another skill that kept cropping up in the responses. 

Having experience as a salesperson or sales leader can enhance this understanding. Dwayne Bess listed past success in sales roles as a key skill, indicating that firsthand experience can inform more effective enablement strategies.

However, even without direct sales experience, a director must grasp the nuances of the sales cycle and buyer personas to tailor support effectively.

Claire Davis highlighted the importance of aligning enablement strategies with the buyer journey, ensuring that sales teams are equipped to meet customer needs effectively. Empathy towards both customers and sales teams helps in designing programmes that resonate and deliver value.

Analytical thinking and data/tech proficiency

Data-driven decision-making is increasingly important in sales enablement as more and more data points become available and analytics software is adopted at an increasing pace.

Danica Bangert put forward analytical thinking as essential for assessing performance and making strategy improvements.

Proficiency in analysing sales data and sales enablement metrics allows directors to identify trends, understand gaps, and demonstrate the impact of their initiatives.

Eric Magnuson pointed out the importance of proving how enablement work drives business growth.

This requires not only collecting data but also interpreting it to tell a compelling story about the value of enablement efforts. Familiarity with technology tools and platforms that facilitate data analysis enhances this capability, along with strong communication skills to ensure insights drive action.

Proficiency with technology goes beyond just data tools. Technical proficiency, particularly with software that makes salespeople’s lives easier, is becoming increasingly important.

Tim Stansky highlighted the value of staying up to date with emerging technologies that enhance sales processes.

Project management and organisational skills

Managing multiple initiatives simultaneously demands strong organisational skills and adept project management.

Lindsay Lane mentioned the necessity of project management and technology proficiency, enabling the coordination of complex programmes across different teams.

Michelle Curtis added that being organised, adaptable, and possessing a sense of urgency are crucial.

The ability to prioritise tasks, manage time effectively, and keep projects on track leads to enablement initiatives that are executed efficiently and meet objectives.

Adaptability, creativity, and continuous learning

The dynamic nature of sales environments requires adaptability and a commitment to continuous learning.

Tim Stansky advised being flexible and open to options, recognising that rarely are there only two ways to approach a problem. Embracing creativity allows directors to develop innovative solutions that address unique challenges.

Fiona NicChoiligh emphasised curiosity and agility, coupled with the ability to build strong relationships and push back when necessary. Resilience can also be included here, reflecting the challenges inherent in driving change within an organisation.

Lindsay Lane spoke of the need for a growth mindset, being willing to receive feedback, admit mistakes, and pivot when necessary. Viewing setbacks as opportunities for growth fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Unique skills and perspectives

Several contributors offered some other unique insights based on their experiences:

• Lawrence Wayne O’Connor emphasised the ability to connect with people to understand their needs, particularly in relating technical architecture to business outcomes.

• Kayleigh Hogan leverages design thinking principles, using tools like Strategy Maps and Empathy Maps to align with stakeholders and simplify concepts into memorable content.

• Christina Ortega highlighted the importance of being a good mentor and partner to direct reports, building a diverse and high-performing team.

Who does a director of sales enablement report to?

When I talked to sales enablement managers as part of my day in the life of a sales enablement manager article, I uncovered a wide (some might even say chaotic) range of reporting structures.

Naturally, I expected a similar outcome when I asked our contributors who they report to as sales enablement directors.

However, as it turned out, reporting structures appear to become more standardised at higher levels of enablement leadership, even in a function as traditionally varied as enablement.

That said, it’s worth noting that the pool of contributors here isn’t large enough to draw definitive, statistically significant conclusions. Still, their responses provide valuable insights into how the sales enablement function is positioned in mature organisations.

The vast majority of leaders we spoke to report to revenue-related roles, reflecting the central position of enablement within the commercial unit. This alignment makes sense given that our contributors primarily work at companies with established enablement functions:

• Five of them report directly to the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

• Four report to either the VP or SVP of Revenue Operations, with one of these VPs also reporting up to the CRO.

• In three cases, the directors report to similarly commercial roles, albeit with different titles—such as SVP of GTM Strategy and Ops, SVP of Global Sales Operations, and Executive Director of Commercial Excellence.

• Three directors report to superiors within enablement itself, such as the Senior Director of Sales Enablement (who in turn reports to the VP of Global Enablement), the VP of Strategic Enablement (GTM Enablement), and the VP of Enablement within Rev Ops.

Interestingly, only two contributors report to non-commercial roles. One reports to a Senior Director of Training and Enablement with a corporate-wide focus, and the other to a VP of HR. Notably, this latter director has also reported to various other roles in the past, including the COO, Senior VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, and the CEO.”

Alignment with sales and other GTM departments

As someone very much invested in the enablement field, I’ve always adamantly stood behind the claim that cross-departmental collaboration that involves the sales organisation (across all its verticals) and other go-to-market teams is the key to strategic, effective enablement. 

This is why I didn’t want cross-functional alignment to be just another responsibility that directors might casually mention as one of their key priorities (which they did).

I wanted to dig deeper and find out how they establish and nurture clear communication with the sales organisation and other departments. 

The necessity of meetings

Claire Davis was refreshingly honest when she shared, “…unfortunately, there’s a lot of meetings”. 

There are not that many people (sales and revenue enablement directors included) who will say that meetings are their favourite thing in the world. However, we all understand the value of regular, collaboration-driven meetings with key stakeholders across the organisation. 

The simple truth is that there’s no more effective way to communicate complex ideas, concepts, and interactions than through meetings where you’re directly engaging with other stakeholders – whether face-to-face in person or virtually on a screen.

It is the responsibility of enablement leaders to stay attuned to the state of the sales organisation and identify ways to facilitate collaboration with other departments to drive revenue outcomes. Achieving this requires establishing a cadence of meaningful, value-driven meetings that minimise the risk of losing critical information or important nuances. 

As Fiona NicChoiligh puts it succinctly:

“You can never over-communicate”.

It is important to note the context in which Fiona puts this, so I will share the full quote:

“Keeping a strong focus on comms is also a huge responsibility more so than ever in this global and hybrid world.  You can never over-communicate so I work really hard on a strategy that endeavours to eliminate noise but get the field the right information when they need it.“

As you can see, she’s not advocating for endless meetings around the clock. In fact, her focus is on cutting through the noise while ensuring meaningful communication is improved.

To put it simply, yes, there are a lot of meetings, but it falls on enablement directors to make sure those meetings bring value to everyone involved.

In the visual below, you can see the key meetings our contributors highlighted as essential for maintaining alignment internally, as well as with sales teams and other GTM departments.

While many of the responses highlighted meetings as the primary means for aligning enablement with sales and other departments, our contributors had much more to share beyond that.

Staying on top of the sales organisation

The ultimate goal of every sales and revenue enablement director is to help revenue teams operate at peak efficiency and effectiveness and, as a result, drive sales performance.

This requires maintaining a deep understanding of the sales organisation’s needs, challenges, and achievements, sales strategy, as well as proactive engagement with sales teams, data-driven insights, and continuous alignment with sales leadership.

Maintaining open lines of communication with sales representatives and leaders is crucial. Natasha Lindsay emphasises the importance of “always talking to the sales team and sales leaders to hear what is on their mind.”

By engaging in regular conversations, enablement leaders can gain firsthand insights into the team’s experiences, concerns, and suggestions.

Fiona NicChoiligh shares the way in which she stays in touch with sales:

“I meet my second line leaders every 2 weeks and my front line monthly to keep those relationships really strong and to ensure I’m keeping a pulse on what’s happening on the ground.”

While it is critical to stay in touch with front-line sales personnel, it is sales leadership that ultimately steers the ship, and enablement directors are more than aware of this.

For instance, Lindsay Lane constantly checks in with sales leaders to ensure alignment. She notes that directives from the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) or Chief Sales Officer (CSO) become high-priority items, highlighting the need to stay attuned to leadership’s evolving expectations.

Kayleigh Hogan makes sure to provide weekly updates to her head of sales and the CRO and incorporates their feedback and guidance.

Tanuja Parachuri attends a regular sales leadership meeting hosted by their CRO where all of their sales leaders get together to discuss how the month is going and bring up any blockers or needs. 

Analysing sales performance data is a key activity for staying on top of the organisation’s health.

Eric Magnuson reviews data to identify areas where the business is improving and where it needs enhancement. He creates a point of view (POV) based on this analysis and discusses it with stakeholders to align and determine the best path forward.

Lisa Giusto combines performance analysis with feedback from sales reps. By “listening to feedback from sales reps and reviewing performance data,” she gains a comprehensive understanding of the team’s performance and can adjust enablement strategies accordingly.

Michelle Curtis regularly reviews revenue numbers, quota attainment, enablement programme’s specific statistics, and more. This holistic review helps identify trends, spot potential issues early, and measure the effectiveness of enablement initiatives.

Understanding and addressing skills gaps within the sales team is essential for continuous improvement.

Milko George works closely with regional sales leaders and their direct reports to “continuously assess skills gaps and regional needs.” 

Establishing feedback loops with the sales team helps in refining strategies and addressing real-time challenges. Michele Parente DeFonzo emphasises the use of sales feedback loops to discuss issues, collaborate on creating new sales materials, and devise appropriate enablement interventions. 

Collaborating with other departments

Looking at one of the visuals above, which highlights the various meetings sales enablement directors organise or attend, it’s clear how much emphasis they place on collaborating with other GTM departments, such as marketing, product, and customer success.

However, true alignment requires more than occasional meetings; it demands ongoing efforts to keep everyone focused on the same overarching goals. 

Claire Davis, for example, stresses the importance of regular cadences with PMM, Product, and Solution Strategy teams. By engaging in these consistent interactions, she ensures that product positioning and solution messaging are effectively translated to the field.

Tanuja Paruchuri meets with PMM every two weeks and connects weekly with the VP of PMM and the PMM Director, which is especially important in a product-first company. She also engages with Content Marketing monthly to align on materials that support the sales process.

Natasha Lindsay collaborates with Marketing on an ongoing basis, focusing on product launches and new content campaigns. She also works closely with Product Management and other operational teams to ensure the sales team has up-to-date information, resources, and tools to engage effectively with customers.

Milko George participates in steering committees and roadmap planning meetings, collaborating with key stakeholders to align enablement initiatives with organisational goals.

He employs a prioritisation framework for enablement requests, developed in collaboration with stakeholders, to manage resources effectively and address the most important needs.

Staying connected with Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) allows him to align enablement efforts with budgetary considerations and revenue targets.

Christina Ortega, aside from engaging in weekly sync with sales and other GTM teams, also participates in a few company-wide initiatives, which help her stay up to speed on what the rest of the company is doing and help her prioritise what the sales organisation needs.

Interestingly, Kayleigh Hogan mentioned how she facilitated an empathy mapping exercise with key stakeholders to identify perceived gaps. By creating a “quick wins” list and securing buy-in from senior leadership, she was able to address immediate needs collaboratively.

She also provides weekly updates to the Head of Sales and the CRO to ensure ongoing alignment and incorporate leadership guidance into sales enablement initiatives.

A breakdown of daily activities

While the description of the sales enablement directors’ responsibilities and their personal journeys has provided us with unprecedented insights, you can only fully understand what the role entails when you “walk a mile in their shoes”.

I figured the best way to do this is to ask our contributors about their usual workdays – what they tackle first in their day, how they spend their afternoons, and how they wrap things up. 

Morning

For the majority of our contributors, the day begins with a focus on communication and organisation. Checking emails and messages on platforms like Slack or Teams is a common first task, especially for those working with global teams across different time zones.

Many sales enablement directors scan overnight communications to address any urgent matters that may have arisen, ensuring that colleagues in regions like APAC receive timely responses.

Natasha Lindsay mentioned that she often checks her messages before even starting her official workday, sometimes while heading to the gym. This early attention to communications helps her stay ahead and manage any pressing issues promptly.

Planning and prioritisation are key themes in the morning routines. Several contributors allocate the first hour of their day to organise their tasks and set priorities.

Lindsay Lane blocks off this time to figure out where she left off and identify what absolutely needs to be accomplished that day. By reviewing her calendar and updating to-do lists, she ensures that she remains aligned with company goals and can tackle high-impact activities.

Prioritising tasks often involves focusing on those that drive the most value for the business and stakeholders. Contributors emphasise the importance of aligning activities with strategic objectives and being adaptable to changing priorities.

For instance, Claire Davis addresses tasks that can be quickly concluded or delegated first to maximise efficiency.

Some contributors use the early hours for strategic thinking and planning.

Fiona NicChoiligh blocks an hour each morning specifically for thinking and planning, noting that without this dedicated time, she might end up in reactive mode – a situation she aims to avoid. This proactive approach allows her to focus on long-term goals and develop communication strategies to ensure everyone knows the objectives and expectations.

Balancing meetings with focused work is another common consideration.

While meetings are an integral part of their roles, contributors strive to manage them effectively to maintain productivity.

Lindsay Lane mentioned that mid-week days are meeting-heavy, so she utilises mornings to progress priority items before the meetings commence. By front-loading her day with essential tasks, she can be certain that critical work moves forward despite a busy schedule.

Managing communications efficiently is essential to minimise distractions. Some contributors choose not to check emails constantly throughout the day.

Lindsay Lane explains that she focuses on what’s on her plate for the day and tends to only respond to emails immediately if they are coming from executive leadership. This approach helps her maintain focus and reduces the likelihood of being sidetracked by less critical communications.

Personal well-being also features prominently in the morning routines. Engaging in activities like going to the gym, walking dogs, or other forms of exercise helps some directors start the day refreshed and energised. Danica Bangert shared that this routine clears her mind and prepares her to tackle the day’s challenges effectively.

For those supporting global organisations, flexibility in scheduling is crucial. Adjusting their routines to accommodate different time zones helps with effective collaboration with colleagues worldwide.

Natasha Lindsay aims to have some organisation time before calls start, which can range from product or sales trainings to designing new features for the sales and marketing tech stack.

In summary, the mornings of sales enablement directors are characterised by a blend of communication management, strategic planning, prioritisation, and personal well-being activities. By thoughtfully structuring their mornings, they set a solid foundation for the day, balancing immediate demands with long-term initiatives. 

Afternoon

For many sales enablement directors, the afternoon marks a shift towards intensified collaboration, especially with global teams coming online from different time zones.

As colleagues from various regions become available, afternoons are often filled with meetings, strategic discussions, and coordination efforts.

A common theme among our contributors is dedicating afternoons to stakeholder engagement and team meetings.

Fiona Simpson uses this time for meetings with stakeholders and teams, ensuring alignment on key initiatives. She also sets aside Tuesday afternoons for what she calls “Warren Buffet Time,” focusing on reading and research to stay updated on industry trends and enhance her strategic thinking.

Similarly, Claire Davis finds her afternoons generally back-to-back with calls, having addressed her tasks in the morning. This schedule allows her to collaborate effectively with her US-based stakeholders and direct reports.

Working with global teams requires flexibility and thoughtful scheduling.

Fiona NicChoiligh mentions that her afternoons are mostly focused on the US, engaging in OKR (Objectives and Key Results) alignment, project work, and one-on-ones with her team and leaders there.

Natasha Lindsay echoes this, stating that her afternoons are more focused on EMEA and North America teams, adapting her schedule to meet the needs of colleagues across these regions.

Balancing meetings with productive work is a challenge that many address by organising their day strategically. Lindsay Lane doesn’t have a typical afternoon but engages in a variety of activities such as:

• Meetings with different business functions

• Leadership calls

• Checking in on enablement projects and team progress

• Updating and maintaining content in CMS platforms

• Reviewing sales calls and providing feedback

• Analysing data-driven metrics to identify gaps

• One-on-one meetings

• Project stream meetings

She adapts her tasks based on the priorities of the day so that key initiatives move forward.

Some contributors aim to schedule meetings in the afternoon to preserve their mornings for focused work (as I also tend to do).

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor tries to keep most meetings to the afternoon, allowing him to concentrate on key initiatives first thing in the morning when he’s most productive.

Despite meeting-heavy schedules, many enablement leaders find ways to continue strategic work.

Michelle Curtis notes that while some afternoons are filled with meetings like one-on-ones, training sessions, leadership sessions, or workshops, others provide time to focus on data and gap analysis, overall enablement strategy, or reviewing new tools.

Christina Ortega dedicates her afternoons to follow-ups and development work. This includes creating content for team trainings, updating the content management system, and identifying external training opportunities that could benefit the team.

Working with global teams often means that afternoons are the prime time for cross-regional collaboration.

Milko George spends his afternoons in meetings with counterparts in the US/North America and with senior sales leadership on the East Coast. When his schedule allows, he also focuses on learning, reading, and personal development activities to stay informed and enhance his skills.

For some, the afternoon is a continuation of the day’s momentum, addressing action items and planning ahead.

Kayleigh Hogan fills her afternoons with meetings, tackling action items from the day, and preparing for the next day. She also ensures that her roadmap and charter are up-to-date. 

Time management is critical, especially due to such a packed schedule.

Danica Bangert prioritises tasks based on urgency and impact, using methods like the Eisenhower Matrix to categorise her activities. She leaves time for programme creation for her team and schedules follow-ups on ongoing projects or initiatives.

In summary, afternoons for sales enablement directors are dynamic and often meeting-intensive, especially due to the need to collaborate with global teams. They balance stakeholder meetings, team coordination, and strategic initiatives while remaining adaptable to the many demands of their role. 

Closing Time

As the day winds down, most contributors take time to reflect on their accomplishments and prepare for the next day’s tasks and activities. Concluding the day effectively ensures a smooth transition and sets the stage for continued productivity.

A common practice among our contributors is reviewing and organising communications.

Fiona Simpson wraps up her day with an inbox clean-up and calendar review, ensuring no important messages are overlooked and that she’s prepared for upcoming commitments.

Similarly, Claire Davis makes notes of any urgent tasks to be addressed first thing in the morning and performs a quick scan of emails and Teams messages. On Friday afternoons, she takes a deeper look at what’s coming up and adjusts her diary as needed.

Prioritising tasks for the following day is a key theme.

Eric Magnuson conducts a short review of his day, assessing what he worked on and determining what needs to be re-prioritised for the days ahead.

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor uses the last 30 to 60 minutes to catch up on any loose ends and plans out tasks for the next day, delegating urgent but less important items.

Some directors create checklists or priority lists to stay organised.

Christina Ortega crafts a checklist for the next day, moving unaccomplished tasks to the top and adding new ones at the bottom.

Tanuja Paruchuri writes down the top three things she aims to accomplish the following day, helping her maintain focus on key objectives.

Balancing work and personal life is also important.

Michelle Curtis notes that she usually ends her day when her children remind her it’s time to stop working. While she admits she doesn’t often prepare for the next day, she stays connected via Slack in case something arises.

Fiona NicChoiligh values boundaries, especially when supporting multiple regions and time zones. She might take time during the day for personal activities like walking her dog or attending a Pilates class, and occasionally works later when creativity strikes.

Several contributors emphasise the importance of wrapping up tasks to a natural stopping point.

Kayleigh Hogan reviews her progress on tasks and prepares for the next day’s priorities.

Tim Stansky ticks off planned tasks and looks ahead to balance his weekly priorities within the rolling-month calendar.

Engaging in end-of-day reflections or personal development is another way directors conclude their days.

Danica Bangert enjoys conducting research on the enablement space and sharing insights with her team via Slack.

Milko George, recognising that his global role rarely has a clean endpoint, wraps up by creating a short list of priorities for the next day and sets aside time for reading industry updates or learning materials.

Effective communication and ensuring alignment remain focal points even at day’s end.

Natasha Lindsay makes sure to send follow-up emails and actions, aligning tasks with the appropriate individuals. She believes in the adage “he who holds the pen writes history,” using these communications to drive the right activities and maintain momentum. 

In summary, concluding the day for sales enablement directors involves a blend of organisational activities, reflection, and preparation for the next day or week.

How do directors of sales enablement work on their professional development? 

Becoming a director-level enablement professional is an impressive milestone, and one of the things I appreciate the most about the contributors is their ongoing commitment to personal and professional growth.

To put it simply, no one is resting on their laurels. They are always striving to learn new things, explore new ideas and points of view and contribute to the discipline as a whole.

A common thread among the directors is a commitment to continuous learning. They take advantage of an ever-growing wealth of resources to broaden their knowledge and gain fresh perspectives.

This includes listening to podcasts – such as Revenue Builders, Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, and others focused on sales enablement and leadership.

Reading is also a staple in their routines. Many directors dedicate time each morning to dive into books, industry reports, and articles from thought leaders.

Attending webinars, online courses, and masterclasses is another way they sharpen their skills. Whether it’s LinkedIn Learning courses, YouTube masterclasses, or specialised programmes in areas like change management and data analytics, these educational resources help them deepen (and widen) their expertise.

One director mentioned taking a writing course, believing that strong writing skills are invaluable in sales (which I couldn’t agree more). 

Their enablement experience has taught them to apply new knowledge as soon as possible to avoid the pitfall of passive consumption without practical implementation.

By integrating new insights into their daily work – whether through updated sales enablement initiatives, improved communication, or innovative training methods – they ensure that their professional development translates into tangible benefits for their teams and organisations.

Networking and community engagementadd a personal layer to their professional growth. Many participate actively in enablement industry communities and attend conferences such as the Sales Enablement Collective (SEC), Revenue Enablement Society (RES), and Women in Sales Enablement (WiSE).

These platforms offer opportunities to learn from peers, share experiences, and stay connected with the broader enablement community.

Some not only attend but also present at these events, contributing their insights while learning from others.

The directors also highlight the value of mentorship and coaching. Working with mentors helps them navigate their career paths, gain new perspectives, and tackle challenges more effectively – just as coaching does.

Engaging with thought leadership content is a regular practice.

Platforms like LinkedIn serve as hubs for following industry experts, participating in discussions, and sharing insights. By commenting on posts, writing articles, and connecting with other professionals, they contribute to and benefit from the collective knowledge of the enablement community.

An interesting perspective shared by one contributor is the approach of doubling down on strengths while mitigating weaknesses.

Rather than solely randomly refining their skills, they invest time in enhancing what they already excel at, amplifying their impact in those domains. 

Additional advice and pearls of wisdom

As it has become something of a tradition in our Day in the Life articles, I asked our contributors if they’d like to add something that our readers might find interesting, encouraging, or even cautionary – something from their personal experience as veterans of enablement. 

Let’s explore what they had to say.

Eric Magnuson:

“It’s challenging. It requires a lot of hard work, a lot of resilience, and in some ways it’s a thankless job. If you do your job well, the business is growing, salespeople are happy, and they don’t see you.

If the business isn’t growing, suddenly you’re on the hot seat to deliver and ‘get the business growing again.’

Not for the faint of heart, but man, is it so much fun!”

Lindsay Lane:

“Enablement needs to establish itself at the seat of the GTM table. Establish credibility with the sales leaders, be confident in your role of helping sellers be successful, and take initiative. 

Take note of the historical trends of the business. 

If you’re not involved in those conversations, ask to participate. 

Use data-driven points to drive your goals. 

Be curious, be an active listener, ask the right questions, get scrappy, and be a doer. 

It’s also important to be an observer – how do reps respond to critical feedback, how do they respond to coaching, what does a great rep look like in your business, how do sales managers/leaders manage, are sales leaders receptive to enablement. “

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor:

“I think Enablement has a lot of work to do still to unify the perception of what it is we do; if there was one word I could use to describe what enablement does, it would be ‘Orchestrate’.”

Michelle Curtis:

“Be prepared for ANYTHING – every company is different and has different expectations for their enablement team.”

Dwayne Bess:

“It can be cutthroat as poor-performing organizations cut these roles first.”

Natasha Lindsay:

“This job is fast-paced, full of variety, and great projects to make an impact. But you need to have a get-stuff-done mentality, or you will never have credibility with the sales team and show success.”

Tim Stansky:

“The typical tenure seems to be 2 years. Deliver value, but know the duration of your role and pressures are reflective of your company’s life cycle. Startups might have higher turnover, while legacy tech companies often cull the herds with impersonal layoffs.”

Danica Bangert:

“Make sure to have fun; inject your personality into the details so it feels more like a person-run-and-led department!”

Michele Parente DeFonzo:

“The industry is evolving, and it is very exciting to be a part of it.  There is a lot of fulfilment in helping others succeed.”

Kayleigh Hogan:

“The role requires versatility – you’ll often switch between being an individual contributor and a leader. You’ll oversee existing programs while also developing new initiatives. Listening, asking questions, aligning with key metrics valued by the CRO, and advocating for the strategic importance of enablement beyond mere training are essential to success.”

Christina Ortega:

“Your priorities are constantly shifting – keep focused on true north, which is enabling the sales for success.”

Conclusion

As we’ve explored the journeys shared by our contributors, it’s evident that the role of a director of sales enablement demands a distinctive combination of strategic vision, leadership, business acumen, and stakeholder management on a global scale.

Their days are shaped by strategic planning, collaboration, and the continuous adaptation required to meet the evolving needs of the business. It’s a role that also calls for ongoing self-improvement and the honing of a diverse skill set to excel at this level.

I hope this deep dive into the daily lives and responsibilities of these accomplished professionals has offered valuable insights into what it takes to succeed in such a pivotal role.

Whether you’re aspiring to reach this stage in your career or looking to refine your current practices, understanding the intricacies of this position can guide your path.

A heartfelt thank you to Christina, Claire, Danica, Dwayne, Eric, Fiona N., Fiona S., Kayleigh, Lawrence, Lindsay, Lisa, Michele, Michelle, Milko, Natasha, Tanuja, and Tim for generously sharing their stories and expertise!

PS: If you wish to learn even more about the role, you can check out my piece outlining a generalised director of sales enablement job description.