Rachel Roberts is Chief Revenue Officer at Level Access, bringing deep leadership experience from global firms like Cisco, Adobe and high growth SaaS scaleups. With a proven record guiding organisations from tens of millions to enterprise scale, Rachel stands out for helping teams adapt and thrive through periods of major change. Her work covers industries from marketing technology to cybersecurity and always puts people at the centre of transformation.
In this episode, Rachel explains how to bring teams with you when changing strategy, go to market or ways of working. She shares honest stories about what works and what fails and why process alone is never enough. You will learn why most teams resist change, how to unlock informal leaders and why trust is your most important asset in a transformation. Rachel reveals her approach for building buy in, using FOMO to drive new habits and setting a vision that stretches people but keeps them united. The conversation covers compensation mistakes, keeping teams productive through uncertainty and what to do when your first attempt does not land. There is advice for new CROs taking over in times of upheaval and guidance on setting a bold vision without losing clarity.
00:00:00 Welcome and Rachel’s journey from Cisco to Level Access
00:02:10 Lessons learned leading change at Adobe and cybersecurity firms
00:05:30 How to win hearts and minds before rolling out new ways of working
00:09:15 The role of informal leaders and McKinsey research on successful transformations
00:13:00 Building trust by owning mistakes and fixing compensation models
00:17:30 Creating regular listening forums and why small cohorts beat big town halls
00:21:00 Setting vision as an ongoing process and making sure it passes the 30-second test
00:25:10 Helping high performers rise to a challenge while supporting those who struggle
00:28:30 Advice for new CROs on balancing board demands and team needs
00:31:50 Navigating constant change in growth companies and timing transformation work
00:36:00 Final tips for resilient leadership and keeping teams together during turbulence