Franziska Rduch and Jimena Real de Azúa de Kuhn, Sales Enablement Team Leads at Personio, stepped into their leadership roles in August of 2022 and were seeking ways to bring a more strategic approach to their function.

As part of the Q4 2022 cohort of our Leadership Accelerator program, the pair had the opportunity to learn from enablement experts and their peers over the course of six weeks - and beyond thanks to the program’s networking opportunities.

The pair were kind enough to share their thoughts with us on:

  • How they discovered the program
  • How their experience was on a week-to-week basis
  • Whether they found the program valuable and worthwhile
  • What they’d say to someone who was considering joining the program

How did the pair discover the program?

Franziska: We found out about it because we've been following Sales Enablement Collective on LinkedIn, and that's how we got into the overall training catalog.

We saw this specific offer for leaders, and since we’d both stepped into a leadership role, recently we wanted to do that in order to upskill.

We got a recommendation from an SEC team member to take the Leadership Accelerator before trying the e-learning-based courses SEC offers.

How was their experience on a week-to-week basis?

Jimena: As Franziska said, we stepped into the leadership role in August and we wanted to give the sales enablement team at Personio a more strategic approach. The program was really well-structured in order to help us start building the sales enablement charter for our team.

It was really valuable that we could connect with other sales enablement leaders from different industries (and countries) to understand how they’re approaching challenges in their companies, while also sharing best practices.

With them, I think that it was really valuable to understand that when it comes to the challenges we face in our company, we're not alone.

Other people are also facing those kinds of challenges and we can learn how they overcame them.

Hearing from experienced sales enablement leaders, who are recognised and have been in the role for a long time was great.

To name just one, Teri Long (Vice President, Revenue Enablement) - I think she was amazing, the experiences that she shared with us were great, as was having the opportunity to learn from them as well.

Franziska: To add to that, I think it was great in that it became a cool habit over the three months.

It was like: “Okay, Wednesdays are for the Leadership Accelerator program”.

Because then it became like a ritual to think about specific parts of enablement on a weekly basis - it really felt like continuous development over three months, which was pretty cool.

Did you find the program worthwhile and valuable?

Jimena: Yes, absolutely. We found it valuable and it still is - it didn't end last year - we still have the possibility to connect with our fellow leaders.

I go back to the Slack channels to see the resources that are being shared or if I need some inspiration as well. It’s valuable not only through the course, but also with the networking opportunities that are created after the course as well.

Franziska: Yeah, I think so. Especially for European people it's quite cool because the timezone is perfect, with sessions in the evenings.

I feel like US companies are further ahead and more advanced when it comes to enablement than in Europe, where it's a newer thing.

This was especially valuable for us, as European enablement managers, to learn from the US folks.

What would you say to someone who was considering joining the program?

Jimena: I liked that the group was so small, so it felt really personal. This made it really individual.

So I think if you're considering the Leadership Accelerator program and need help with very specific problems that are very specific to your company or your role, I think it's the best way to get insights, help, and best practices.

It's so individual compared to more generic or broader courses.

Details on our next cohort

If reading this case study has piqued your interest, here’s a few more details about Sales Enablement Collective’s Leadership Accelerator program.

  • We run regular cohorts, with specific dates available here.
  • Each cohort consists of six weeks of sales enablement insights, geared towards making you a better leader.
  • You’ll gain access to actionable coursework, live weekly workshops, an exclusive alumni Slack channel, and more.

Get all details - including info on the awesome enablement experts involved - right here. 👈