A Conversation With Emily Cates, VP Sales Transformation & Revenue Ops, Zebra Technologies Corporation
Emily Cates, Head of Go-to-Market Transformation and Operations at Zebra Technologies, has built a career by saying yes to opportunities before having every detail figured out. Starting in HR and talent development, she moved into the business through chief of staff, services operations, P&L leadership, and eventually enterprise transformation. Along the way, she experienced startups, hypergrowth, acquisitions, and a successful business turnaround. Her journey has given her a unique perspective on what it takes to move people from agreeing that change is necessary to aligning around HOW to make it happen together.
Episode Takeaways:
- Treat transformation like value selling. Enterprise leaders need a compelling reason to participate in change. Emily emphasizes understanding what matters to each stakeholder, investing in those relationships over time, and connecting transformation to the value they need to see.
- Build it together. Bringing leaders a fully baked solution can invite resistance. Emily prefers giving stakeholders something they can shape together, creating shared ownership instead of hoping everyone enthusiastically embraces someone else’s brilliant PowerPoint.
- Put the truth on the wall. During a professional services turnaround, Emily gathered candid feedback from customers, partners, and colleagues and created a literal “wall of truth.” Seeing the challenges together allowed the leadership team to identify themes, confront root causes, and align around what needed to change.
- Anchor transformation in shared meaning. Whether the goal is becoming more customer-first or changing a go-to-market model, leaders need clarity about what those ideas actually mean in behaviors and decisions. Connecting transformation to existing values and cultural expectations can make that alignment stronger.
- Use radical thinking to break groupthink. When teams get stuck, Emily deliberately introduces an idea far outside the current thinking. The team may never adopt the radical option, but exploring it can move everyone beyond the comfortable circle of familiar answers.
Emily leaves us with a timely challenge around AI. Its speed makes traditional, sequential approaches to alignment difficult. The opportunity is to figure out how to move far and fast without leaving alignment behind. That means treating alignment as iterative work, continuously learning, shaping, and adjusting together rather than waiting for the perfect answer before moving.
To connect with Emily Cates outside of this episode, connect with him on LinkedIn here.
To connect with Emily Cates outside of this episode, connect with him on LinkedIn here.
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Dr. Julie Williamson wrote the book on how to Make HOW Matter. After working with hundreds of executives and leadership teams at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, she created the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™ to bring the power of leadership alignment to more leaders at every level.
Dr. Julie Williamson wrote the book on how to Make HOW Matter. After working with hundreds of executives and leadership teams at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, she created the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™ to bring the power of leadership alignment to more leaders at every level.
Grounded in both real-world business experience and social science, this virtual, self-paced program helps you turn the principles of Make HOW Matter into practical leadership skills you can use every day. Whether you’re a small business owner, leading a division, or simply looking to increase your influence and drive better results, you’ll learn how to close the gap between agreement and true alignment, and turn priorities into action. Ready to make HOW matter? Explore the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™.
Learn more about Julie and Karrikins Group:
Creators and Guests
Host
Julie Williamson, PhD
Julie Williamson, PhD is the CEO and a Managing Partner at Karrikins Group, a Denver-based, global-serving business consultancy. Author, Keynote Speaker, and Host of The Failure Gap Podcast, Julie is a leading voice in how alignment can transform leaders and organizations.
Guest
Emily Cates
I am a transformation‑driven revenue and commercial operations leader with experience across early‑stage technology companies and global enterprises. My background spans HR, Services, and Sales Operations, giving me a multi‑functional perspective on how organizations grow, scale, and execute. My work focuses on simplifying complexity, aligning organizations around the highest‑value priorities, and building scalable systems that enable predictable, profitable growth. I lead global Revenue Operations for Zebra Technologies, integrating commercial processes, data, technology, and operating rhythms into a unified model that strengthens forecast accuracy, enhances pipeline quality, and embeds AI‑driven insights into daily execution. My goal is to ensure our commercial engine scales with precision across markets and business lines.
