Hiring a CS Leader for 2025? Here are the five must-have skills to watch out for

As the economy grows in most industries, it's time to consider your growth strategy for next year, your leadership team, and hiring. Time to prioritise and plan for 2025.

Here are the five must-have skills of a revenue leader for you to look out for.

1. Good Steward of Capital

The overall focus on growing efficiently and not at all costs will remain in 2025. Your future revenue leader should have a firm grasp of financial principles to manage budgets and forecasts while optimising revenue streams. Did your candidate spend money wisely in the past while scaling? Great! A good steward of capital understands the responsibility and recognises that they are entrusted with capital, not given it. They aim to create long-term client value and evaluate financial consequences before changing or eliminating activities.

2. Purpose-Driven

Purpose-driven revenue leaders help their teams find personal meaning in their work. Mentoring to reach targets or quota attainments is not good enough - purpose-driven leaders model value-based decision-making and take time to learn what truly matters to their employees. They connect work to a more significant objective, are more likely to develop and maintain solid relationships and are better equipped to navigate leadership challenges.

3. Peer Player

Your future revenue leader must be a proactive team or peer player. Gone are the days of CROs with big egos. If your focus is on efficient growth, look for candidates who have been good peers to their fellow leadership members in the past. They connect the dots with marketing and product teams, and they have a record of setting up processes to share the voices of their customers. Your CFO should become their best friend.

4. System Architect

Setting up or scaling your revenue department means looking for someone who understands acquisition and growth stages as one system. As the role of customer success changes, your new leader looks at the entire funnel, from prospecting the right ICP to generating client lifetime value. They have proof of a system that allows them to identify what to change quickly. Revenue leaders must coordinate orchestrated revenue plays across CS, AEs, and BDRs and drive a relentless focus on customer success throughout the organisation.

5. Creative Outbound Mindset

Creativity in outbound efforts is critical to stand out in 2025. Watch out for leaders who can tell you stories about their innovative expansion strategies. What is their POV of utilising relationship data to identify potential leads—such as former employees or connections within targeted companies? Or conducting company-wide prospecting days? How do they use AI in outbound while creating a personalised approach to increase pipeline?

The job description of your revenue leaders in 2025 has changed. Knowing your numbers as a CRO or CCO is a given, but connecting values with people and leading with purpose will become critical skills you should remember.

If you need help with hiring your revenue leader for 2025, please reach out and let's have a chat.