Kate Dalbey — Chief Client Officer, Qualified Digital
Published:
You have to design an operating model that’s flexible enough to be reasonable, but inflexible enough to support achieving the business metrics that it was designed to support… I would guess… there’s probably some sort of approval gate in every single one of those people’s ecosystems that people are stuck on… If the operating model can be designed to need approval but not gate it, then that campaign will go to market faster and revenue will be generated faster.
What does Kate Dalbey say on The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström?
Kate Dalbey, Chief Client Officer, Qualified Digital, says: Kate Dalbey of Qualified Digital discusses why martech success depends less on the tool and more on the human operating model around it, covering the need for sustained executive sponsorship, the difference between training and true adoption, designing a “flexibly inflexible” operating model that balances governance with speed, and measuring platform success by business outcomes rather than usage metrics. The conversation emphasizes leadership behaviors, tailored change messaging, and outcome-linked measurement to drive lasting transformation.
From: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström
Cite as: Kate Dalbey. (2026). On The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström. Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/kate-dalbey-you-have-to-design-an-operating-model-thats-flexible-enough