If you’re reading this, chances are you’re either navigating a career in sales compensation or trying to break through to that next level—from Senior Manager to Director. It’s a leap I’ve been preparing for and reflecting on deeply, and I wanted to share my perspective, both as someone who has grown within this field and as a woman in corporate spaces that often expect you to prove not just your performance, but your readiness.

Sales compensation design is a unique blend of art and science. It demands technical fluency, analytical precision, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to manage both process and people under tight timelines and changing business needs. As a Senior Manager, I’ve lived in that balance. But moving to the Director level requires something more.

The Director Mindset

The biggest shift from Senior Manager to Director isn’t just about owning larger programs or teams. It’s about changing your altitude. As a Director, you’re expected to think more like an enterprise strategist: anticipating business needs, designing scalable frameworks, and influencing cross-functional leaders with clarity and confidence.

In my current role, I lead sales compensation and commercial operations for a $77M business segment at Philips. I’ve built comp plans from the ground up for new business units, streamlined processes across seven teams, and created executive-ready models that drive decisions at the leadership level. But what’s mattered just as much as the output is how I’ve led through it: aligning stakeholders, mentoring analysts, and shaping the narrative around performance.

Why I’m Ready

I believe I’m ready for a Director role not because I’ve mastered the tactical elements—though I have—but because I’m already operating with a Director lens.

I’m no longer just answering the question, “What should this comp plan look like?” Instead, I’m driving conversations like, “What behaviors are we incentivizing, and are they aligned to where our business is going?”

I’m not waiting for someone to define the roadmap—I’m building it, proposing it, and bringing others along.

And most importantly, I’m not afraid to lead with transparency, to ask hard questions, or to push back when a strategy risks misalignment with what the data tells us.

What It Really Takes

Getting to Director means showing you can lead at scale. It means:

• Understanding both the technical architecture and human psychology of incentive design
• Communicating with clarity to executive audiences
• Translating performance data into action and insight
• Coaching and empowering others, not just executing solo
• Seeing around corners, and building systems that flex with the business

It also means having the self-awareness to know when to step in, when to delegate, and when to zoom out entirely.

Closing Thoughts

The path from Senior Manager to Director isn’t always linear. Sometimes, you have to advocate for yourself in rooms where your impact is felt, but not always seen. But I know this: I’m ready to take that seat.

Because I’ve done the work. I’ve led the change. And I’m already thinking like a Director—it’s just time for the title to catch up.