Melting Pot or Salad Bowl

Creating a Productive Team Culture

I have worked and managed at both ends of the behavioural spectrum. As a trader in London's financial markets and as a consultant at a UK university. Despite the wildly differing cultures, from aggressive to academic, there was a constant 'accommodation'. An acceptance that everyone had something to contribute to the whole.

That extra effort expended by a manager to foster an environment where disparate characters and cultures could express themselves and contribute can only add value to the whole.

How does a Team function?

Business is relationship driven, and a team is simply a smaller version of this premise, and for Customer Success leaders and their teams, this is particularly relevant. Networking with peers, colleagues, clients and professional organisations builds the relationships needed to succeed in a customer success context.

But merely viewing your team as a collection of individuals who need to be moulded into a cohesive unit is a fundamentally flawed approach. One that is unlikely to succeed but also ignores the team members' skills and talents.

But what is a Team?

Your first thought may be "a group of individuals recruited from different organisations, departments or other teams’ to meet various performance targets developed by the leadership group'. Well, yes, factually, you are correct, but to create your 'productive team culture', a more nuanced approach may be needed. Each team member brings their own cultural hinterland, which must be acknowledged (and celebrated).

For example, one team member may have been raised in a community where too much eye contact was seen as confrontational or disrespectful to people in authority. Conversely, the same facial cue in the modern business environment generally precipitates adverse inferences about the person whose eyes are averted. Team members who may feel constrained by their cultural traditions to speak too highly of themselves may not be rewarded with bonuses or advancement, losing opportunities to colleagues who, unconstrained by custom, feel comfortable enumerating their achievements. For the successful CS leader, it is possible, and necessary, to understand and empathise with your team's diverse cultural values while encouraging and demonstrating the behaviours needed to succeed professionally. And in doing so, promote your unique world view, and leverage it to embed it in your team's DNA, becoming an advantage to you and your team and an asset to your client.

Salad Bowl or Melting Pot?

 A salad bowl is a metaphor for the way a multicultural group of individuals can integrate different ideas, approaches and cultures while maintaining their separate identities. Contrast this with the melting pot, which promotes an artificial construct of diversity as a monoculture. The various individuals are assimilated into one culture, often with the minority groups rejecting or hiding their differences and unique attributes to adopt the characteristics of the dominant (organisational) culture. This is not a zero-sum question where you can definitively state that the salad bowl approach will always be superior or that the melting pot is the way to go.

But by looking a little deeper into the two methodologies, you can decide whether being a 'bowler' rather than a 'potter' is the correct style for your team.

But before we look at the options, let's spend a little time considering the negative side.

How can a dysfunctional team culture be so effective at destroying value?

The Oxford English dictionary defines dysfunction as an abnormality or impairment in the function of a system.

In the context of organisations, this means a situation where an organisation does not operate at its expected or predicted level and therefore produces a lower quality or quantity of products or services. The well-known proverb states that 'a fish rots from the head', and it is often the case that the root cause of a poorly performing team is ineffective leadership. A leader who violates the legitimate interest of the organisation by undermining the organisation's goals, tasks, resources, effectiveness, and motivation, through self-centred, vindictive, or ill-judged actions. 

Often, this culture leads to a top-down decision-making culture where the HIPPO culture plays out. This presents as the 'Highest Paid Person in the Office' routinely speaking first and loudest, effectively suppressing other team members and thwarting healthy debate and challenging ideas. 

Oddly enough, a sign that all is not well is when every team member, when asked "How are things?" responds with "Doing Great!".

A properly functioning, cohesive team is trusting and confident, unafraid to speak honestly about its concerns and vulnerabilities, and confident enough to admit when things aren't going smoothly without fear or retribution. Does a HIPPO led team sound like a customer success operation that will engage with customers, support and implement their onboarding and adoption strategies and meet their customer renewal targets?

No, I don't think so either!

How do you begin to fix a dysfunctional team? Well, dealing with the root causes rather than the symptoms is always a sound strategy, but it is not within the remit of this article but is covered in the Practical CSM Academy program.

So, having identified some dysfunctional 'red flags', how can CS team leaders instil a more positive culture?

We'll start with the Melting Pot.

E Pluribus Unum – the Ethos of a Melting Pot

This approach has often been criticised because it sacrifices individual characteristics in the pursuit of assimilation. However, this flexibility allows teams to convert their innate intelligence into empathy, helping to transcend the prevailing business culture and traditional hierarchies.

By surrendering ego and developing a team ethos, the progressive organisation encourages its staff to combine their respective strengths, gelling in favour of a collective wisdom which, once embedded in an organisation's DNA, drives a company's vision, mission, and values.

But, as a CS thought leader, possibly running several teams and projects, you may feel that It's not enough to hire a diverse group of talented individuals. Developing and maintaining a collaborative environment that's a rich fusion of different cultures requires ongoing attention and renewal.

This could take the form of acknowledging different holidays and festivals and organising in-house events with traditional foods or decorations.

Your aim should be to create a team culture based on shared values, which may help you connect with a broader range of customers.

In essence, as leaders, you must never underestimate the power of cultural diversity in the teams you are building, 

In his book, 21 lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah Harari looks at how diversity impacts team culture, company success and overall performance. 

In a nutshell, Harari puts forward the argument that many of the misunderstandings and conflicts that emerge in teams between people of different cultures and ethnicities are the result of "culturalism".

That actions and behaviours, when examined through the prism of how particular cultures behave in their "normal setting" vs what happens when those individuals or groups are copied and pasted into a new, very different setting, offers a very different story.

Now, is the Salad Bowl strategy a better style?

In the salad bowl approach, each ingredient (team member) retains its own characteristics but works well with everyone else. With the 'whole greater than the sum of the parts'. I have already discussed how acknowledging and accepting different cultures can build productive teams, but the salad bowl approach can also generate other benefits. Some cultures place a premium on success, leading to what psychologists call "performance orientation".

By creating an environment where different cultures are accepted (and celebrated), the successful CS leader can identify the traits (perhaps the need to ace whatever you're doing) which will benefit the team and use those team members to mentor others who may have the concomitant fear of failing (or be seen to fail). This acknowledgement of different team 'ingredients' with their ability to enhance the performance of colleagues who originate from different cultural backgrounds, with perhaps a strong performance orientation, can not only help some team members to no longer avoid situations that they feel they would not immediately excel in, but also accept assignments or roles with which they are unfamiliar. 

Providing experiences and lessons that could be valuable to the team and prepare them to advance to the next stage of their careers.

Over to You!

Which approach will be the best for you?

For me, I prefer the idea of the salad bowl. 

It is essential to know and appreciate the unique strengths of each team member and what they bring to the team (and your clients).

In doing so, a leader challenges themself to distinguish between different cultural mores and some of the habits and responses to which they may have given rise. 

They make us who we are. 

She canna take anymore Cap'n'

Dealing with work overload, becoming more effective and meeting your goals.

You often hear that the wife is the last to know when their partner is having an affair.

Well, you could say something similar about stress; the person suffering from it is usually the last to know. It's unlikely you will have moved from being stress-free to being stressed overnight, as this condition gradually builds up, so it has become the norm for the stressed person.

It also presents in different ways in different people; working as a trader in a pressured environment, I had a colleague who would breeze through the day, reacting in seconds to stressful situations, often betting investing tens of millions of the bank's funds seemingly on instinct and without hesitation. Yet I have seen the same individual descend into self-doubt and indecision over whether to take an umbrella when he left the building in case it rained.

So, as you see, this is not something for which you can create a checklist.

Under pressure is a normal part of life; it can help you act, feel more energised and get results.

But as mental health researcher Dr Sarah Jones stated, "Stress isn't a psychiatric diagnosis, but can cause mental health problems and make existing problems worse". If you often struggle to manage feelings of stress, you may go on to develop a mental health problem, and this can start to feel like a vicious circle.

In her report Mental Health in the Workplace, Dr Jones discussed the concept of the stress curve. (Illustration?). In this model, the upside of the curve is characterised by the right amount of pressure generating high motivation and peak performance. Then you typically reach the tipping point – this is where fatigue sets in, and the downside of the curve begins, marked by too much pressure; after fatigue comes exhaustion, then ill health and finally, breakdown.

Warning! Warning! You are about to enter a 'slogan overuse zone'.

Work smarter, not harder! Schedule meetings with yourself. Plan tomorrow tonight; the list goes on and on.

But apart from being essentially meaningless, when you stop to think about some of these statements, they are actually quite insulting.

Take 'work smarter, not harder', something you tend to hear when budgets or headcount are being reduced. When you stop and think about it, there is the unspoken assumption that you weren't working smart up to that point; it also implies you haven't been working as hard as you could (otherwise, how could you work harder?)

And lastly, it is slightly patronising because it ignores the elephant in the room (OK, I think we'll finish with slogans now…)

The issue is not that staff have not been working hard enough. Nor that they aren't being smart; it's that they will have to do the same (or more) with less getting the same results (or better).

Recognising signs of stress.

We have already established that the 'stressed out' individual is unlikely to realise they are stressed, so how do you step away from yourself and become your own impartial observer. Starting a journal or diary can be an excellent way to begin. Over the course of a couple of weeks, you can begin to identify which situations create the most stress and how you respond to them. 

By recording your thoughts, feelings, and other information, you can begin to look for patterns of behaviour. These influences may include people and circumstances (virtual meetings, client calls, project updates), the physical setting, and how you reacted. 

Think about how you felt at the time and afterwards. Did you raise your voice? 

How did you deal with the situation? Get a drink from the vending machine, or go to the staff canteen? Did you go for a walk or sit in the park? 

Taking notes can help you find patterns among your stressors and your reactions to them.

Going further, think about your coping mechanisms, did stress trigger any negative or harmful responses, for example, fast food or alcohol?

Developing good behaviours.

In today's business environment, the digitalverse means there is pressure to be available 24 hours a day.

Think about establishing boundaries and simple rules for yourself. This may be deciding not to check emails from home or in the evening or not answering the phone during dinner. How you blend work and life is a personal choice, but creating clear boundaries between these areas can help reduce the potential for work-life conflict and the stress that accompanies it.

Take time to relax and recharge – set aside time to 'switch off'. Don't let your vacation days go to waste; focus on non-work activities and hobbies. When you return to work, you'll be re-invigorated and ready to perform at your best.

Stress can be contagious!

This is a psychological effect known as emotional contagion. Research has shown it's possible to "catch" the emotions of others. In other words, team members naturally (and unconsciously) mimic the behaviours, posture, and facial expressions of those they work with. When you stop to think about it, you've probably witnessed emotional contagion in your working environment. For instance, when someone's negative mood brings down the energy of a meeting, 

Researchers have also identified a subset comprising around 20% of the working population whom they have called sensitive strivers. These individuals tend to have more active mental circuitry in empathy areas of the brain (called mirror neurons), which cause them to be more influenced by — and reactive to — other people's feelings and behaviour. Typically, these individuals are driven, and demand excellence from themselves at all times, but when they fall short of those impossibly high expectations, their innate sensitivity and thoughtfulness cause them to spiral into self-recrimination and doubt. 

Sound familiar?

Taking your emotional temperature.

Consider for a moment your position as a Customer Success Manager. In this role, you may be the primary source of emotional contagion. Think about yourself as a sort of mood radiator. Because of your power and authority, other team members will take their lead from you and pay attention to your behaviour. If you're carrying emotional baggage in the form of worries and fears into conversations, your colleagues will pick up on it, and your mood will inevitably taint others. This is why, periodically throughout the day, you must do an internal 'mood check'. Think about what emotions and body language you're "radiating" in your exchanges. And this is as relevant for in-person as virtual meetings; you should always try to be mindful of the tone and feel you're transmitting.

It's not all Bad!

Positive vibes can spread, too. Aim to leverage the fact that a human's nervous system can also sync to your advantage using a phenonium called co-regulation. This happens when you consciously try to calm yourself, which may then influence your colleagues and team members. For instance, if you're dealing with a problematic situation, downsizing, or budget cuts, make a conscious effort to slow down your breathing, meditate or clear your mind, and prepare what you will say. Speak more quietly and slowly, think about your body language, and make it positive.

As I mentioned, try to step 'outside' yourself and visualise how others see you. 

You'll notice that your team members' mood moves as your mood shifts.

Meeting your Goals

We all tend to define our goals in specific ways, achieving aim 'A' by date 'B'. As you can imagine, this comes under the heading of self-imposed and arguably unnecessary stress. But by thinking a little differently - you don't need to lower your bar - you can broaden your definition of what qualifies as a "win." Sometimes achieving your desired outcome isn't always in your control, so try broadening your criteria of what constitutes success.

Keep your targets simple, easily defined and realistic. For example, overcoming resistance from management or colleagues to a proposal, standing up for what you think is right, bringing a new mindset or attitude to a recurring problem or taking a small step toward a goal. Take a few moments at the end of the workday to reflect not only on your highlights (praise, recognition, positive reviews, etc.) but also to consider whether you were able to translate your upbeat mood to your team.

Being kinder to yourself will inevitably lead to you treating your colleagues in a similar way, making the working environment better for all concerned. 

The 5 Whys 

Problem-solving for Customer Success Managers.

Most of us have been confronted with small children, our own and other peoples repeatedly asking ‘Why’.

It can be frustrating, but it can also make us question our own assumptions.

“Why are those people standing in a line?’

‘It’s a queue’.

‘Why are they doing that?’

If you answer, ‘It’s what we do in this country’, it does sound a little feeble.

You know it’s the fairest way to wait for something, but when you hear yourself explaining it to a small child, you may begin to question your own norms.

That’s the strength of this technique; in 5 steps, you can look a little deeper into a situation, think about what you have always taken for granted, then hopefully reach the root cause of a problem or issue.

This example from Wikipedia illustrates the technique:

Your car will not start.

1. Why? – The battery is dead. (First why) 

2. Why? – The alternator is not functioning. (Second why) 

3. Why? – The alternator belt has broken. (Third why) 

4. Why? – The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced. (Fourth why) 

5. Why? – The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (Fifth why, a root cause)

With a little adaptation, this iterative approach can be usefully employed as a problem-defining and problem-solving solution.

Let’s look again at Wikipedia’s problem and how we can adapt it to our needs.

Step 1 Define the problem – The battery is dead. (1st Why)

Step 2 Define the process – The alternator isn’t working. (2nd Why)

Step 3 Identify possible causes – The alternator belt has broken. (3rd Why)

Step 4 Identify/Implement Solution – It was over its working life, so replace it.     (4th Why - the Root Cause)

Step 5 Test for resolution – does the engine start (5th Why)

 I’m sure you get the idea.

Root cause analysis is covered in more detail in the Practical CSM Academy program, but let’s look at each step more closely. 

The first step is defining the problem; focus on the facts, not opinions or emotions. At this stage, investing some time in describing the problem in detail can be worthwhile and not jumping to ‘solution mode’ immediately. But none of us lives in an ideal world where customers will put their plans and schedules on hold while the CSM analyses things, so think about offering a short-term solution or ‘work-around’. It could be arranging temporary hosting for a mission-critical software application or sourcing additional production facilities.

So, we understand the problem, moving to step 2, engaging with the customer to gather more information. This can take various forms, for example, visiting a production facility and speaking to people on the ground or working with IT engineers to understand their issues.

But remember, business capacity has three elements: people, processes, and tools. People often get the blame when the process or the underlying training is the real issue. This can also be an excellent time to sit down with the customer and create some form of process mapping.

Step 3 is looking for possible causes. Sit down with the customer and rank them from most to least likely. It can be helpful to do this in a group setting, getting input from a more diverse group, and reaching a consensus. You may want to employ a ’cause and effect’ diagram (sometimes called a fishbone or Ishikawa). This is a visual technique that helps you to identify all of the likely causes of the problem(s) you’re facing.

In step 4, you start thinking about countermeasures or solutions. As in step 3, if you find more than one option, you can rank them from most likely to succeed to least likely. You must take a holistic approach here, remembering to include the cost of the intervention in your calculations, the need for, and impact on, resources and the time it will take to implement it.

Be flexible in your approach, and as we mentioned earlier, consider including temporary solutions in your thinking. It’s not ideal (we don’t live in a perfect world), but it can give you and your customer more time to design a better long-term fix.

Once you have agreed on your plan, assigning roles, responsibilities, and deadlines is a good idea. This will give everyone a clear sense of what needs to be done, when and how it fits into the bigger picture. Now is also a good time to agree on what success looks like; whatever measures you decide on, it could be setting agreed KPIs or success gates, make them concrete, simple, and easy to identify.

Now we arrive at step 5.

This is where you test the solution; in the Wikipedia example, it was, does the engine start?

If it works well, great!

If it fails, we’ll move to the next solution on your list.

This is when the time you spent thinking about cost and resources can come in useful, as there may be some overlap (the same resources needed) for different solutions.

It works – excellent, problem solved.

Not quite.

Built into your plan should be a contingency period; it could be a day or a week.

Use it to check for unintended consequences. From time to time, what looks like a perfect solution causes some disruption in another workflow or process – this is where creating a broad discussion group in step 3 can pay dividends. It may turn out that the group only identified some of the issues, but by being involved earlier in the process, when you bring them back together, they will be aware of the initial problem and how the flawed solution arrived.

This should help in resolving the issue.

One last thing – document everything.

Not only will this help with future problem-solving, but it will also be helpful to refer to, if a dispute occurs.

Is this how your company deals with problem-solving?

 Team Success

Business is relationship driven, and a team is simply a smaller version of this premise, and for Customer Success leaders and their teams this is particularly relevant.

Networking with peers, colleagues, clients and professional organizations builds the relationships needed to succeed in a customer success context.

But to merely view your team as a collection of individuals who need to be molded into a cohesive unit is a fundamentally flawed approach.

One that is unlikely to succeed but also ignores the team members skills and talents.

But, what actually is a Team?

Your first thought may be “a group of individuals recruited form different organizations, departments or other teams, to meet various performance targets, developed by the leadership group’.

Well, yes, factually you are correct, but to create your ‘productive team culture’, I think a more nuanced approach may be needed.

Each team member brings their own cultural hinterland, and this needs to be acknowledged (and celebrated).

For example one team member may have been raised in a community where too much eye contact was seen as confrontational or disrespectful to people in authority.

Conversely, in the modern business environment, the same facial cue generally precipitates negative inferences about the person whose eyes are averted.

Team members who may feel constrained by their cultural traditions to speak too highly of themselves, may not be rewarded with bonuses or advancement, losing opportunities to colleagues who, unconstrained by custom, feel comfortable enumerating their achievements.

For the successful CS leader, it is possible—and necessary, to understand, and empathize with your team’s diverse cultural values, while encouraging, and demonstrating the behaviors needed to succeed professionally. 

And in doing so, promote your unique weltanschauung (world view) and leverage it to embed in your team’s DNA, becoming an advantage you, and your team and an asset to your client.

We’ll start with the Melting Pot.

E Pluribus Unum – the Ethos of a Melting Pot

The melting pot theory of diversity propagates a construct of diversity as monoculturalism, where the various groups are assimilated into one culture, often with the minority groups rejected or hiding their differences and unique attributes, to take on the characteristics of the dominant culture. 

Summary

I’ve heard diversity and multiculturalism described both as a melting pot and a salad bowl. Everything blends together in a melting pot while, in a salad bowl, each ingredient retains its own character but works well with everything else. I prefer the idea of the salad bowl. It is important to know yourself, your own value and your unique strengths, and bring them deliberately to your organization and clients. In doing so, challenge yourself to distinguish between your cultural mores and some of the habits they may have given rise to. Don’t let the latter constrain you from realizing your aspirations and the value you bring to others, but hold on to the former. They make us who we are. 

 

 

Active Listening

A new application of the 80/20 rule

A few years ago, I had a very interesting lunch with a linguistics professor (Yes, I lead a sad life). His area of interest was AI speech recognition and understanding how we listen.

What he told me has stayed with me and helps to explain something that has always puzzled me.

Have you ever noticed how someone will answer a question that has not been asked?

You meet someone you know and start the conversation by asking, 'How are the children finding their new school?'. They answer, 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you'.

You may feel they are either not interested in you and your question or thinking about something else.

The professor explained that what we now term 'active listening' is counter to the way our brains have evolved to function. When we are in listening mode, our brain is hard-wired to do precisely what active listening discourages.

Our brain listens to the first couple of seconds of a conversation, evaluates the input "How are…'. Predicts the most likely outcome, makes a judgment – this will end 'you' and performs triage (Hmm, this is low priority).

Essentially the brain extracts basic information rapidly and uses it to generate predictions that help it interpret that input. References its memory bank of past experiences and selects the most appropriate response; then, the brain goes off to do other things.

According to current thinking in cognitive neuroscience, this mode of functioning evolved as the brain's strategy to use its finite neural capacity efficiently.

So active listening, when viewed from this standpoint, requires the conscious override of the brain's preferred way of doing things – it's hard-wired need for efficiency, prediction and planning.

Listening isn't just a listening thing.

For a Customer Service Manager looking to build or enhance a relationship, it is essential to appreciate the vital role nonverbal communication plays when engaging with your customer, helping to increase trust and clarity.

If your counterparty feels that you are bored, distracted, or annoyed, it is likely to undermine your active listening efforts.

Usually, people are unaware they are giving off negative nonverbal cues that others notice. On the other hand, working on your nonverbal communication and trying to ensure it's positive can increase your credibility and trustworthiness.

And these non-verbal clues can be just as relevant on video calls. You may not be able to see hand gestures or other tell tale signs (shaking your knee or playing with your pen) that you are bored or disinterested; so facial expressions and head movements are critical.

Facial expressions are closely tied to our emotions – and are probably our most prominent non-verbal communicators.

I have covered eye contact before and the fact that, in some cultures, it can be a sign of disrespect, but generally, it is interpreted as a lack of confidence in your product; in the same vein, some head movements can be culture-specific for example nodding in agreement in western cultures. 

As a 'bolt-on' to active listening, observing head movement is a valuable way to gauge interest and understanding. If your customer is indicating a negative response, stop and ask if they are confused or have any questions rather than just ploughing on regardless.

80/20 rule of active listening.

I am sure you have heard this before, but the problem with most sales-related meetings is that the sales rep won't keep quiet, and they keep on about how fantastic their product is or how their post-sales support is second to none.

An essential part of the Customer Success Manager's role (something covered in some detail in the Practical CSM Framework) is understanding the needs and aims of the customer and their stakeholders.

The best place to acquire this data is from the customer, but how are you ever going to find out if you don't stop talking and LISTEN!

Before we go on, let's add a couple of Don'ts.

Don't interrupt; this is very frustrating for the speaker; it gives the impression that you think you're more important, that you're not interested, or have time for what they have to say. 

Don't jump to conclusions; avoid engaging in immediate judgment, prejudice, assumptions, rebuttal or criticism; hear everything the speaker says and take some time to think about your response.

The central tenet of active listening is concentrating your attention and energy on listening and understanding what is being said. I have heard it described as 'suspending your frame of reference' and trying to focus entirely on the speakers. 

In any customer success or sales-related conversation, you should aim to listen 80% of the time and speak for the remainder.

Remember that the customer doesn't want to know what you think; they want to tell you what they think, feel, and are looking for.

And, as a customer success manager, who relies on an understanding of your customer's needs and aims to design, manage, and deliver key project elements like onboarding, adoption and value realisation, you should be encouraging your customer to talk, not trying to interrupt and talk over them. 

The more you think about what you will say next, the less likely that you will fully understand the valuable information you are being offered and miss important clues.

A frequent result of failing to follow the 80/20 rule is that the proposal or solution you put forward may make sense to you but not to the customer, leading them to assume that either you weren't listening (true) or were more interested in pushing what suited you (more commission or internal sales initiative) than their needs.

You may end up offending the customer, a position from which you may need help to recover.

Developing your active listening skills.

I have already mentioned that active listening is a conscious effort to focus on your customer and what they are saying rather than your surroundings and what you are having for dinner this evening!

One easy-to-learn skill that can materially improve your effectiveness as a listener is reflecting (sometimes called mirroring).

Put simply, this technique involves listening carefully, then repeating back to the customer more or less what they just said (it doesn't have to be word-perfect).

The principal value of reflecting is that the only way you can do it effectively is to listen intently first, then retain as much detailed information as possible, blocking out everything else.

As an example:

"Can I make sure I understand exactly what you are saying, your aim is to increase revenue in your analysis software division, particularly in Scandinavia. Is that correct?"

By ending with an open question, you are inviting the customer to explain in more detail and potentially add value to any proposal; by reflecting back what they said, you are demonstrating that your complete focus was on them, which is flattering.

You could end the meeting by summarising the customer's need or aim in a single sentence ending with something like "Am I right about that?".

We live in an age of distractions.

Focus, focus, focus.

In an age of distractions, active listening can be considered a pivotal skill to learn and deploy, and also an art form. As a guiding principle, think of yourself as a mirror. Do your best to focus on what the speaker is saying, then reflect the essential details and emotions back to them instead of focusing on your thoughts and response.

A good listener can bring various qualities to a meeting, including compassion, empathy, and patience. Try to ask open-ended questions and avoid giving unsolicited advice. If you must or are invited to offer advice or guidance, do so gently. By practising these tactics, you can become a better listener and a better customer success practitioner.