It’s Women’s History Month—time to celebrate women’s accomplishments in the workplace! It’s essential to take a moment to recognize our contributions when you consider that in 2020 women still made just 84% of what men earned for the same job and were significantly underrepresented in leadership roles, according to Pew Research. The argument about whether…
Reading about how tired we are is fatiguing. So let’s try something different. We’re built to want to be part of something that’s meaningful. We’re eager to learn. We love wrestling with a challenge. It’s in our nature and we can’t help it. So instead of focusing on how everyone is depleted, why not appeal…
Over the last eight weeks I have done Legendary Service customer service training with more than 500 people who all want to improve both internal and external customer service in their organizations. Because I’m a big believer in the concept that no one of us is as smart as all of us, I ask participants…
Summer’s almost here! A time to relax, enjoy outdoor meals, get new summer clothes, take vacations, make new friends, and create memories with those you love. But can summer also teach us something about creating memories with our clients? Yes! It can help us remember that when emotion is attached to a memory it becomes…
Here’s a quick quiz. What job position has 106,000 openings on LinkedIn, has been around about three years, and is focused on such areas as product adoption, onboarding, churn reduction, and customer advocacy? If you guessed customer success manager, you’re right. Customer success is a new approach to customer service that is proactive instead of…
Yesterday, I went to my favorite retail store to pick up a pair of silver hoop earrings for my friend’s birthday. While there, I saw a lot of little things that felt new and fresh. I asked my usual salesperson (who has been there forever), “What is different around here? It feels spacious and inviting!”…
As a Situational Leadership II (SLII) instructor, I teach hundreds of leaders each year how to adapt their leadership style to the needs of their direct reports. Beginners on a new task get a Directing Style; moderately skilled employees get a Coaching or Supporting Style; and highly skilled employees get a Delegating Style. The SLII…
I just got back from teaching a class on our Situational Team Leadership content. Before class started, people were very quiet, even wary, about talking with one another. Some even passed the time by doing individual work at their computer. To start the class I shared that since this was a course on teams, I’d…
At this hectic time of year—when the focus is on giving to others—it might be even more important to give yourself a gift to keep stress at bay. One of the best ways to do this is to set boundaries that allow you to refresh and recharge so you can better engage with others. The…
Apply the learnings from neuroscience to your customer service strategies. Use the BRAIN acronym to remind yourself (and others on your team) about the impact you can have when you help people bring the full capacity of their brain to the experience. Create connections that allow people to feel Brilliant, Respected, Alive, Independent, and Noticed for who they are and what they have done in their lives. It’s a great way to create a lasting brain bond with customers.