Part 2: Effective Contact Center Leadership Strategies with Kim Scott

By Replicant
September 12, 2024

Effective leadership is more crucial than ever, particularly in the high-pressure contact center environments that exist today. To explore how leaders can navigate these challenges, we sat down with Kim Scott, author of the best-selling book Radical Candor and a respected voice in leadership and management.

We’re thrilled to announce that Kim will be sharing her insights as a keynote speaker at Resolve 2024, where she’ll dive even deeper into the principles of open communication and effective leadership.

In Part 2 of our exclusive Q&A, Kim further discusses how contact center leaders can foster a culture of candid feedback, drive innovation, and balance empathy with accountability. Whether you’re managing a team of five or a department of hundreds, Kim’s advice is sure to resonate and provide actionable strategies for leading with candor and care.

Q: How can contact center leaders use emotional intelligence to improve team morale and customer satisfaction, particularly in scenarios where employees deal with difficult or emotional customers?

A: Employees who are dealing with customers often encounter contempt, hostility, or other bad behavior. The most important thing you can do for these employees is to let them know that you have their back. You can teach them how to respond to negative emotions from customers. But you can also also give them the ability to “tap out” if things get too intense.

You can teach your team to “get curious not furious” when customers are angry or hostile. You can also teach your team to take a beat and show compassion for customers who seem upset or sad in some way.

You can use these same techniques yourself when your employees seem sad or mad. One simple thing you can do is simply to acknowledge the emotion that you think you’re noticing. Very often it’s our temptation to pretend like emotions don’t belong at work, but that is just denying our humanity. Emotions are not both natural and inevitable. But remember that you may be misinterpreting the emotion you think that you’re noticing. The University of Chicago recently published research demonstrating how bad we are at interpreting each other’s facial expressions and body language. There may be more noise than signal there. So take the time to ask the other person how they are feeling, rather than just assuming.

You can also ask the question, “How can I help?” Maybe the person wants some water, or to go get a cup of tea. In fact, if someone seems upset and there are a couple of bottles of water handy, hand them one. Sometimes just the act of unscrewing the bottle of water and taking a sip of water, and then putting the cap back on can help the person regain composure. Or if you’re the one losing composure, you can take a sip of water–or a deep breath. Sometimes our emotions resonate with the other person’s, and our emotions amplify their emotions unproductively. You want to be an emotional shock absorber, not an emotional trampoline, in these situations.

Another thing that I strongly recommend is that you just eliminate the phrase “don’t take it personally” from your vocabulary. We all spend more time at work than just about any other part of our lives. And when it doesn’t go well, it’s natural to feel upset. So don’t imply that the person’s emotions are not legitimate.

Managing your own emotions is equally important. You can’t manage others if you can’t manage yourself. Leaders must be aware of how their emotional state can affect their team. By labeling emotions as they arise, you create a space between experiencing the emotion and over-identifying with it. This practice helps in maintaining a calm and composed demeanor, which is essential when leading a team through stressful situations.

Q: As AI and automation become more prevalent in contact centers, how can leaders ensure that they’re still prioritizing the human touch, both in employee interactions and customer experiences?

A: If leaders can work with their employees to figure out how AI can eliminate the rote work, employees will be freed up to focus on the human side of their interactions.

Q: In terms of your upcoming keynote at Resolve 2024, what are the top three takeaways you’d like conference attendees to leave with following your session?

A: I hope that people will have a good go-to question they can use when soliciting feedback, a clear understanding of how to give praise that is specific and sincere, criticism that is kind and clear, and a clear idea of how to gauge how their feedback is landing, and when to move up on Care Personally or over on Challenge Directly.

Click here to read Part 1 of our interview with Kim Scott.