February 10, 2026 • 59 mins
Great customer support starts with mindset.
In this episode, we sit down with returning guest Sarah Caminiti to explore what a healthy customer support mindset actually looks like, why it matters so much, and how leaders can intentionally create environments where support teams can thrive.
We talk about the difference between clearing the queue vs. "building a cathedral", why assuming positive intent is essential for long-term success in support, and how mindset directly impacts everything from customer experience to burnout and team health. Along the way, we dig into creating space to pause, fostering curiosity, celebrating small wins, and helping support professionals take ownership of their work and their careers.
This conversation is for support leaders who want stronger, healthier teams, and for frontline support pros who need a reminder that the work they do is highly skilled, deeply valuable, and worth taking pride in!
We want to hear from you! Share your support stories and questions with us at happytohelp@buzzsprout.com!
To learn more about Buzzsprout visit Buzzsprout.com.
Thanks for listening!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Priscilla (00:00):
Welcome to Happy to Help, a podcast about customer
support from the people atBuzzprout.
I'm your host, PriscillaBrooke.
Great support doesn't startwith tools or processes.
It starts with the rightmindset.
So today we're exploring what ahealthy support mindset looks
like, why it matters, and howleaders can intentionally create
environments where that mindsetcan thrive.
(00:20):
Thanks for joining us.
Let's get into it.
All right, it's a great day totalk about customer support,
don't you think, Jordan?
Jordan (00:29):
Every day is a great day to talk about customer support.
Priscilla (00:32):
That's true, it is.
And joining us today on thisepisode is a return guest.
We have Sarah Caminiti joiningus again.
Hi, Sarah.
Sarah (00:41):
Hello.
I'm so excited to be here.
Thanks for having me back.
Priscilla (00:46):
Thanks for coming and bringing your exciting, fun,
bubbly energy to the pod.
I love it so much.
Sarah (00:52):
Always for you guys.
I mean, this is a party.
Jordan (00:54):
It is a party.
Priscilla (00:56):
We should change the title to like Customer Support
Party Podcast.
Jordan (00:59):
Yeah.
Rebrand?
Let's do it.
Priscilla (01:00):
I like it.
Party.
Okay, Sarah.
So who made your day recently?
Sarah (01:05):
So I was going to talk about my kid, but actually I'm
going to talk about my husbandbecause today he gave me a card
and it was the sweetest, mostthoughtful card about how I am
too hard on myself when I thinkabout showing up for my kids and
uh that uh I'm doing a greatjob.
(01:26):
And it's just, you know,sometimes you get in your head,
and uh, I've got a six-year-oldwho he just turned six this last
week, uh, and he is into somuch stuff that I do not
understand.
And he is so excited about it.
And it's so hard to be engagedwith someone who is talking
gibberish, basically, to you.
(01:46):
Uh, and uh, and it's alsoreally hard to be excited to
see, no joke, 45 differentversions of jump scares that he
has created.
Jordan (01:55):
Oh, I'm in that right now, too.
I'm oh, I'm so I get it.
Sarah (01:59):
I mean, it's beautiful.
I love it all, but it issomething to sit through.
And so to have my husband likesee me see that I needed uh a
little reminder and uh, youknow, like one of those like
centering moments um really waswonderful.
Priscilla (02:14):
It really is so helpful to have a third-party
person look in and remind you ofthe things you know to be true,
but that you forget sometimeswhen you're in the middle of it.
Sarah (02:24):
It's that validation, it's that celebration, it's
that, and it's I mean, it's notjust like a partnership thing at
home.
This is something that carriesinto work, it carries into
leadership, it carries intofriendship.
It's so easy to get, you know,swept away with the day and
forget to say thank you, orforget to say I see you, or
(02:45):
forget to say great job.
And it doesn't have to be forbig things.
It's just those little, it'sit's those small moments that
making sure people feel seen, Ithink, uh carries more power
than grand gestures.
Priscilla (02:59):
Yeah, and and noticing the small things proves
to the person that you actuallyare caring about them.
It's easy to congratulatepeople on the big stuff, the big
announcements.
But when you notice someone onyour team, let's put it in a
work environment, right?
Like someone on your team doingsomething that is really great,
but maybe not very loud, whenyou point that out, then what
(03:20):
they get from that is, oh, thisperson knows me and they are
aware of what I'm doing on agranular basis.
So shout out to your husband.
That's fantastic.
So, Sarah, it's been a year anda half since you were on the
show first.
Whoa, I know.
Crazy.
You were our first, likeoutside of Buzz Sprout guest,
(03:42):
and it was so much fun havingyou on, but it's been a year and
a half.
So, what has changed?
Catch us up on where you arenow, what you're working on,
what makes you excited aboutcustomer support?
Sarah (03:51):
So much has changed.
I mean, a year and a half, holymoly.
It feels like it's been like 10years, but also two weeks at
the same time.
But uh, I mean, it is such anexciting time to be
public-facing customerexperience professionals because
there's so much to talk aboutand there's so much to call out.
And in the last year and ahalf, I mean, I've moved.
(04:14):
Uh, we were in Rhode Islandwhen we first recorded this, and
now I'm in the woods in Maineand uh enjoying a wintry
wonderland.
I'm trying to make it sound alot more positive than it is
because it's just really cold.
Um but uh but I've also kind ofevolved in the podcasting
space, in the writing space, andthe conference space, um, which
(04:39):
has been such an excitingjourney.
We've got the CX roundtablethat Priscilla has been a part
of and will continue to be.
Fantastic podcast.
It's so much fun just beingable to ask those questions
that, especially when you're anIC, you don't really know who to
ask or how to ask it.
And uh the people that havegifted me with their time and
(05:00):
trust to be on these episodesare just it always blows my
mind.
But we're able to actually likeprovide answers to to harder
questions and and hopefully givepeople a little bit more peace
of mind of those everydaythings, but also those behind
the scenes things that that youknow you don't always know are
(05:21):
are going on.
And so that's been a blast.
And uh, I've got my newsletterthat has been so rewarding.
And uh we have the space seriescoming to a close, and then
that's going to move into powerdynamics when the podcast
launches for the careerstrategists, which is season
two, technically, of epicalgrowth, where epical growth was
(05:44):
the proof that you can leaddifferently, you can build the
career without losing yourself.
Um, and then I thought I wouldbe doing a disservice if I did
not break down how to do itbecause it's very easy to be
aspirational and it's very easyto look up at people and say
they can do it, but then Ican't.
Yeah.
So uh I've created aneight-piece podcast series to
(06:08):
teach people how to claim theirpower and and navigate tricky
situations, and uh, and thatwill kind of flow through from
where the space series has leftoff.
So it's a really exciting time.
Priscilla (06:20):
You're doing so many things, and I feel like I'm
constantly seeing you pop up inconversations online, and it's
just so cool.
I think you just do a ton ofreally cool stuff to move the
customer experience landscapeforward.
And so I'm really excited.
I'm excited for the careerstrategist.
I think it's gonna be great.
Thank you.
So, congratulations on all thefun things you're working on.
Jordan (06:42):
Yeah.
Priscilla (06:42):
So I'm really excited to have you on this episode
specifically because I've beenthinking a lot about mindset
when it comes to customersupport and how having the right
mindset when you're approachinga job specifically like support
is really important in order todo it really well, in order to
level it up above kind of yourexpectation, you know, surface
(07:03):
level job.
I heard this story the otherday, and I was like, well, this
is a perfect story to share asthe beginning of this podcast.
I don't know if you've heardthe story of the bricklayers.
No.
So I guess it says this is atrue story, okay?
The internet said this wasreal.
So it must be.
I don't know how real this is,okay?
Some people probably have heardthis before.
So I guess it was in 1666,there was the London fire.
(07:28):
Well, the city of London, Isuppose, hired a famous
architect, Christopher Wren, tobuild the St.
Paul's Cathedral.
And he was observing thebuilding of this and he saw
three brick layers.
And one of them was likecrouched over and laying the
bricks and looked kind ofbummed.
And the second one looked alittle bit nicer, but he was,
you know, he just wasn't doingit with much enthusiasm.
(07:49):
And then the third personlaying the bricks was like
standing tall.
He was really excited about it.
He was laying these bricks.
And so this architect goes toeach one and he asks them what
they're doing.
He says, So what are you doing?
And the first brick layer says,I'm laying bricks.
And then he goes to the secondone, and the second one says,
I'm building a wall.
And then he goes to the thirdperson, and that person with all
this enthusiasm and excitementsays, I'm building a cathedral.
(08:12):
And it's this idea that yourmindset changes the way you
approach the job.
And I heard this earlier thisweek, and I thought, man, that
is so good in all of work tothink, but also like with
support.
You could say, Well, what doyou do for work?
Well, I send emails, I helppeople log into their account.
Okay, that's true.
That is what you do.
(08:32):
Yeah.
But you could say, Oh, I'mrepresenting this brand and I'm
supporting our customers.
Or you could say, I impact 60people's days and I make them
better through my work andcustomer support.
But that mindset is whatdifferentiates the work you do.
And so, as support leaders, howcan we encourage that mindset?
(08:55):
All right.
So, first I want to talk aboutwhy having the right mindset
matters.
Like, why is mindset important?
So, Sarah, when you think aboutgreat customer support
experiences, how much of that doyou think comes down to mindset
versus like tools and processesand kind of the more technical
stuff?
Sarah (09:10):
Well, I think that it's all layered together because I
think that a healthy employeeexperience is always going to
have a direct impact on thecustomer experience.
And the story that you justtold, I think does lay it out
perfectly.
And also like from a how acompany embraces customer
support angle as well, does thecompany think that they are just
(09:35):
a team of people answeringemails?
Does the company think thatthey are, you know, all of these
different layers?
And then finally, does thecompany think they are building
a cathedral?
And uh, and so in order to getinto that mindset as an IC, as
a, as a, you know, a frontlinecustomer support professional,
(09:55):
you have to know you're buildinga cathedral to understand how
to approach this with thatenthusiasm of what you're trying
to do.
And too many companies stillleave CX in the dark for where
things are going, for what theirimpact is on the company, for
(10:15):
how the gold that exists withinthose CX conversations are
changing the roadmap throughoutthe year and bringing them in.
Like it's all about do you feelvalued?
Like you can go into this withthe best mindset of, you know,
when my kids tell anyone whattheir mom does, she helps people
(10:37):
be successful.
Like that's it.
It is, it doesn't matter whoyou are, it doesn't matter what
my role is.
At the end of the day, that iswhat I'm doing.
And and that affords me theopportunity to enter into these
spaces with the right mindsetbecause I know that I am helping
someone be successful.
But if you're new to this, ifyou're new to customer support,
(10:59):
if you're new to customerexperience, and you do not feel
the impact that you have, if youdo not feel it, and I think
CSATs, as much as I hate them,are one of the best ways to
celebrate those really smallmoments of impact.
So like the people that end uprating a CSAT converse or a
(11:22):
conversation with a CSAT scoreof like, you know, the highest
one, and it was just becausethey forgot their password.
That means that to this personthat you just helped remember
their password, you had such apositive impact on them that
they took time out of their dayto rate this as a holy cow,
thank you so much.
(11:43):
And then to be able to receivethat and have the whole company
see that this one interactionhad such a big impact.
Yeah, that's going to allow youto continue to be in that
mindset of I'm building acathedral because you see how
you're impacting people in thesesmall ways and then tying that
(12:05):
to business gains, tying that toproduct changes, to being
invited into different rooms.
Like all of these differentmoments allow you to nurture
this positive mindset.
Priscilla (12:18):
Yeah.
I think that's such animportant thing to remember is
that it's not fully inside ofyourself.
There is this support that youneed from your company or from
the people you're working with,because sometimes you're not
going to get it top-down.
And so you need to look for thepeople that you're working
alongside and say, we're goingto support each other in
fostering this mindset.
(12:38):
And I think there's a niceblend, like you said, of like
needing good processes and goodtools and support in order to
build this mindset of takingyour work with that extra
weight.
Cause that really is whatyou're doing.
I agree with what you said.
CSAT is not the end-all be-allfor measuring success when it
comes to support, but it can bea huge encourager for people who
(13:02):
are in the trenches writing theemails, laying the bricks.
And when someone says, man, youlaid that brick perfectly, it
can make you go, man, it reallydoes remind me that my impact
here can be more than justlaying a brick.
It can be impacting someone'sday.
And I think that that's reallyimportant to remember.
So I was thinking, you know,about this impact of mindset and
(13:26):
support and what that actuallylooks like when it comes to like
sending those emails andinteracting with customers.
Your customers are going tofeel your mindset on the other
side.
So if you are writing an emailwith a negative mindset or a,
oh, I'm just sending this emailto clear a cue and then move on,
that is going to come across toyour customer and it will
(13:48):
affect the level of service theyget.
So when I'm thinking of thatlike connection to remarkable
work or remarkable customersupport and mindset, I think
there really is a huge tie inthere of having the right
mindset and doing great work.
So when I was in college, Ioriginally was majoring in
education.
No way.
(14:08):
Yeah, I was in education and Iwas like, I do not want to be a
teacher.
And if I don't have like apassion for teaching, I should
not be in teaching because youcan't be a good teacher without
that passion.
Jordan (14:21):
Yeah.
Priscilla (14:21):
It's too much of a risky thing to have a classroom
where you're not passionateabout teaching these kids.
And I think there's some truthin customer support with that
too.
Oh, yeah.
You have to have a passion forthis or have that right mindset
in order to do it really, reallywell.
And if you can't get there,then there are other jobs that
(14:42):
you can do really well withouthaving a passion for them.
It's just one of those thingswhere that mindset really takes
you above and beyond.
It really pushes and elevatesyour work.
Another thing we talk about alot, though, is the health of
the employees.
So how does your mindset as aworker affect your health as the
employee?
Sarah (14:59):
Well, I think it impacts all of it.
So let's break down likedifferent components of an
employee experience.
Do they have the tools thatthey need to be successful?
Not just bare bones tools, likeand and then they're asked to
do all this manual stuff toachieve the same results.
No.
Do they have the ability toadvocate for themselves and then
(15:21):
get what they need?
Not, you know, like the thingthat drives me nuts is when you
hear about the companies thatare like, oh, uh, we've got this
product.
You can use this to do what youneed.
Like this will work, right?
Because we have something thatis for marketing, but I think
there could be some benefits tousing it for what you're asking
(15:42):
for.
No, no, that's a that's amarketing tool.
I need a customer support toolto help me.
So, first, do they have thetools that they need to be
successful?
And right now, there are somany tools that are helping
customer support professionalsbe successful.
And it's not taking awayopportunities for them to
(16:03):
connect with customers, it'sgiving them that brain space to
actually be present in thoseconversations.
Think what the next step isgoing to be.
Plan to see is this the bestway to communicate this
information, provideopportunities to coach and level
up and add to documentation.
Like now is such an excitingtime to afford these teams the
(16:25):
tools to actually be successfulrather than just survive.
So like that's piece numberone.
Do they have the tools?
And then that also goes with isthis a safe space for them to
ask questions?
Yeah.
Because if this is not a safespace for them to ask questions,
then they are going to makeassumptions and they are going
(16:46):
to be filled with doubt.
And that doubt is a seed thatgets watered so uh easily.
Yes.
Don't set your team up forthat.
Like create a space whereasking for help shows you care
enough to get it right.
Priscilla (17:00):
Yeah.
You talk about curiosity a lotin support.
I feel like I hear that wordfrom you a lot, this idea of
within an employee experience,right?
Like you were just saying,asking questions about the work,
but then also curiosity when itcomes to the actual
communication with the customer.
Yeah.
And I think that's a reallygood point that you have to
(17:20):
foster an environment for yourteam that encourages that
curiosity because it will one,like you're saying, it won't
foster the doubt, right?
Because people can ask thequestions and get clarity on
things.
But it will also avoidunnecessary mistakes that a
question could fix that willhelp with people feeling proud
(17:41):
of the work they're doing,opposed to kind of coming back
from making a mistake that nowhas to get fixed.
And then that feeling of, oh,I'm really, I'm really not very
good at this.
Right, right.
When really the reality is youcould have asked the question
and we could have avoided thisaltogether.
Sarah (17:56):
Totally.
Like anytime someone on my teammakes a mistake, I honestly
celebrate it because thatmistake showed me a crack.
Priscilla (18:04):
Yeah.
Sarah (18:05):
And it is my job to fill those cracks.
And if I don't see the crack, Ican't fill it.
So do you have a document thatwalks you through this specific
scenario?
Or do we have one that's kindof similar, but it actually is
not going to get you to theresult that you need?
Oh, well, you follow the onethat does like when you first
(18:26):
look at it, yeah, I too wouldhave thought that this was the
right way to go, but it actuallyisn't.
So now we know, and now we cancreate a document so that you
know when they're saying thisspecific thing, it means this.
And then from the customer'sperspective, holy cow, you value
me enough to ask me questionsso that we go back and forth a
(18:47):
couple of times and we get itright.
You're not just trying to closethis and and move on.
Priscilla (18:52):
Yeah.
Wow.
You want to understand thesituation.
Yep.
It means a ton to a customer,especially when they ask a
question that's not super clearand they don't really understand
it.
And then you go, oh, I reallywant to understand this.
I really want to see whereyou're coming from and the
situation you're in.
It does really impact and andprove to them that as a customer
(19:12):
support experience, youactually care about them and
you're not just trying to cleara cue.
Yes.
Sarah (19:18):
Yeah, because that's what they can feel.
And then when you think aboutlike, I think there's way too
many parallels between customersupport and leadership.
Priscilla (19:25):
Yeah.
Sarah (19:25):
But when I'm leading a team, my goal is to empower the
people on my team to besuccessful, but also be safe
enough to ask questions whenthose questions pop up.
And it's the exact same thingto any person that's writing
into support.
They have hit a point wherethey can no longer be successful
independently.
You have to empower them to beable to resolve this on their
(19:47):
own and then safe enough to comeback and ask you questions if
something isn't clear orsomething comes up two months
from now.
Priscilla (19:56):
Yeah.
How would you describe the likeright mindset for someone who's
working in customer support?
So if you're trying to kind oflike craft what that looks like,
how would you describe thatmindset?
Sarah (20:07):
Assume positive intent every time.
Priscilla (20:09):
It's like my favorite phrase ever.
Sarah (20:11):
Yeah.
That's it.
Yeah.
That's it.
If you're going into thisthinking this is a human being
that is taking time out of theirday, that's frustrated, that's
struggling, this is a blockerfor them.
They are vulnerable becausethey are asking for help.
And anytime you ask for help,that is a moment of
vulnerability.
And if you forget that as acustomer support person, you are
(20:33):
going to end up doing adisservice to those people that
you're helping.
Like it is not easy asking forhelp, which is why it's so
important as a leader to fosterthat environment so that the
people on your team can developthe tools and the skills and the
language to celebrate the factthat these customers were
vulnerable enough to come to usand ask for help.
(20:55):
So if you are going into thiswith the mindset of this is a
person doing their best, I don'tcare if they didn't read the
help article.
I don't care if they asked methe same question three times.
I am going to continue to bekind to them.
I am going to continue to bethoughtful.
I'm going to give this to myboss if, you know, I'm saying
(21:17):
the exact same thing over andover.
Obviously, you know, they'rejust not in that headspace right
now to receive it.
And oftentimes that just meanssomeone else has to say the
exact same thing and it'll snapthem out of it.
Yeah.
And then they'll be able toreceive it.
It's all of these little tricksof the trade that you learn
over time or that your leadercan can help guide you through
(21:40):
so you can see the impact thatit has.
But it begins and it ends withassuming positive intent.
And if your leadership is notassuming positive intent of you,
then you will not be able tocontinue to assume positive
intent on your customers.
Priscilla (21:54):
I think that is one of the biggest things for anyone
working in customer support inorder.
To do the work consistentlyover a long period of time and
not burn out and switch careersor switch industries, assuming
positive intent is the thingbecause you will burn out so
quickly if you don't do that.
(22:15):
If you read every email and tryto decipher, oh, are they mad
at me or not, like it becomes sodifficult.
But if you always give them thebenefit of the doubt and you
look at it in a sense of, I getto help this person, not I have
to clear this cue or I have tohelp this person who's yelling
at me, but I get to prove tothem that they didn't need to
yell in the first place.
(22:36):
It's a completely differentangle to take on it.
And I think it's so muchhealthier and it's going to let
you work so much longer and havemore enjoyment in your work if
you can approach it in that wayinstead of in this sense of
like, you know, negative, oh mygosh, here we go again.
Joe's reaching out and I haveto deal with Joe again.
The reality is, no, Joe'sreaching out because just like
(22:58):
you said, he's at a place wherehe can't move forward anymore.
And he has a question.
And we're gonna be kind, we'regonna assume positive intent
with Joe, and we're gonna do thebest we can.
And there is a healthiness thatcomes along with that that
allows you to have just moreenjoyment in your life, which
we're all looking for, honestly.
Sarah (23:15):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And something that you saidtoo, Priscilla, about like
clearing the cue and gettingthrough the queue really fast.
I mean, that is a place whereleadership has to create an
environment where pausing ispossible.
And if you do not celebrate thepause to take a deep breath,
what is this person asking?
(23:36):
What's the due diligence thatwe have to go through to like
check all like the standardfirst round uh checks before we
start digging into things?
Yeah.
Because the moment you start totell people to be faster
without giving them any sort oftools to assist them to be
faster, that due diligence isgoing out the window.
And once that due diligencegoes out the window, then you
(23:58):
are going to be sending themincorrect information because
that first level check that youthink you don't have to do
because this is so obvious andyour gut's telling you, you
know, just go down this road,it's gonna bite you in the butt.
But that that's on the leaderto notice.
And that's one of the reasonswhy time to reply is one of my
(24:19):
favorite indicators of employeehealth.
Because if I pay attention tofirst time to reply and I see
that it is a really long space,like not ideal.
I'm understaffed.
Yeah.
Then if you start to see thingsgo from a really good spot,
like I think that 24 hour replytime is a great average if you
(24:41):
have a well-staffed team withthe tools that they need to be
successful, because you're gonnahave those quick wins and those
ones are gonna be a lot easierto bang out.
But then you're also gonna havethe meatier ones that are gonna
take you a little bit longer.
But if you aim for that bubble,it's a really healthy sweet
spot.
And so if you start to seethose response times go to like,
(25:02):
you know, a 20-minute average,we have a problem because
something is causing this teamto think they have to rush.
And what have I done to createa space where people do not feel
like they are allowed to taketheir time and be careful and
ask questions and just, youknow, you have to be able to sit
(25:28):
in it.
If you're constantly goingthrough the motions, then I mean
your heart rate's gonna go up,your brain is gonna be full
because you're not givingyourself that time to let that
last one evacuate your brain sothat you can have the space for
the next one.
You're not gonna be able tonotice trends because you're not
actually in taking information.
(25:48):
You're just surface levelbanging stuff out.
And so there's so manydetrimental things that happen
when you are not given theopportunity to pause.
Priscilla (26:01):
Yeah, I think that's a huge aspect of the right
mindset.
Earlier you said somethingabout you didn't say it, but I
feel like you were alluding toAI, the idea that it's not about
deflecting people getting to usat all.
It's giving us the ability toslow down.
Yep.
And I think that that is one ofthese really strong things that
comes along with AI andcustomer support is that now we
(26:25):
have tools that can allow us toslow down and be more focused on
these things.
And I also think what you justsaid about noticing trends is a
huge one.
And I don't think I've reallyheard anyone say it like that
before.
But the idea that when you'removing quickly through the
queue, you're not fully intakinginformation in a way that
(26:46):
allows you to do something withit outside of the queue to
better your support.
You're working so quickly, andthen you realize, wait, have I
answered six of these in thelast hour?
Maybe there's something goingon.
Whereas if you're going slowly,you might realize it sooner
than that.
And I think that's a really bigthing as a reason to slow down
and a reason that that kind ofspace and creating that kind of
(27:08):
space for your team is reallyimportant.
And it does come from the topdown.
I mean, it's supportleadership, but you have to get
leadership of the company to bein on that because so many
people think that response timeis the end all be all when it
comes to customer support.
Like if you get it out fast,we're doing a great job.
(27:30):
And that's just not a goodindicator of it.
I think that pausing is reallyimportant.
Yeah.
Sarah (27:34):
Well, and if that is the goal, like I mean, I've worked
for a company where the foundersaid in his mind, response time
should be two hours flat for thesuper technical thing.
Priscilla (27:43):
Yeah.
Sarah (27:43):
And it's like, well, that's like a five million
dollar investment to achievethat.
Yeah.
Like you have to have anincredibly well-staffed,
well-trained team with toolsthat go above and beyond what
the standard tool, you know,suites have.
You have to have collaborationwith every single department in
(28:05):
a way that is so ingrained intounderstanding these customer
inquiries to be able to escalatein the moment.
Because if two-hour responsetime is your goal, I would
assume, and I hate assuming, butI would assume that you are not
then thinking that they have towait three weeks for a
resolution.
You are expecting this type ofreply cycle to be pretty, pretty
(28:30):
quick.
Uh, so it's sure, yeah, we allwant that instant gratification,
but that comes with a very,very hefty price and headcount
is it.
Yeah.
Like that's the only way toachieve often many of these
lofty goals.
Priscilla (28:47):
Yeah.
So we've talked about havingspace and curiosity and those
kind of things.
What are some of the other kindof attitudes that you would see
in someone who has that healthymindset in support?
Sarah (28:59):
Well, when I've seen this in the past on teams that I've
led, they are usually the peoplethat are quick to help others
on their team.
So they'll jump in and pointthem in the right direction or
even just say, I don't know, sothat they feel like it's okay to
not know this one.
This one's tricky.
And then maybe give them aheads up of someone on
(29:19):
engineering that they shouldreach out to to go into that
question.
And it's someone who has thatassuming positive intent
mentality, who has that mindsetof, I like what I do.
I feel like I'm empowered to domy job well.
That has a ripple effect.
And so you just you see it inthose slack communications.
(29:43):
You see it in the way that theyvolunteer to help with certain
things.
Because also people that havethat positive mindset when
they're doing their work, theyfeel supported.
So they're, they're able to dothe things that make them happy,
they're able to do, you know, Ithink that there's a lot to be
said about figuring out how totriage in a way that makes sense
(30:06):
for for your team.
And so if you're triaging in away that this one person who
just loves being able to problemsolve a certain topic and
they're really good at it, ifyou triage in a way that
celebrates that and allows themto do that, well, then they're
going to feel fulfilled everyday because they're actually
(30:28):
able to do what they love to do.
And too often you see this pushfor being a generalist, like
long-term in support.
And 1000% when you first join ateam, being a generalist is is
what you have to do.
You have to be able to play,you have to be able to fail, you
have to be able to connectdots.
(30:49):
But then you have to be able tonot have to context switch all
the time.
You have to be able tounderstand the ins and outs of
certain questions.
And how the heck are yousupposed to do that when you've
got 12 different complex bucketsthat you have to swim through
every day and anotheropportunity to spot trends?
(31:11):
Well, if if you're not doingeverything, you can actually pay
attention to what's happeningin front of you.
Priscilla (31:17):
Right.
I heard this, I don't know,years ago.
I was in a leadership meetingand we were talking about things
we like to do versus thingsthat we have to do and like
looking at your day and figuringout how much of it brings you
joy and how much of it doesn't,and looking at the things that
don't bring you joy and findingways to get those off your
plate.
It was the first time that Ihad really like thought about
(31:39):
like, oh, wait, the things thatI don't like to do, I don't have
to do those.
I can find someone else whodoes like to do those things and
they can do that and they'll doit better than I could ever do
it because I don't like to doit.
And there was a little bit oflike this freedom of like, that
is not how we think about work.
That is not how we, as asociety, think about work.
We think about work like thisis the thing I have to do in
(32:01):
order to make the money to livethe life that I want to live.
But if you look at it like,hey, I am not gonna do the thing
that I really dread doing, butthat Sarah loves to do.
So Sarah can do that thing andI'm gonna focus on the things
that I love to do, and we'regonna balance each other well,
and all the things are gonna getdone way better than if we were
(32:22):
doing them a different way.
I think that is kind of likealongside what you were just
talking about, with like, youknow, when you're triaging an
inbox as a leader, you can go,well, I know this person is
really good with the technicalstuff.
So I'm gonna get this to herbecause I know she's gonna enjoy
that more.
And I'd rather her do that thanJimmy because Jimmy doesn't
like the tech stuff.
He's so much better when itcomes to this.
(32:42):
And so I'm gonna get the thingsto him.
And I think that someone that'sable to do that for their team,
that is the sign of a reallygreat leader who's able to use
people in a way that matchestheir strengths and the things
that make them happy.
Sarah (32:56):
Oh, totally.
And I think that there's likeif you do it in a really
transparent way, you can thenleverage that to notice gaps
that need to be filled withinyour team.
You can leverage that forupskilling.
You can notice that formentoring on things.
But then also as you start tothink about career pathing
within support, I mean, in orderto have the right mindset, you
(33:18):
need to be able to know that,you know, you you've got places
to go.
This is not just gonna be yourforever unless you want this to
be your forever, which is great.
And then that's something thatyou can communicate with your
leader.
But, you know, it's it's goodto evolve in in certain things
over time.
And now with AI and with all ofthese different conversations
(33:40):
about, you know, where where theCX industry is going,
understanding the people thatyou have on your team,
understanding the way thatcustomer support and customer
experience should be interactingwith every single corner of the
business, like it should be thecenter of every single thing
that's happening within abusiness.
How do you create a careerpath, a growth strategy for your
(34:04):
teams to be elevated andempowered to be those connectors
to do those things that theylove?
So if it's somebody that isreally, really great at
explaining things, like theyknow how to break it down in
such a way that just gets acrossthe tech people all the way
down to those people that justcan barely figure out how to
turn on their computer.
Priscilla (34:23):
Right.
Sarah (34:24):
See if they're interested in being on like the onboarding
and training track and they canstart leveling up, you know,
the next round of hires.
They can create the curriculum,you know, they'll still be in
the queue.
I think it's important ifyou're in CX, you always have a
touch point within the queue.
But create a path for peoplethat are like them to thrive and
feel proud of what they do in abroader sense.
(34:47):
Or, you know, if you've gotsomeone that is really great at
AI, okay, well, we're gonna haveto have people that are
managing all of these tools thatare doing QA on the outputs
that are teaching it and and allof that stuff.
So let's create a career pathfor that and have it be visible
and have it be communicated andhave it be celebrated because if
(35:08):
you feel valued, if you feelseen, if you feel that you are
being approached with positiveintent, like that's curiosity at
its finest.
It's creating space for peopleto be curious about where their
career can take them, but withinthe space of customer support,
because you don't always have toleave to be able to grow and
evolve and do what you love.
Priscilla (35:29):
Yeah.
And it encourages this idea ofownership over the work you're
doing.
Because when you know that, oh,I'm on this track or I'm being
used in this way because this isa strength of mine.
And my leaders told me thatthis is, you know, and I see it
and they see it, you have thissense of ownership, which I
think is something that's reallyimportant in customer support
(35:50):
and probably doesn't happen asoften as we want it to, is this
idea that the work I'm doing,I'm not just a cog in a machine.
I am taking ownership of thisemail that I'm sending.
And that is another part ofthis like mindset of how am I
gonna do this really well?
Well, I'm gonna encourageeveryone on my team to have this
sense of ownership over everybrick they lay, every email they
(36:13):
send, every project they workon, because that is such a big
part of wanting, like thatinternal motivation to do really
well, to do really good work,that comes from having this
sense of ownership over the workyou're doing.
And if you don't have that, Imean, we've all worked under
leaders that are supermicromanage-y leaders, and
(36:34):
you're like, it doesn't matterwhat I do because they're gonna
tell me exactly how to do this.
And so all I have to do is laythe brick down and move on to
the next brick.
But then you lose that internalmotivation to do really good
work.
Right.
And so there is this aspect ofas a leader, give your team
space, let them feel thatownership and let them get on
that path and walk toward thething that they love to do.
(36:54):
And it will help foster thatmindset of ownership of all of
these things that are reallyimportant for customer support.
Sarah (37:02):
I love that you said that.
Ownership for your success is apillar of any team that I lead.
Like if I'm doing team values,that is one of them because it
also alleviates a lot of theresponsibility of the leader to
hand them their career path on asilver platter.
It's like I don't have themental capacity to be able to
(37:25):
tell you what you're good at andtell you how to do it and tell
you to take pride in what you doand like all of these little
things.
It's like, no, like I'moperating at a higher level.
I'm not in the trenches withyou.
So if you see a gap, fill itand talk to me about it.
(37:47):
And if if it didn't fill it allthe way, let's figure out why.
If it did fill it, can wereplicate this to fill other
cracks?
Like there's so much to be saidabout the power of autonomy and
about, you know, taking that.
I mean, talk about a mindsetshift of being responsible for
yourself and your success andyour opportunities and and your
(38:09):
growth as a leader.
You have to draw a line in thesand.
I will say to my teen, I'malways a safe space to vent, but
you get one free vent wherewe're not talking about how
we're gonna solve it.
Yeah.
But then the next time, comewith what your plan is.
Jordan (38:25):
Yeah.
Sarah (38:25):
How are you gonna prevent this from happening?
Because yes, there's gonna bedays that suck.
And I want you to know that youcan just unload on me.
But if you're unloading on mefor the exact same thing every
single Tuesday, then you have totake ownership for this.
You have to come up with astrategy and let's work on this
together.
But it's not my responsibilityas your boss, as your leader, to
(38:49):
tell you what each thing is.
And with that mindset, you getso much more pride in what you
do.
Yeah.
Priscilla (38:57):
And there are some bosses where they do feel like
it's their role.
And because they do that somuch, you feel like I can't do
it on my own.
I need someone else to tell me.
And there's a lot of us.
I know for me, I came fromanother career where I did not
have the kind of autonomy I havenow.
And to move over and then allof a sudden have it, it can be
(39:19):
really hard.
Yeah.
It can be really hard to belike, okay, now I have to within
myself find a way to grow thisownership of my own career
because no one's handing it tome.
No one's telling me exactlywhat turn to take and where to
go.
And I think it can be reallyhard, but it's really important.
And healthy leaders who arefostering a healthy team will be
(39:39):
there to walk alongside you anddo it, but they're not gonna
hold your hand over every, youknow, hurdle exactly that same
way.
And so I think finding a wayinternally to say, okay, I'm
gonna take ownership andresponsibility for the work I'm
doing, and I'm gonna beproactive in that and I'm gonna
be intentional in that.
All of that comes from withinand your leader can help you get
(40:01):
there, but a lot of it is adecision you're making every
day.
Sarah (40:04):
1000% because change is hard.
Change is hard, yeah, change isscary, yeah, change is gray.
I've seen this too many timeson teams that I've led or people
that I've mentored that are insimilar situations, where
especially when some of thatchange, like this owning your
success, you have to be heldaccountable for your output.
(40:24):
Like you have to be heldaccountable for the work that
you do and and the role that youplay within this unit.
And that is a very threateningthing for some folks that, you
know, are enjoying what they'vebuilt for themselves or or or
lack thereof.
And and I mean, I've done itmyself before too.
I mean, especially if you'reunderpaid, I'm not going to give
(40:47):
a rat's batootie about anythingelse, just like a hundred
percent.
I'm gonna get through my day.
But I mean, if you are paidwell, then this is a career for
you.
And then you need to behavelike a professional.
And uh, and and you can't fightthat because like you can try
to spin this as a negativething, you can try to spin this
(41:08):
as a they're trying to controlme, they're trying to take me
out of doing these things, likethis is so burdensome.
But really, it's you are nowbeing given the gift to try
things and fail sometimes.
This is a safe space.
But if we're entering it withpositive intentions and we
assume the same of those thatare around us, and if we enter
(41:32):
these different things that wetry, like I always ask my teams,
like give this a specific blockof time.
Like, usually it'll be likeeither six weeks or three
months.
It may suck.
Like it could be failingmiserably, but let's just commit
to this for three months.
And I will put something on thecalendar for three months from
(41:53):
today for us to do a debrief ofthis, for us to do a post-mortem
of this, figure out whatworked, figure out what didn't.
But if we are entering intothis with the mindset of this
sucks, this is terrible, this isgonna fail, this is gonna be a
waste of my time, this is gonnamake my days so much harder,
then it will make your days somuch harder.
Yeah.
(42:13):
But if you enter into it with,you know what, I may not agree
with this choice.
I may have done thisdifferently, but I'm going to do
my best and try this for threemonths.
And then after that, we willopen the door to figure out what
the best next step is.
But I'm going to do this withthe best of intentions,
(42:34):
regardless of how crappy I thinkit is at the end of the day.
That will change your mindsetin a positive way over time
because you're choosing everyday to try.
You're choosing every day to beopen to something different.
Priscilla (42:48):
And it's more enjoyable.
Right.
It's just a more enjoyable wayto live, to want things to
succeed versus to go in knowingthey're already going to fail.
And I think even that tryingthings and I do the same thing.
I'll put like a, you know, anend cap on it and say, let's try
it for this long and see how itgoes.
And let's give it a good shotand see how things happen.
And then we'll we'll readjustwhen we find out how it went.
(43:10):
And I think that even thatmindset of like trying and
failing, and hey, this might notwork, and we're gonna commit
three months to it, and thenwe're gonna see.
I think that mindset is hugebecause so much you hear about
companies where, well, why doyou do it this way?
Well, that's just the way we'vealways done it.
Jordan (43:26):
Yeah.
Priscilla (43:26):
And if that's the way you've always done it, then
that must be the right way tokeep doing it.
But that is not the rightmindset to have.
No, because things are alwayschanging.
There's always better ways toattack problems.
And so having this mindset of,okay, I'm gonna try it.
I'm gonna try it.
And if it fails, it fails, andwe're gonna move on and we're
gonna try something new.
And I sometimes look at it aslike it's almost exciting just
(43:47):
to see what's gonna happen.
Like, right.
My hypothesis is not the sameas yours.
I don't think it's gonna turnout the way you think it's gonna
turn out, but let's see.
It's exciting to try it.
Yeah.
It just makes life moreenjoyable if you have that kind
of a positive.
Positive outlook on things.
Yep.
We've all worked at the jobswhere everything was negative,
where everyone was talkingnegatively about everyone in the
company, and every day was aslog because it was all so
(44:10):
negative.
Yeah.
And when you have that kind ofa negative mindset, it can
really be detrimental to yourhealth as an employee or for
your team, or when you'refostering like those little side
conversations and all of thatstuff.
It's so negative.
If you're able to pull yourselfout of that, which can be
really hard, especially if youare working for a company that
(44:33):
has a lot of that negativityaround there, but you can, you
can pull yourself out of thatand focus on the positive things
and try to get into a placewhere you're seeing this as
building a cathedral and notjust laying bricks.
You can do that.
You said something about likeif you're being paid enough,
it's a lot easier to do that.
I think that 100% is true.
(44:55):
But sometimes you don't havethe luxury of leaving the job
you were in because you're notbeing paid enough to find
somewhere else before you startthinking like that.
Yeah.
And so sometimes you have tofind a way to think like that,
even if you're not being paidwhat you should be getting paid.
It's like the chicken or theegg.
You know, once I start thinkingthat way and start valuing the
work I'm doing in that way, thenI start seeing that I need to
(45:17):
be paid more.
Then I start seeing my valuebetter and I can sell myself
better to other companies andthey can pay me what I deserve.
And that will encourage it.
If you are in a mindset of,well, I'm not getting paid
enough, so I'm just gonna do thebare minimum because I'm not
getting paid enough, you'renever gonna get out of that.
Right.
But if you start to go aboveand beyond it, you will start to
(45:38):
see your value better andyou'll be able to get to another
place.
Jordan (45:41):
This is like the inner monologue version of dress for
the job you want, not the jobyou have.
Priscilla (45:45):
Yes.
Yeah.
Create the mindset that youwant to have for the job that
you dream to have.
Sarah (45:51):
Yeah, exactly.
I think too, like I'm just likethinking back on, I mean, I've
had so many jobs where I am paidpennies for the work that I do.
And yeah, and I think it issuch an empowering and beautiful
moment of clarity that isreally easy to kind of sweep
under the rug.
But when you get to that spacewhere you can embrace it, like
(46:12):
crazy things happen.
But like that moment of claritywhere it's like, I'm better
than this.
I deserve more than this, thenyou're able to start to think of
what's possible for you.
You're able to start to thinkof what you deserve, what is
worthy of your gifts to make acompany or a space better.
(46:33):
And that when you startthinking about the future, when
you start thinking about what'spossible in a way that is
exciting, you are going to be ina better mindset and headspace
when you're at your job becauseyou know it's not forever.
Like if I know that I'm in thisspace that they don't
(46:57):
appreciate me, that I haven'thad a raise for three years,
that somebody else always getsthe promotion that I want.
That is not a place where youare going to thrive.
Priscilla (47:06):
Right.
Yeah.
Sarah (47:07):
Period.
That's that's not a good spacefor you.
But that is where you are inthis moment.
So take a deep breath and startthinking about what brings you
joy.
Priscilla (47:16):
Yes.
Sarah (47:17):
And how can you leverage that to find a place that is
going to be so freaking excitedthat you are with them.
And like then you think, like,you know what?
I just gotta suck it up for alittle while longer.
I just gotta power through thisa little while longer.
Maybe I do take on that projectthat marketing was trying to
(47:38):
find somebody to help withbecause then I can add that to
my resume.
Yeah.
And then I can say that I havethis sort of experience.
Maybe I can see if I can shadowthis person for a little while.
So then I can kind ofunderstand the terminology that
people in finance have that Idon't know anything about.
Like you start to takeadvantage of things that felt so
burdensome, or you felt likeyou were drowning, or you felt
(48:01):
like you were backed into awall.
That we've all been in thosehead spaces.
Those are normal head spaces tobe into when you're in a bad
environment.
But just seeing the light atthe end of the tunnel and
understanding that you are notdefined by this crappy place,
that they are missing outbecause you are amazing and you
(48:24):
are capable of so much more thanyou realize.
And then taking that to findthe place that gets you excited,
that's how you survive thosemindset shifts in those crappy
places.
Priscilla (48:36):
It takes me right back to what you were talking
about at the very top of theshow with your husband making
your day with that note.
Sometimes you're in thoseplaces and you cannot see your
strengths as a worker becauseyou've been in this environment
for so long and you feelnegative and frustrated, and you
don't have space to askquestions.
And so you feel like you'rejust messing up right and left,
(48:58):
and it's not providing a healthyenvironment for you.
Sometimes the best thing youcan do is go to people that are
not in that environment, butthat know you and ask them to
remind you why you're reallygood at this or what your
strengths are.
Because that mindset, once youget into that like self-doubt
and that I can't do anythingright and I'm paid this little
(49:21):
meager amount and they don't seemy value, you start to believe
that that's your value.
Yep.
And it can be really hard.
But stepping out and findingpeople that are outside of maybe
they're outside of your work,maybe it's a colleague who you
have a really good relationshipwith, maybe it's a leader in
your company who sees a value inyou.
But find that person and getthem.
(49:42):
I mean, just straight up askthem to remind you why you're
good.
Because sometimes you needthat.
Our minds play tricks on us.
And once you hear that, thenyou'll start seeing what your
value is.
And then you can go, okay, nowI'm gonna go and see where I can
find a team that's gonnarecognize my value and see the
things that I bring to thetable.
Yep.
Because the reality is you havestrengths in you, you have that
(50:04):
value.
And if you're in an environmentthat is not supporting that,
then you shouldn't stay in thatenvironment any longer than you
have to.
Sarah (50:11):
Yeah.
Yep.
I think that's it right there.
And if you are a leader, thisis why one-on-ones are so
freaking important.
They are not nice to have.
They are required for you toactually run a team well.
And uh, if you're in a teamthat's understaffed, have weekly
one-on-ones so that your teamfeels that you are listening,
(50:32):
that you see them, that youunderstand things suck right
now, but it's not forever.
Yeah.
Like celebrate those littlewins.
Don't just hide because youknow that things are terrible or
you think that taking them outfor 30 minutes is going to make
things worse.
It's not.
It's it's going to make themfeel valued, that even when
things are crazy, you careenough about them to pull them
(50:55):
out because the queue willsurvive for 30 minutes without
them and do that level setting,that that I see you moment.
So that, you know, even ifyou're leading a team where the
pay is crap, like we all knowyou don't probably have any
control over your budget.
You are probably very underpaidas well.
And so just help those folkssee their value, help them
(51:19):
identify their strengths, remindthem that you know, like it's
not in their head.
And because just like you weresaying, Priscilla, and I'm so
glad that you did, like, youstart to believe it.
If you are constantly told thatyou are less than, if you are
constantly told that you arenever going to deserve a job
that pays you a livable wage, ifyou are told that, you know,
(51:43):
all of these reasons why this isthe only place that you should
be spending your day, then yourinner voice is just going to get
louder and louder because allit's doing is validating it.
And I told my husband the otherday, like in my head,
especially when it comes tolike, you know, my kids and
whether or not I'm showing upright for as a mom when things
(52:03):
can get hard, like I have thatnegative monologue going all the
time.
And if you say, hey, I noticedthat you were having a hard time
connecting with him, that'sjust validating that one
negative thing.
And then if that one is true,then are all of the other things
true?
And then you just start tospiral.
(52:25):
And so having someone in yourcorner that is your hype person
that recognizes that, like youprobably are saying all the bad
things times a million toyourself when you get into those
mental spiral moments.
The best way to pull someoneout of that is to just remind
them that they're really great.
(52:45):
And that's it.
Priscilla (52:47):
Yeah.
And give them examples.
And when you have thoseone-on-ones with your team,
point out the things they'rereally good at and point out the
successes that they've had.
And even if you spend theentire 30 minute or whatever it
is, one-on-one, just tellingthem all the things they're
great at, that is a totallyvalid use of that time.
Sarah (53:05):
Great use of that time.
Priscilla (53:07):
Great use of that time.
I think when I first startedleading a team, I think that
there was something in me that Iwas more focused on the
sharpening of the axe and thegetting better and less focused
on the, hey, let's talk aboutthe things you're really good
at, though.
Let's take a second and dothat.
And that is so directlyconnected to the mindset that
(53:27):
then they're gonna turn aroundand take when they are giving
your customers that experience.
If they have that healthy inputfrom you of here are the things
that you're really great at,here's what I see in you,
they're gonna take that andthey're gonna use that and be
positive and encouraging to yourcustomers.
(53:47):
And there is a hugetrickle-down effect.
And so, as leaders, it's ourjob to make sure we're connected
enough with the people on ourteam that we can see those
things and that we can pour intothose things.
Sarah (53:59):
And also then celebrate when you see them start to do
that with other folks on theteam or other folks within the
company too.
Because once they see thatvalue of their cup being filled
by by the things that you'resaying, and they notice somebody
else that they're working withor collaborating with that is
being too hard on themselves,then it won't be a heavy lift
(54:20):
for them to be like, whoa, I seeyou.
You are crushing it.
Why are you telling me thatthis sucks?
This is so good.
Do you see what you'veaccomplished already?
Right.
Like, and then, and then youdon't have as heavy of a lift as
a leader to always be that hypeman in those one-on-ones
because they're getting theselittle nuggets throughout the
(54:41):
week from their peers, whichsometimes carries an even bigger
weight than from your leader.
Priscilla (54:48):
And that variety helps too.
Like if the same person tellsyou you're great at this every
week, eventually it loses itsshine.
But you hear from other peopleand it reignites this feeling.
And so 100% when someone sayssomething kind to me about
someone else on the team, I'mlike, go post that in a public
chat.
Like, go post that in front ofthem.
Let them see that you'recelebrating them because that's
(55:11):
so important and it can do somuch good when it comes to our
mindset.
Okay, final thoughts to wrapthis up.
What, Sarah, do you hope thatsupport professionals remember
about mindset going forward?
What do you want them to takewith them as they are kind of
moving into their work here in2026?
Sarah (55:30):
I love that question.
What I hope that they take withthem as they're moving into
2026 is a constant reminder thatyou are a highly skilled
professional, that your skillset is rare.
Very few people can do what youdo.
Yeah.
And the fact that you arecommitted to building a career
in this space that can be, itcan be hard and it can be
(55:53):
demoralizing sometimes, but itcan really be one of the most
beautiful spaces to thrive.
Just constantly remind yourselfhow skilled you are and how
proud you should be that you arein this career because it is
not an easy career to build.
Priscilla (56:13):
I think that's great.
And it reminds me of like thoseearly years in customer support
where you kind of feel like, orI felt like, I don't know if
this is a universal experience,but for me, it was like, oh man,
I'm this is like grunt work.
It takes so much skill to docustomer support well.
And so if you're listening tothis podcast because you're
trying to level up yourexperience, you're already doing
(56:36):
so much better than people willexpect because of these low
standards people have forcustomer support.
And so I 100% back that.
Like the work you're doing isvaluable.
What you bring to the table isvaluable.
Not everyone can do this.
And that should be anencouragement to you as you go
into your work day to day.
And you can choose a mindsetthen of excellence, and you can
(56:59):
choose a mindset of empathy, ofassuming positive intent, of
responsibility as you continueto lay those bricks and build
the cathedral and impactpeople's day in a positive way
through customer experience.
So, Sarah, thank you for beinghere.
This was really great.
Thanks for having me.
You're such a positive light.
Tell me how people can reachyou.
(57:21):
If people want to learn moreabout you or listen to your
podcasts or read yournewsletter, how can people reach
you?
Sarah (57:26):
Yeah.
Well, first, like I could talkto you guys about this forever.
This has been very likecathartic being able to talk
about this with you guys becauseI think it's such an important
thing that often just kind ofgets overlooked.
But it is a really, reallyimportant piece of the puzzle.
Um, so if you're looking forme, you can find me on LinkedIn.
I am there probably too much.
I have a newsletter that youcan subscribe to where we dig
(57:50):
into different concepts on spaceand ownership and power that
comes out every Wednesday.
I've got the CX roundtable thatdigs into different uh CX
related topics.
And then there's the careerstrategist to talk about owning
your success.
Talk about owning your successand power dynamics, but uh,
don't be a stranger.
I I am excited to talk toanybody in this space and answer
(58:13):
any question that I have.
So please reach out.
Priscilla (58:16):
Yeah, and I highly recommend anything Sarah touches
because I feel like back withepic growth, those podcast
episodes were so great.
I was reading the newsletterthis morning and I was like,
man, this is so well written.
It's not even just like greatcontent, but it's just well
written.
It's in a very readable way.
(58:36):
I think sometimes, you know,newsletters in the corporate
world can be, you know,sometimes subpar.
But I was reading yours thismorning and I was like, man,
this is just so well written.
She has so many good things tosay.
So I 100% recommend thepodcasts and the newsletter to
anyone listening because theyreally are so incredible.
Thank you.
All right.
Well, if you have a question ora topic that you would like us
(58:58):
to cover in a future episode,you can shoot us a text message
using the send us a text link inthe episode description.
As always, if you like thisepisode, share it with someone
who works in customer support,maybe someone who needs some
encouragement.
So thanks again to SarahCamonidi for joining us on
today's episode.
Thank you for listening.
Now go and make someone's day.
Welcome to Happy to Help, a podcast about customer
support from the people atBuzzprout.
I'm your host, PriscillaBrooke.
Great support doesn't startwith tools or processes.
It starts with the rightmindset.
So today we're exploring what ahealthy support mindset looks
like, why it matters, and howleaders can intentionally create
environments where that mindsetcan thrive.
(00:20):
Thanks for joining us.
Let's get into it.
All right, it's a great day totalk about customer support,
don't you think, Jordan?
Jordan (00:29):
Every day is a great day to talk about customer support.
Priscilla (00:32):
That's true, it is.
And joining us today on thisepisode is a return guest.
We have Sarah Caminiti joiningus again.
Hi, Sarah.
Sarah (00:41):
Hello.
I'm so excited to be here.
Thanks for having me back.
Priscilla (00:46):
Thanks for coming and bringing your exciting, fun,
bubbly energy to the pod.
I love it so much.
Sarah (00:52):
Always for you guys.
I mean, this is a party.
Jordan (00:54):
It is a party.
Priscilla (00:56):
We should change the title to like Customer Support
Party Podcast.
Jordan (00:59):
Yeah.
Rebrand?
Let's do it.
Priscilla (01:00):
I like it.
Party.
Okay, Sarah.
So who made your day recently?
Sarah (01:05):
So I was going to talk about my kid, but actually I'm
going to talk about my husbandbecause today he gave me a card
and it was the sweetest, mostthoughtful card about how I am
too hard on myself when I thinkabout showing up for my kids and
uh that uh I'm doing a greatjob.
(01:26):
And it's just, you know,sometimes you get in your head,
and uh, I've got a six-year-oldwho he just turned six this last
week, uh, and he is into somuch stuff that I do not
understand.
And he is so excited about it.
And it's so hard to be engagedwith someone who is talking
gibberish, basically, to you.
(01:46):
Uh, and uh, and it's alsoreally hard to be excited to
see, no joke, 45 differentversions of jump scares that he
has created.
Jordan (01:55):
Oh, I'm in that right now, too.
I'm oh, I'm so I get it.
Sarah (01:59):
I mean, it's beautiful.
I love it all, but it issomething to sit through.
And so to have my husband likesee me see that I needed uh a
little reminder and uh, youknow, like one of those like
centering moments um really waswonderful.
Priscilla (02:14):
It really is so helpful to have a third-party
person look in and remind you ofthe things you know to be true,
but that you forget sometimeswhen you're in the middle of it.
Sarah (02:24):
It's that validation, it's that celebration, it's
that, and it's I mean, it's notjust like a partnership thing at
home.
This is something that carriesinto work, it carries into
leadership, it carries intofriendship.
It's so easy to get, you know,swept away with the day and
forget to say thank you, orforget to say I see you, or
(02:45):
forget to say great job.
And it doesn't have to be forbig things.
It's just those little, it'sit's those small moments that
making sure people feel seen, Ithink, uh carries more power
than grand gestures.
Priscilla (02:59):
Yeah, and and noticing the small things proves
to the person that you actuallyare caring about them.
It's easy to congratulatepeople on the big stuff, the big
announcements.
But when you notice someone onyour team, let's put it in a
work environment, right?
Like someone on your team doingsomething that is really great,
but maybe not very loud, whenyou point that out, then what
(03:20):
they get from that is, oh, thisperson knows me and they are
aware of what I'm doing on agranular basis.
So shout out to your husband.
That's fantastic.
So, Sarah, it's been a year anda half since you were on the
show first.
Whoa, I know.
Crazy.
You were our first, likeoutside of Buzz Sprout guest,
(03:42):
and it was so much fun havingyou on, but it's been a year and
a half.
So, what has changed?
Catch us up on where you arenow, what you're working on,
what makes you excited aboutcustomer support?
Sarah (03:51):
So much has changed.
I mean, a year and a half, holymoly.
It feels like it's been like 10years, but also two weeks at
the same time.
But uh, I mean, it is such anexciting time to be
public-facing customerexperience professionals because
there's so much to talk aboutand there's so much to call out.
And in the last year and ahalf, I mean, I've moved.
(04:14):
Uh, we were in Rhode Islandwhen we first recorded this, and
now I'm in the woods in Maineand uh enjoying a wintry
wonderland.
I'm trying to make it sound alot more positive than it is
because it's just really cold.
Um but uh but I've also kind ofevolved in the podcasting
space, in the writing space, andthe conference space, um, which
(04:39):
has been such an excitingjourney.
We've got the CX roundtablethat Priscilla has been a part
of and will continue to be.
Fantastic podcast.
It's so much fun just beingable to ask those questions
that, especially when you're anIC, you don't really know who to
ask or how to ask it.
And uh the people that havegifted me with their time and
(05:00):
trust to be on these episodesare just it always blows my
mind.
But we're able to actually likeprovide answers to to harder
questions and and hopefully givepeople a little bit more peace
of mind of those everydaythings, but also those behind
the scenes things that that youknow you don't always know are
(05:21):
are going on.
And so that's been a blast.
And uh, I've got my newsletterthat has been so rewarding.
And uh we have the space seriescoming to a close, and then
that's going to move into powerdynamics when the podcast
launches for the careerstrategists, which is season
two, technically, of epicalgrowth, where epical growth was
(05:44):
the proof that you can leaddifferently, you can build the
career without losing yourself.
Um, and then I thought I wouldbe doing a disservice if I did
not break down how to do itbecause it's very easy to be
aspirational and it's very easyto look up at people and say
they can do it, but then Ican't.
Yeah.
So uh I've created aneight-piece podcast series to
(06:08):
teach people how to claim theirpower and and navigate tricky
situations, and uh, and thatwill kind of flow through from
where the space series has leftoff.
So it's a really exciting time.
Priscilla (06:20):
You're doing so many things, and I feel like I'm
constantly seeing you pop up inconversations online, and it's
just so cool.
I think you just do a ton ofreally cool stuff to move the
customer experience landscapeforward.
And so I'm really excited.
I'm excited for the careerstrategist.
I think it's gonna be great.
Thank you.
So, congratulations on all thefun things you're working on.
Jordan (06:42):
Yeah.
Priscilla (06:42):
So I'm really excited to have you on this episode
specifically because I've beenthinking a lot about mindset
when it comes to customersupport and how having the right
mindset when you're approachinga job specifically like support
is really important in order todo it really well, in order to
level it up above kind of yourexpectation, you know, surface
(07:03):
level job.
I heard this story the otherday, and I was like, well, this
is a perfect story to share asthe beginning of this podcast.
I don't know if you've heardthe story of the bricklayers.
No.
So I guess it says this is atrue story, okay?
The internet said this wasreal.
So it must be.
I don't know how real this is,okay?
Some people probably have heardthis before.
So I guess it was in 1666,there was the London fire.
(07:28):
Well, the city of London, Isuppose, hired a famous
architect, Christopher Wren, tobuild the St.
Paul's Cathedral.
And he was observing thebuilding of this and he saw
three brick layers.
And one of them was likecrouched over and laying the
bricks and looked kind ofbummed.
And the second one looked alittle bit nicer, but he was,
you know, he just wasn't doingit with much enthusiasm.
(07:49):
And then the third personlaying the bricks was like
standing tall.
He was really excited about it.
He was laying these bricks.
And so this architect goes toeach one and he asks them what
they're doing.
He says, So what are you doing?
And the first brick layer says,I'm laying bricks.
And then he goes to the secondone, and the second one says,
I'm building a wall.
And then he goes to the thirdperson, and that person with all
this enthusiasm and excitementsays, I'm building a cathedral.
(08:12):
And it's this idea that yourmindset changes the way you
approach the job.
And I heard this earlier thisweek, and I thought, man, that
is so good in all of work tothink, but also like with
support.
You could say, Well, what doyou do for work?
Well, I send emails, I helppeople log into their account.
Okay, that's true.
That is what you do.
(08:32):
Yeah.
But you could say, Oh, I'mrepresenting this brand and I'm
supporting our customers.
Or you could say, I impact 60people's days and I make them
better through my work andcustomer support.
But that mindset is whatdifferentiates the work you do.
And so, as support leaders, howcan we encourage that mindset?
(08:55):
All right.
So, first I want to talk aboutwhy having the right mindset
matters.
Like, why is mindset important?
So, Sarah, when you think aboutgreat customer support
experiences, how much of that doyou think comes down to mindset
versus like tools and processesand kind of the more technical
stuff?
Sarah (09:10):
Well, I think that it's all layered together because I
think that a healthy employeeexperience is always going to
have a direct impact on thecustomer experience.
And the story that you justtold, I think does lay it out
perfectly.
And also like from a how acompany embraces customer
support angle as well, does thecompany think that they are just
(09:35):
a team of people answeringemails?
Does the company think thatthey are, you know, all of these
different layers?
And then finally, does thecompany think they are building
a cathedral?
And uh, and so in order to getinto that mindset as an IC, as
a, as a, you know, a frontlinecustomer support professional,
(09:55):
you have to know you're buildinga cathedral to understand how
to approach this with thatenthusiasm of what you're trying
to do.
And too many companies stillleave CX in the dark for where
things are going, for what theirimpact is on the company, for
(10:15):
how the gold that exists withinthose CX conversations are
changing the roadmap throughoutthe year and bringing them in.
Like it's all about do you feelvalued?
Like you can go into this withthe best mindset of, you know,
when my kids tell anyone whattheir mom does, she helps people
(10:37):
be successful.
Like that's it.
It is, it doesn't matter whoyou are, it doesn't matter what
my role is.
At the end of the day, that iswhat I'm doing.
And and that affords me theopportunity to enter into these
spaces with the right mindsetbecause I know that I am helping
someone be successful.
But if you're new to this, ifyou're new to customer support,
(10:59):
if you're new to customerexperience, and you do not feel
the impact that you have, if youdo not feel it, and I think
CSATs, as much as I hate them,are one of the best ways to
celebrate those really smallmoments of impact.
So like the people that end uprating a CSAT converse or a
(11:22):
conversation with a CSAT scoreof like, you know, the highest
one, and it was just becausethey forgot their password.
That means that to this personthat you just helped remember
their password, you had such apositive impact on them that
they took time out of their dayto rate this as a holy cow,
thank you so much.
(11:43):
And then to be able to receivethat and have the whole company
see that this one interactionhad such a big impact.
Yeah, that's going to allow youto continue to be in that
mindset of I'm building acathedral because you see how
you're impacting people in thesesmall ways and then tying that
(12:05):
to business gains, tying that toproduct changes, to being
invited into different rooms.
Like all of these differentmoments allow you to nurture
this positive mindset.
Priscilla (12:18):
Yeah.
I think that's such animportant thing to remember is
that it's not fully inside ofyourself.
There is this support that youneed from your company or from
the people you're working with,because sometimes you're not
going to get it top-down.
And so you need to look for thepeople that you're working
alongside and say, we're goingto support each other in
fostering this mindset.
(12:38):
And I think there's a niceblend, like you said, of like
needing good processes and goodtools and support in order to
build this mindset of takingyour work with that extra
weight.
Cause that really is whatyou're doing.
I agree with what you said.
CSAT is not the end-all be-allfor measuring success when it
comes to support, but it can bea huge encourager for people who
(13:02):
are in the trenches writing theemails, laying the bricks.
And when someone says, man, youlaid that brick perfectly, it
can make you go, man, it reallydoes remind me that my impact
here can be more than justlaying a brick.
It can be impacting someone'sday.
And I think that that's reallyimportant to remember.
So I was thinking, you know,about this impact of mindset and
(13:26):
support and what that actuallylooks like when it comes to like
sending those emails andinteracting with customers.
Your customers are going tofeel your mindset on the other
side.
So if you are writing an emailwith a negative mindset or a,
oh, I'm just sending this emailto clear a cue and then move on,
that is going to come across toyour customer and it will
(13:48):
affect the level of service theyget.
So when I'm thinking of thatlike connection to remarkable
work or remarkable customersupport and mindset, I think
there really is a huge tie inthere of having the right
mindset and doing great work.
So when I was in college, Ioriginally was majoring in
education.
No way.
(14:08):
Yeah, I was in education and Iwas like, I do not want to be a
teacher.
And if I don't have like apassion for teaching, I should
not be in teaching because youcan't be a good teacher without
that passion.
Jordan (14:21):
Yeah.
Priscilla (14:21):
It's too much of a risky thing to have a classroom
where you're not passionateabout teaching these kids.
And I think there's some truthin customer support with that
too.
Oh, yeah.
You have to have a passion forthis or have that right mindset
in order to do it really, reallywell.
And if you can't get there,then there are other jobs that
(14:42):
you can do really well withouthaving a passion for them.
It's just one of those thingswhere that mindset really takes
you above and beyond.
It really pushes and elevatesyour work.
Another thing we talk about alot, though, is the health of
the employees.
So how does your mindset as aworker affect your health as the
employee?
Sarah (14:59):
Well, I think it impacts all of it.
So let's break down likedifferent components of an
employee experience.
Do they have the tools thatthey need to be successful?
Not just bare bones tools, likeand and then they're asked to
do all this manual stuff toachieve the same results.
No.
Do they have the ability toadvocate for themselves and then
(15:21):
get what they need?
Not, you know, like the thingthat drives me nuts is when you
hear about the companies thatare like, oh, uh, we've got this
product.
You can use this to do what youneed.
Like this will work, right?
Because we have something thatis for marketing, but I think
there could be some benefits tousing it for what you're asking
(15:42):
for.
No, no, that's a that's amarketing tool.
I need a customer support toolto help me.
So, first, do they have thetools that they need to be
successful?
And right now, there are somany tools that are helping
customer support professionalsbe successful.
And it's not taking awayopportunities for them to
(16:03):
connect with customers, it'sgiving them that brain space to
actually be present in thoseconversations.
Think what the next step isgoing to be.
Plan to see is this the bestway to communicate this
information, provideopportunities to coach and level
up and add to documentation.
Like now is such an excitingtime to afford these teams the
(16:25):
tools to actually be successfulrather than just survive.
So like that's piece numberone.
Do they have the tools?
And then that also goes with isthis a safe space for them to
ask questions?
Yeah.
Because if this is not a safespace for them to ask questions,
then they are going to makeassumptions and they are going
(16:46):
to be filled with doubt.
And that doubt is a seed thatgets watered so uh easily.
Yes.
Don't set your team up forthat.
Like create a space whereasking for help shows you care
enough to get it right.
Priscilla (17:00):
Yeah.
You talk about curiosity a lotin support.
I feel like I hear that wordfrom you a lot, this idea of
within an employee experience,right?
Like you were just saying,asking questions about the work,
but then also curiosity when itcomes to the actual
communication with the customer.
Yeah.
And I think that's a reallygood point that you have to
(17:20):
foster an environment for yourteam that encourages that
curiosity because it will one,like you're saying, it won't
foster the doubt, right?
Because people can ask thequestions and get clarity on
things.
But it will also avoidunnecessary mistakes that a
question could fix that willhelp with people feeling proud
(17:41):
of the work they're doing,opposed to kind of coming back
from making a mistake that nowhas to get fixed.
And then that feeling of, oh,I'm really, I'm really not very
good at this.
Right, right.
When really the reality is youcould have asked the question
and we could have avoided thisaltogether.
Sarah (17:56):
Totally.
Like anytime someone on my teammakes a mistake, I honestly
celebrate it because thatmistake showed me a crack.
Priscilla (18:04):
Yeah.
Sarah (18:05):
And it is my job to fill those cracks.
And if I don't see the crack, Ican't fill it.
So do you have a document thatwalks you through this specific
scenario?
Or do we have one that's kindof similar, but it actually is
not going to get you to theresult that you need?
Oh, well, you follow the onethat does like when you first
(18:26):
look at it, yeah, I too wouldhave thought that this was the
right way to go, but it actuallyisn't.
So now we know, and now we cancreate a document so that you
know when they're saying thisspecific thing, it means this.
And then from the customer'sperspective, holy cow, you value
me enough to ask me questionsso that we go back and forth a
(18:47):
couple of times and we get itright.
You're not just trying to closethis and and move on.
Priscilla (18:52):
Yeah.
Wow.
You want to understand thesituation.
Yep.
It means a ton to a customer,especially when they ask a
question that's not super clearand they don't really understand
it.
And then you go, oh, I reallywant to understand this.
I really want to see whereyou're coming from and the
situation you're in.
It does really impact and andprove to them that as a customer
(19:12):
support experience, youactually care about them and
you're not just trying to cleara cue.
Yes.
Sarah (19:18):
Yeah, because that's what they can feel.
And then when you think aboutlike, I think there's way too
many parallels between customersupport and leadership.
Priscilla (19:25):
Yeah.
Sarah (19:25):
But when I'm leading a team, my goal is to empower the
people on my team to besuccessful, but also be safe
enough to ask questions whenthose questions pop up.
And it's the exact same thingto any person that's writing
into support.
They have hit a point wherethey can no longer be successful
independently.
You have to empower them to beable to resolve this on their
(19:47):
own and then safe enough to comeback and ask you questions if
something isn't clear orsomething comes up two months
from now.
Priscilla (19:56):
Yeah.
How would you describe the likeright mindset for someone who's
working in customer support?
So if you're trying to kind oflike craft what that looks like,
how would you describe thatmindset?
Sarah (20:07):
Assume positive intent every time.
Priscilla (20:09):
It's like my favorite phrase ever.
Sarah (20:11):
Yeah.
That's it.
Yeah.
That's it.
If you're going into thisthinking this is a human being
that is taking time out of theirday, that's frustrated, that's
struggling, this is a blockerfor them.
They are vulnerable becausethey are asking for help.
And anytime you ask for help,that is a moment of
vulnerability.
And if you forget that as acustomer support person, you are
(20:33):
going to end up doing adisservice to those people that
you're helping.
Like it is not easy asking forhelp, which is why it's so
important as a leader to fosterthat environment so that the
people on your team can developthe tools and the skills and the
language to celebrate the factthat these customers were
vulnerable enough to come to usand ask for help.
(20:55):
So if you are going into thiswith the mindset of this is a
person doing their best, I don'tcare if they didn't read the
help article.
I don't care if they asked methe same question three times.
I am going to continue to bekind to them.
I am going to continue to bethoughtful.
I'm going to give this to myboss if, you know, I'm saying
(21:17):
the exact same thing over andover.
Obviously, you know, they'rejust not in that headspace right
now to receive it.
And oftentimes that just meanssomeone else has to say the
exact same thing and it'll snapthem out of it.
Yeah.
And then they'll be able toreceive it.
It's all of these little tricksof the trade that you learn
over time or that your leadercan can help guide you through
(21:40):
so you can see the impact thatit has.
But it begins and it ends withassuming positive intent.
And if your leadership is notassuming positive intent of you,
then you will not be able tocontinue to assume positive
intent on your customers.
Priscilla (21:54):
I think that is one of the biggest things for anyone
working in customer support inorder.
To do the work consistentlyover a long period of time and
not burn out and switch careersor switch industries, assuming
positive intent is the thingbecause you will burn out so
quickly if you don't do that.
(22:15):
If you read every email and tryto decipher, oh, are they mad
at me or not, like it becomes sodifficult.
But if you always give them thebenefit of the doubt and you
look at it in a sense of, I getto help this person, not I have
to clear this cue or I have tohelp this person who's yelling
at me, but I get to prove tothem that they didn't need to
yell in the first place.
(22:36):
It's a completely differentangle to take on it.
And I think it's so muchhealthier and it's going to let
you work so much longer and havemore enjoyment in your work if
you can approach it in that wayinstead of in this sense of
like, you know, negative, oh mygosh, here we go again.
Joe's reaching out and I haveto deal with Joe again.
The reality is, no, Joe'sreaching out because just like
(22:58):
you said, he's at a place wherehe can't move forward anymore.
And he has a question.
And we're gonna be kind, we'regonna assume positive intent
with Joe, and we're gonna do thebest we can.
And there is a healthiness thatcomes along with that that
allows you to have just moreenjoyment in your life, which
we're all looking for, honestly.
Sarah (23:15):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And something that you saidtoo, Priscilla, about like
clearing the cue and gettingthrough the queue really fast.
I mean, that is a place whereleadership has to create an
environment where pausing ispossible.
And if you do not celebrate thepause to take a deep breath,
what is this person asking?
(23:36):
What's the due diligence thatwe have to go through to like
check all like the standardfirst round uh checks before we
start digging into things?
Yeah.
Because the moment you start totell people to be faster
without giving them any sort oftools to assist them to be
faster, that due diligence isgoing out the window.
And once that due diligencegoes out the window, then you
(23:58):
are going to be sending themincorrect information because
that first level check that youthink you don't have to do
because this is so obvious andyour gut's telling you, you
know, just go down this road,it's gonna bite you in the butt.
But that that's on the leaderto notice.
And that's one of the reasonswhy time to reply is one of my
(24:19):
favorite indicators of employeehealth.
Because if I pay attention tofirst time to reply and I see
that it is a really long space,like not ideal.
I'm understaffed.
Yeah.
Then if you start to see thingsgo from a really good spot,
like I think that 24 hour replytime is a great average if you
(24:41):
have a well-staffed team withthe tools that they need to be
successful, because you're gonnahave those quick wins and those
ones are gonna be a lot easierto bang out.
But then you're also gonna havethe meatier ones that are gonna
take you a little bit longer.
But if you aim for that bubble,it's a really healthy sweet
spot.
And so if you start to seethose response times go to like,
(25:02):
you know, a 20-minute average,we have a problem because
something is causing this teamto think they have to rush.
And what have I done to createa space where people do not feel
like they are allowed to taketheir time and be careful and
ask questions and just, youknow, you have to be able to sit
(25:28):
in it.
If you're constantly goingthrough the motions, then I mean
your heart rate's gonna go up,your brain is gonna be full
because you're not givingyourself that time to let that
last one evacuate your brain sothat you can have the space for
the next one.
You're not gonna be able tonotice trends because you're not
actually in taking information.
(25:48):
You're just surface levelbanging stuff out.
And so there's so manydetrimental things that happen
when you are not given theopportunity to pause.
Priscilla (26:01):
Yeah, I think that's a huge aspect of the right
mindset.
Earlier you said somethingabout you didn't say it, but I
feel like you were alluding toAI, the idea that it's not about
deflecting people getting to usat all.
It's giving us the ability toslow down.
Yep.
And I think that that is one ofthese really strong things that
comes along with AI andcustomer support is that now we
(26:25):
have tools that can allow us toslow down and be more focused on
these things.
And I also think what you justsaid about noticing trends is a
huge one.
And I don't think I've reallyheard anyone say it like that
before.
But the idea that when you'removing quickly through the
queue, you're not fully intakinginformation in a way that
(26:46):
allows you to do something withit outside of the queue to
better your support.
You're working so quickly, andthen you realize, wait, have I
answered six of these in thelast hour?
Maybe there's something goingon.
Whereas if you're going slowly,you might realize it sooner
than that.
And I think that's a really bigthing as a reason to slow down
and a reason that that kind ofspace and creating that kind of
(27:08):
space for your team is reallyimportant.
And it does come from the topdown.
I mean, it's supportleadership, but you have to get
leadership of the company to bein on that because so many
people think that response timeis the end all be all when it
comes to customer support.
Like if you get it out fast,we're doing a great job.
(27:30):
And that's just not a goodindicator of it.
I think that pausing is reallyimportant.
Yeah.
Sarah (27:34):
Well, and if that is the goal, like I mean, I've worked
for a company where the foundersaid in his mind, response time
should be two hours flat for thesuper technical thing.
Priscilla (27:43):
Yeah.
Sarah (27:43):
And it's like, well, that's like a five million
dollar investment to achievethat.
Yeah.
Like you have to have anincredibly well-staffed,
well-trained team with toolsthat go above and beyond what
the standard tool, you know,suites have.
You have to have collaborationwith every single department in
(28:05):
a way that is so ingrained intounderstanding these customer
inquiries to be able to escalatein the moment.
Because if two-hour responsetime is your goal, I would
assume, and I hate assuming, butI would assume that you are not
then thinking that they have towait three weeks for a
resolution.
You are expecting this type ofreply cycle to be pretty, pretty
(28:30):
quick.
Uh, so it's sure, yeah, we allwant that instant gratification,
but that comes with a very,very hefty price and headcount
is it.
Yeah.
Like that's the only way toachieve often many of these
lofty goals.
Priscilla (28:47):
Yeah.
So we've talked about havingspace and curiosity and those
kind of things.
What are some of the other kindof attitudes that you would see
in someone who has that healthymindset in support?
Sarah (28:59):
Well, when I've seen this in the past on teams that I've
led, they are usually the peoplethat are quick to help others
on their team.
So they'll jump in and pointthem in the right direction or
even just say, I don't know, sothat they feel like it's okay to
not know this one.
This one's tricky.
And then maybe give them aheads up of someone on
(29:19):
engineering that they shouldreach out to to go into that
question.
And it's someone who has thatassuming positive intent
mentality, who has that mindsetof, I like what I do.
I feel like I'm empowered to domy job well.
That has a ripple effect.
And so you just you see it inthose slack communications.
(29:43):
You see it in the way that theyvolunteer to help with certain
things.
Because also people that havethat positive mindset when
they're doing their work, theyfeel supported.
So they're, they're able to dothe things that make them happy,
they're able to do, you know, Ithink that there's a lot to be
said about figuring out how totriage in a way that makes sense
(30:06):
for for your team.
And so if you're triaging in away that this one person who
just loves being able to problemsolve a certain topic and
they're really good at it, ifyou triage in a way that
celebrates that and allows themto do that, well, then they're
going to feel fulfilled everyday because they're actually
(30:28):
able to do what they love to do.
And too often you see this pushfor being a generalist, like
long-term in support.
And 1000% when you first join ateam, being a generalist is is
what you have to do.
You have to be able to play,you have to be able to fail, you
have to be able to connectdots.
(30:49):
But then you have to be able tonot have to context switch all
the time.
You have to be able tounderstand the ins and outs of
certain questions.
And how the heck are yousupposed to do that when you've
got 12 different complex bucketsthat you have to swim through
every day and anotheropportunity to spot trends?
(31:11):
Well, if if you're not doingeverything, you can actually pay
attention to what's happeningin front of you.
Priscilla (31:17):
Right.
I heard this, I don't know,years ago.
I was in a leadership meetingand we were talking about things
we like to do versus thingsthat we have to do and like
looking at your day and figuringout how much of it brings you
joy and how much of it doesn't,and looking at the things that
don't bring you joy and findingways to get those off your
plate.
It was the first time that Ihad really like thought about
(31:39):
like, oh, wait, the things thatI don't like to do, I don't have
to do those.
I can find someone else whodoes like to do those things and
they can do that and they'll doit better than I could ever do
it because I don't like to doit.
And there was a little bit oflike this freedom of like, that
is not how we think about work.
That is not how we, as asociety, think about work.
We think about work like thisis the thing I have to do in
(32:01):
order to make the money to livethe life that I want to live.
But if you look at it like,hey, I am not gonna do the thing
that I really dread doing, butthat Sarah loves to do.
So Sarah can do that thing andI'm gonna focus on the things
that I love to do, and we'regonna balance each other well,
and all the things are gonna getdone way better than if we were
(32:22):
doing them a different way.
I think that is kind of likealongside what you were just
talking about, with like, youknow, when you're triaging an
inbox as a leader, you can go,well, I know this person is
really good with the technicalstuff.
So I'm gonna get this to herbecause I know she's gonna enjoy
that more.
And I'd rather her do that thanJimmy because Jimmy doesn't
like the tech stuff.
He's so much better when itcomes to this.
(32:42):
And so I'm gonna get the thingsto him.
And I think that someone that'sable to do that for their team,
that is the sign of a reallygreat leader who's able to use
people in a way that matchestheir strengths and the things
that make them happy.
Sarah (32:56):
Oh, totally.
And I think that there's likeif you do it in a really
transparent way, you can thenleverage that to notice gaps
that need to be filled withinyour team.
You can leverage that forupskilling.
You can notice that formentoring on things.
But then also as you start tothink about career pathing
within support, I mean, in orderto have the right mindset, you
(33:18):
need to be able to know that,you know, you you've got places
to go.
This is not just gonna be yourforever unless you want this to
be your forever, which is great.
And then that's something thatyou can communicate with your
leader.
But, you know, it's it's goodto evolve in in certain things
over time.
And now with AI and with all ofthese different conversations
(33:40):
about, you know, where where theCX industry is going,
understanding the people thatyou have on your team,
understanding the way thatcustomer support and customer
experience should be interactingwith every single corner of the
business, like it should be thecenter of every single thing
that's happening within abusiness.
How do you create a careerpath, a growth strategy for your
(34:04):
teams to be elevated andempowered to be those connectors
to do those things that theylove?
So if it's somebody that isreally, really great at
explaining things, like theyknow how to break it down in
such a way that just gets acrossthe tech people all the way
down to those people that justcan barely figure out how to
turn on their computer.
Priscilla (34:23):
Right.
Sarah (34:24):
See if they're interested in being on like the onboarding
and training track and they canstart leveling up, you know,
the next round of hires.
They can create the curriculum,you know, they'll still be in
the queue.
I think it's important ifyou're in CX, you always have a
touch point within the queue.
But create a path for peoplethat are like them to thrive and
feel proud of what they do in abroader sense.
(34:47):
Or, you know, if you've gotsomeone that is really great at
AI, okay, well, we're gonna haveto have people that are
managing all of these tools thatare doing QA on the outputs
that are teaching it and and allof that stuff.
So let's create a career pathfor that and have it be visible
and have it be communicated andhave it be celebrated because if
(35:08):
you feel valued, if you feelseen, if you feel that you are
being approached with positiveintent, like that's curiosity at
its finest.
It's creating space for peopleto be curious about where their
career can take them, but withinthe space of customer support,
because you don't always have toleave to be able to grow and
evolve and do what you love.
Priscilla (35:29):
Yeah.
And it encourages this idea ofownership over the work you're
doing.
Because when you know that, oh,I'm on this track or I'm being
used in this way because this isa strength of mine.
And my leaders told me thatthis is, you know, and I see it
and they see it, you have thissense of ownership, which I
think is something that's reallyimportant in customer support
(35:50):
and probably doesn't happen asoften as we want it to, is this
idea that the work I'm doing,I'm not just a cog in a machine.
I am taking ownership of thisemail that I'm sending.
And that is another part ofthis like mindset of how am I
gonna do this really well?
Well, I'm gonna encourageeveryone on my team to have this
sense of ownership over everybrick they lay, every email they
(36:13):
send, every project they workon, because that is such a big
part of wanting, like thatinternal motivation to do really
well, to do really good work,that comes from having this
sense of ownership over the workyou're doing.
And if you don't have that, Imean, we've all worked under
leaders that are supermicromanage-y leaders, and
(36:34):
you're like, it doesn't matterwhat I do because they're gonna
tell me exactly how to do this.
And so all I have to do is laythe brick down and move on to
the next brick.
But then you lose that internalmotivation to do really good
work.
Right.
And so there is this aspect ofas a leader, give your team
space, let them feel thatownership and let them get on
that path and walk toward thething that they love to do.
(36:54):
And it will help foster thatmindset of ownership of all of
these things that are reallyimportant for customer support.
Sarah (37:02):
I love that you said that.
Ownership for your success is apillar of any team that I lead.
Like if I'm doing team values,that is one of them because it
also alleviates a lot of theresponsibility of the leader to
hand them their career path on asilver platter.
It's like I don't have themental capacity to be able to
(37:25):
tell you what you're good at andtell you how to do it and tell
you to take pride in what you doand like all of these little
things.
It's like, no, like I'moperating at a higher level.
I'm not in the trenches withyou.
So if you see a gap, fill itand talk to me about it.
(37:47):
And if if it didn't fill it allthe way, let's figure out why.
If it did fill it, can wereplicate this to fill other
cracks?
Like there's so much to be saidabout the power of autonomy and
about, you know, taking that.
I mean, talk about a mindsetshift of being responsible for
yourself and your success andyour opportunities and and your
(38:09):
growth as a leader.
You have to draw a line in thesand.
I will say to my teen, I'malways a safe space to vent, but
you get one free vent wherewe're not talking about how
we're gonna solve it.
Yeah.
But then the next time, comewith what your plan is.
Jordan (38:25):
Yeah.
Sarah (38:25):
How are you gonna prevent this from happening?
Because yes, there's gonna bedays that suck.
And I want you to know that youcan just unload on me.
But if you're unloading on mefor the exact same thing every
single Tuesday, then you have totake ownership for this.
You have to come up with astrategy and let's work on this
together.
But it's not my responsibilityas your boss, as your leader, to
(38:49):
tell you what each thing is.
And with that mindset, you getso much more pride in what you
do.
Yeah.
Priscilla (38:57):
And there are some bosses where they do feel like
it's their role.
And because they do that somuch, you feel like I can't do
it on my own.
I need someone else to tell me.
And there's a lot of us.
I know for me, I came fromanother career where I did not
have the kind of autonomy I havenow.
And to move over and then allof a sudden have it, it can be
(39:19):
really hard.
Yeah.
It can be really hard to belike, okay, now I have to within
myself find a way to grow thisownership of my own career
because no one's handing it tome.
No one's telling me exactlywhat turn to take and where to
go.
And I think it can be reallyhard, but it's really important.
And healthy leaders who arefostering a healthy team will be
(39:39):
there to walk alongside you anddo it, but they're not gonna
hold your hand over every, youknow, hurdle exactly that same
way.
And so I think finding a wayinternally to say, okay, I'm
gonna take ownership andresponsibility for the work I'm
doing, and I'm gonna beproactive in that and I'm gonna
be intentional in that.
All of that comes from withinand your leader can help you get
(40:01):
there, but a lot of it is adecision you're making every
day.
Sarah (40:04):
1000% because change is hard.
Change is hard, yeah, change isscary, yeah, change is gray.
I've seen this too many timeson teams that I've led or people
that I've mentored that are insimilar situations, where
especially when some of thatchange, like this owning your
success, you have to be heldaccountable for your output.
(40:24):
Like you have to be heldaccountable for the work that
you do and and the role that youplay within this unit.
And that is a very threateningthing for some folks that, you
know, are enjoying what they'vebuilt for themselves or or or
lack thereof.
And and I mean, I've done itmyself before too.
I mean, especially if you'reunderpaid, I'm not going to give
(40:47):
a rat's batootie about anythingelse, just like a hundred
percent.
I'm gonna get through my day.
But I mean, if you are paidwell, then this is a career for
you.
And then you need to behavelike a professional.
And uh, and and you can't fightthat because like you can try
to spin this as a negativething, you can try to spin this
(41:08):
as a they're trying to controlme, they're trying to take me
out of doing these things, likethis is so burdensome.
But really, it's you are nowbeing given the gift to try
things and fail sometimes.
This is a safe space.
But if we're entering it withpositive intentions and we
assume the same of those thatare around us, and if we enter
(41:32):
these different things that wetry, like I always ask my teams,
like give this a specific blockof time.
Like, usually it'll be likeeither six weeks or three
months.
It may suck.
Like it could be failingmiserably, but let's just commit
to this for three months.
And I will put something on thecalendar for three months from
(41:53):
today for us to do a debrief ofthis, for us to do a post-mortem
of this, figure out whatworked, figure out what didn't.
But if we are entering intothis with the mindset of this
sucks, this is terrible, this isgonna fail, this is gonna be a
waste of my time, this is gonnamake my days so much harder,
then it will make your days somuch harder.
Yeah.
(42:13):
But if you enter into it with,you know what, I may not agree
with this choice.
I may have done thisdifferently, but I'm going to do
my best and try this for threemonths.
And then after that, we willopen the door to figure out what
the best next step is.
But I'm going to do this withthe best of intentions,
(42:34):
regardless of how crappy I thinkit is at the end of the day.
That will change your mindsetin a positive way over time
because you're choosing everyday to try.
You're choosing every day to beopen to something different.
Priscilla (42:48):
And it's more enjoyable.
Right.
It's just a more enjoyable wayto live, to want things to
succeed versus to go in knowingthey're already going to fail.
And I think even that tryingthings and I do the same thing.
I'll put like a, you know, anend cap on it and say, let's try
it for this long and see how itgoes.
And let's give it a good shotand see how things happen.
And then we'll we'll readjustwhen we find out how it went.
(43:10):
And I think that even thatmindset of like trying and
failing, and hey, this might notwork, and we're gonna commit
three months to it, and thenwe're gonna see.
I think that mindset is hugebecause so much you hear about
companies where, well, why doyou do it this way?
Well, that's just the way we'vealways done it.
Jordan (43:26):
Yeah.
Priscilla (43:26):
And if that's the way you've always done it, then
that must be the right way tokeep doing it.
But that is not the rightmindset to have.
No, because things are alwayschanging.
There's always better ways toattack problems.
And so having this mindset of,okay, I'm gonna try it.
I'm gonna try it.
And if it fails, it fails, andwe're gonna move on and we're
gonna try something new.
And I sometimes look at it aslike it's almost exciting just
(43:47):
to see what's gonna happen.
Like, right.
My hypothesis is not the sameas yours.
I don't think it's gonna turnout the way you think it's gonna
turn out, but let's see.
It's exciting to try it.
Yeah.
It just makes life moreenjoyable if you have that kind
of a positive.
Positive outlook on things.
Yep.
We've all worked at the jobswhere everything was negative,
where everyone was talkingnegatively about everyone in the
company, and every day was aslog because it was all so
(44:10):
negative.
Yeah.
And when you have that kind ofa negative mindset, it can
really be detrimental to yourhealth as an employee or for
your team, or when you'refostering like those little side
conversations and all of thatstuff.
It's so negative.
If you're able to pull yourselfout of that, which can be
really hard, especially if youare working for a company that
(44:33):
has a lot of that negativityaround there, but you can, you
can pull yourself out of thatand focus on the positive things
and try to get into a placewhere you're seeing this as
building a cathedral and notjust laying bricks.
You can do that.
You said something about likeif you're being paid enough,
it's a lot easier to do that.
I think that 100% is true.
(44:55):
But sometimes you don't havethe luxury of leaving the job
you were in because you're notbeing paid enough to find
somewhere else before you startthinking like that.
Yeah.
And so sometimes you have tofind a way to think like that,
even if you're not being paidwhat you should be getting paid.
It's like the chicken or theegg.
You know, once I start thinkingthat way and start valuing the
work I'm doing in that way, thenI start seeing that I need to
(45:17):
be paid more.
Then I start seeing my valuebetter and I can sell myself
better to other companies andthey can pay me what I deserve.
And that will encourage it.
If you are in a mindset of,well, I'm not getting paid
enough, so I'm just gonna do thebare minimum because I'm not
getting paid enough, you'renever gonna get out of that.
Right.
But if you start to go aboveand beyond it, you will start to
(45:38):
see your value better andyou'll be able to get to another
place.
Jordan (45:41):
This is like the inner monologue version of dress for
the job you want, not the jobyou have.
Priscilla (45:45):
Yes.
Yeah.
Create the mindset that youwant to have for the job that
you dream to have.
Sarah (45:51):
Yeah, exactly.
I think too, like I'm just likethinking back on, I mean, I've
had so many jobs where I am paidpennies for the work that I do.
And yeah, and I think it issuch an empowering and beautiful
moment of clarity that isreally easy to kind of sweep
under the rug.
But when you get to that spacewhere you can embrace it, like
(46:12):
crazy things happen.
But like that moment of claritywhere it's like, I'm better
than this.
I deserve more than this, thenyou're able to start to think of
what's possible for you.
You're able to start to thinkof what you deserve, what is
worthy of your gifts to make acompany or a space better.
(46:33):
And that when you startthinking about the future, when
you start thinking about what'spossible in a way that is
exciting, you are going to be ina better mindset and headspace
when you're at your job becauseyou know it's not forever.
Like if I know that I'm in thisspace that they don't
(46:57):
appreciate me, that I haven'thad a raise for three years,
that somebody else always getsthe promotion that I want.
That is not a place where youare going to thrive.
Priscilla (47:06):
Right.
Yeah.
Sarah (47:07):
Period.
That's that's not a good spacefor you.
But that is where you are inthis moment.
So take a deep breath and startthinking about what brings you
joy.
Priscilla (47:16):
Yes.
Sarah (47:17):
And how can you leverage that to find a place that is
going to be so freaking excitedthat you are with them.
And like then you think, like,you know what?
I just gotta suck it up for alittle while longer.
I just gotta power through thisa little while longer.
Maybe I do take on that projectthat marketing was trying to
(47:38):
find somebody to help withbecause then I can add that to
my resume.
Yeah.
And then I can say that I havethis sort of experience.
Maybe I can see if I can shadowthis person for a little while.
So then I can kind ofunderstand the terminology that
people in finance have that Idon't know anything about.
Like you start to takeadvantage of things that felt so
burdensome, or you felt likeyou were drowning, or you felt
(48:01):
like you were backed into awall.
That we've all been in thosehead spaces.
Those are normal head spaces tobe into when you're in a bad
environment.
But just seeing the light atthe end of the tunnel and
understanding that you are notdefined by this crappy place,
that they are missing outbecause you are amazing and you
(48:24):
are capable of so much more thanyou realize.
And then taking that to findthe place that gets you excited,
that's how you survive thosemindset shifts in those crappy
places.
Priscilla (48:36):
It takes me right back to what you were talking
about at the very top of theshow with your husband making
your day with that note.
Sometimes you're in thoseplaces and you cannot see your
strengths as a worker becauseyou've been in this environment
for so long and you feelnegative and frustrated, and you
don't have space to askquestions.
And so you feel like you'rejust messing up right and left,
(48:58):
and it's not providing a healthyenvironment for you.
Sometimes the best thing youcan do is go to people that are
not in that environment, butthat know you and ask them to
remind you why you're reallygood at this or what your
strengths are.
Because that mindset, once youget into that like self-doubt
and that I can't do anythingright and I'm paid this little
(49:21):
meager amount and they don't seemy value, you start to believe
that that's your value.
Yep.
And it can be really hard.
But stepping out and findingpeople that are outside of maybe
they're outside of your work,maybe it's a colleague who you
have a really good relationshipwith, maybe it's a leader in
your company who sees a value inyou.
But find that person and getthem.
(49:42):
I mean, just straight up askthem to remind you why you're
good.
Because sometimes you needthat.
Our minds play tricks on us.
And once you hear that, thenyou'll start seeing what your
value is.
And then you can go, okay, nowI'm gonna go and see where I can
find a team that's gonnarecognize my value and see the
things that I bring to thetable.
Yep.
Because the reality is you havestrengths in you, you have that
(50:04):
value.
And if you're in an environmentthat is not supporting that,
then you shouldn't stay in thatenvironment any longer than you
have to.
Sarah (50:11):
Yeah.
Yep.
I think that's it right there.
And if you are a leader, thisis why one-on-ones are so
freaking important.
They are not nice to have.
They are required for you toactually run a team well.
And uh, if you're in a teamthat's understaffed, have weekly
one-on-ones so that your teamfeels that you are listening,
(50:32):
that you see them, that youunderstand things suck right
now, but it's not forever.
Yeah.
Like celebrate those littlewins.
Don't just hide because youknow that things are terrible or
you think that taking them outfor 30 minutes is going to make
things worse.
It's not.
It's it's going to make themfeel valued, that even when
things are crazy, you careenough about them to pull them
(50:55):
out because the queue willsurvive for 30 minutes without
them and do that level setting,that that I see you moment.
So that, you know, even ifyou're leading a team where the
pay is crap, like we all knowyou don't probably have any
control over your budget.
You are probably very underpaidas well.
And so just help those folkssee their value, help them
(51:19):
identify their strengths, remindthem that you know, like it's
not in their head.
And because just like you weresaying, Priscilla, and I'm so
glad that you did, like, youstart to believe it.
If you are constantly told thatyou are less than, if you are
constantly told that you arenever going to deserve a job
that pays you a livable wage, ifyou are told that, you know,
(51:43):
all of these reasons why this isthe only place that you should
be spending your day, then yourinner voice is just going to get
louder and louder because allit's doing is validating it.
And I told my husband the otherday, like in my head,
especially when it comes tolike, you know, my kids and
whether or not I'm showing upright for as a mom when things
(52:03):
can get hard, like I have thatnegative monologue going all the
time.
And if you say, hey, I noticedthat you were having a hard time
connecting with him, that'sjust validating that one
negative thing.
And then if that one is true,then are all of the other things
true?
And then you just start tospiral.
(52:25):
And so having someone in yourcorner that is your hype person
that recognizes that, like youprobably are saying all the bad
things times a million toyourself when you get into those
mental spiral moments.
The best way to pull someoneout of that is to just remind
them that they're really great.
(52:45):
And that's it.
Priscilla (52:47):
Yeah.
And give them examples.
And when you have thoseone-on-ones with your team,
point out the things they'rereally good at and point out the
successes that they've had.
And even if you spend theentire 30 minute or whatever it
is, one-on-one, just tellingthem all the things they're
great at, that is a totallyvalid use of that time.
Sarah (53:05):
Great use of that time.
Priscilla (53:07):
Great use of that time.
I think when I first startedleading a team, I think that
there was something in me that Iwas more focused on the
sharpening of the axe and thegetting better and less focused
on the, hey, let's talk aboutthe things you're really good
at, though.
Let's take a second and dothat.
And that is so directlyconnected to the mindset that
(53:27):
then they're gonna turn aroundand take when they are giving
your customers that experience.
If they have that healthy inputfrom you of here are the things
that you're really great at,here's what I see in you,
they're gonna take that andthey're gonna use that and be
positive and encouraging to yourcustomers.
(53:47):
And there is a hugetrickle-down effect.
And so, as leaders, it's ourjob to make sure we're connected
enough with the people on ourteam that we can see those
things and that we can pour intothose things.
Sarah (53:59):
And also then celebrate when you see them start to do
that with other folks on theteam or other folks within the
company too.
Because once they see thatvalue of their cup being filled
by by the things that you'resaying, and they notice somebody
else that they're working withor collaborating with that is
being too hard on themselves,then it won't be a heavy lift
(54:20):
for them to be like, whoa, I seeyou.
You are crushing it.
Why are you telling me thatthis sucks?
This is so good.
Do you see what you'veaccomplished already?
Right.
Like, and then, and then youdon't have as heavy of a lift as
a leader to always be that hypeman in those one-on-ones
because they're getting theselittle nuggets throughout the
(54:41):
week from their peers, whichsometimes carries an even bigger
weight than from your leader.
Priscilla (54:48):
And that variety helps too.
Like if the same person tellsyou you're great at this every
week, eventually it loses itsshine.
But you hear from other peopleand it reignites this feeling.
And so 100% when someone sayssomething kind to me about
someone else on the team, I'mlike, go post that in a public
chat.
Like, go post that in front ofthem.
Let them see that you'recelebrating them because that's
(55:11):
so important and it can do somuch good when it comes to our
mindset.
Okay, final thoughts to wrapthis up.
What, Sarah, do you hope thatsupport professionals remember
about mindset going forward?
What do you want them to takewith them as they are kind of
moving into their work here in2026?
Sarah (55:30):
I love that question.
What I hope that they take withthem as they're moving into
2026 is a constant reminder thatyou are a highly skilled
professional, that your skillset is rare.
Very few people can do what youdo.
Yeah.
And the fact that you arecommitted to building a career
in this space that can be, itcan be hard and it can be
(55:53):
demoralizing sometimes, but itcan really be one of the most
beautiful spaces to thrive.
Just constantly remind yourselfhow skilled you are and how
proud you should be that you arein this career because it is
not an easy career to build.
Priscilla (56:13):
I think that's great.
And it reminds me of like thoseearly years in customer support
where you kind of feel like, orI felt like, I don't know if
this is a universal experience,but for me, it was like, oh man,
I'm this is like grunt work.
It takes so much skill to docustomer support well.
And so if you're listening tothis podcast because you're
trying to level up yourexperience, you're already doing
(56:36):
so much better than people willexpect because of these low
standards people have forcustomer support.
And so I 100% back that.
Like the work you're doing isvaluable.
What you bring to the table isvaluable.
Not everyone can do this.
And that should be anencouragement to you as you go
into your work day to day.
And you can choose a mindsetthen of excellence, and you can
(56:59):
choose a mindset of empathy, ofassuming positive intent, of
responsibility as you continueto lay those bricks and build
the cathedral and impactpeople's day in a positive way
through customer experience.
So, Sarah, thank you for beinghere.
This was really great.
Thanks for having me.
You're such a positive light.
Tell me how people can reachyou.
(57:21):
If people want to learn moreabout you or listen to your
podcasts or read yournewsletter, how can people reach
you?
Sarah (57:26):
Yeah.
Well, first, like I could talkto you guys about this forever.
This has been very likecathartic being able to talk
about this with you guys becauseI think it's such an important
thing that often just kind ofgets overlooked.
But it is a really, reallyimportant piece of the puzzle.
Um, so if you're looking forme, you can find me on LinkedIn.
I am there probably too much.
I have a newsletter that youcan subscribe to where we dig
(57:50):
into different concepts on spaceand ownership and power that
comes out every Wednesday.
I've got the CX roundtable thatdigs into different uh CX
related topics.
And then there's the careerstrategist to talk about owning
your success.
Talk about owning your successand power dynamics, but uh,
don't be a stranger.
I I am excited to talk toanybody in this space and answer
(58:13):
any question that I have.
So please reach out.
Priscilla (58:16):
Yeah, and I highly recommend anything Sarah touches
because I feel like back withepic growth, those podcast
episodes were so great.
I was reading the newsletterthis morning and I was like,
man, this is so well written.
It's not even just like greatcontent, but it's just well
written.
It's in a very readable way.
(58:36):
I think sometimes, you know,newsletters in the corporate
world can be, you know,sometimes subpar.
But I was reading yours thismorning and I was like, man,
this is just so well written.
She has so many good things tosay.
So I 100% recommend thepodcasts and the newsletter to
anyone listening because theyreally are so incredible.
Thank you.
All right.
Well, if you have a question ora topic that you would like us
(58:58):
to cover in a future episode,you can shoot us a text message
using the send us a text link inthe episode description.
As always, if you like thisepisode, share it with someone
who works in customer support,maybe someone who needs some
encouragement.
So thanks again to SarahCamonidi for joining us on
today's episode.
Thank you for listening.
Now go and make someone's day.
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