Customer Service and Leadership

My working life has been about servicing the customer to retain their business indefinitely. I have been able to teach a customer service class, and have done enough good and bad regarding service to understand that providing it in an outstanding manner is showing leadership.

I think customer service and leadership aren't linked together enough because the people providing it may not hold a management position. This doesn't matter because no matter what providing great service is offering leadership and it is becoming a lost art.

Think about some of the skills needed to provide great customer service. Listening skills have to be done effectively to be able to converse with customers. Communication should be controlled leading your customer to the product or service desired in a timely manner but this has to be done in a personable, unrehearsed manner. This is very difficult to achieve in a fluent way especially because of the diversity a customer base makes up.

A customer service provider must treat their customer base ethically. The ability to gain control of values, priorities, and responsibilities is showing leadership qualities. Power becomes intoxicating and offering customer service is powerful. Customers have to trust enough so they can be guided towards what is being offered and influenced by people they don't know. Many times the exchange of money is involved and the quest to earn more can influence the type of customer service we provide.

Many times customer service is making sure your base is listened to, talked with, making sure they receive what is asked for, and to make sure all services and products are available at all times. Providing this is showing awesome leadership.

Listening Skills Are Crucial

I sat at my desk watching a video on my computer. As the video played I cracked open a book to read while the video played. I would then switch my attention between the video and book over the next 10 minutes. At that moment I had to laugh to myself because I was guilty of poor listening. I wasn't giving the video the attention it needed to enjoy it completely. Listening is a skill that so many leaders are told they need to improve and yet have difficulty mastering. I wasn't listening to a video now think about not listening to a person, we've all been there before,

An employee approaches their leader to discuss a current issue hoping for an immediate resolution. The discussion starts off strong but then the leader's phone rings and they look to see who's calling. The leader apologizes for the distraction and asks the employee to continue. Another minute into the conversation you notice the leader looking at their computer hoping to see what that darn e-mail says. When the leader sees the employee getting frustrated they turn towards the employee trying to listen, but starts yawning, looking away, or day dreaming as they stare at the employee with a hypnotized look. The employee then walks away in frustration knowing that leader heard maybe a minute of their conversation.

I know I'm guilty of not listening to an employee that reported to me like in the example above. That employee lost confidence in me as a leader, feeling irritated, frustrated, and not important. That's why listening completely is crucial for leadership. Listening helps build confidence, makes people feel good, motivates, increases job satisfaction, and increases self-worth.

Some tips that has helped me be a better listener are,

• Keep Eye Contact
• Ask questions about topics pertaining to the conversation
• Keep an open posture. Make the person feel you are approachable
• Avoid looking at a ringing phone or the computer while in conversation
• Offer possible resolutions when asked
• Offer follow up to see the progress made from these suggested resolutions

Listening takes discipline and is a learned skill, especially with all the possible distractions in an office. It requires that the leader focuses all of their attention to the conversation. Committing to this kind of focus and listening increases a leader's effectiveness and can make them feel good about the job they're doing.