Recap: The Support Driven Leadership Summit in Chicago

A big thank you to Scott Tran, and all the team at Support Driven, for another fulfilling week at the Support Driven Leadership Summit last week. The Support Driven community is one that nurtures a space for customer support professionals to inspire, share and grow together. Like any community it’s the people that make it great! So thank you to all who attended for being so generous and sharing your experiences as a customer support leader. And specifically to all of those who took to the stage to share their insights. Below is a summary of talks from our amazing list of speakers.

Neil Smith

Why Support Leaders Don't Understand the SaaS Business and What To Do About It

Kicking off the Summit in style, Neil provided a highly informative talk focusing on customer support leaders bridging the gap between their understanding of key SaaS business metrics, and how those metrics can be used by Support leaders to better advocate for their teams success. Not only did Neil outline these metrics, and provide resources to better understand these, he only walked through the metrics that generally matter the most for organizations depending on the stage of maturity of that organization.

Greg Collins & Deborah Hamill

Driving Client Impact with CX and Revenue Teams

Taking from his years of experience in the CX industry, Greg shared a number of different personas Support leaders might encounter across executive teams; specifically the CEO, Product, Finance, Sales and Marketing. He shared some honest and thoughtful examples from times he has engaged with different executives in the past, and encouraged us to learn their language, better understand the role they play in the organization and get on the front foot to meet them where they are at. Deborah then took the stage to share the different personas one often finds in People leaders, and provided examples of ways to engage with the People team by using her years of experience as a People leader.

Justin Grenier

Uniting Customer Support, Sales, and Marketing to Delight Your Customers

Happy Always Together. This was the key takeaway from Justin’s talk, and what a great message that is! Justin started by sharing an engaging story from his past to highlight the difficulties that can arise when the customer support, sales and marketing teams are not aligned. He then shared the real-life journey his current team took to better align these 3 teams as a more cohesive unit, and highlighted some of the key benefits that cohesiveness has driven in his organization. Happy Always Together.

Michelle McGowan

The Power of Authenticity and How to Achieve It.

Providing an honest, inspiring and authentic talk, Michelle explored the significance of authenticity in both personal and professional contexts, and how it can enhance leadership effectiveness. Sharing examples and strategies that she has used herself as a support leader, Michelle provided insights on how to cultivate authenticity, encouraging individuals to embrace their true selves and align their values with their actions to achieve greater success and fulfillment.

Kenji Hayward

Customer Support as Your Secret Weapon for Competitive Advantage

Kenji provided an insightful talk that emphasized how customer support, and publishing your support metrics, can become a critical factor in differentiating businesses in competitive markets. Sharing the journey he and his team took in making their metrics public, Kenji described some of the many ways he has been able to leverage customer support as a strategic asset in his organization. Describing how customer support can not only solve problems but also build customer loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

Hilary Dudek

How to Position Yourself for Your Next Senior Leadership Role

In an honest and inspiring talk, Hilary shared her personal experiences to provide strategies for advancing into senior leadership positions in customer support. Hilary discussed the key steps and techniques to enhance your professional presence, develop leadership skills, and navigate career paths effectively to achieve higher roles in leadership. Providing actionable insights for career growth, self-presentation, and industry positioning.

Chrissy Seybald

Close the Gap with Product and Fuel Growth

Chrissy gave a highly informative talk focusing on strategies for customer support leaders to narrow the gap with their product teams, and drive growth in their organizations. Providing real life examples for her experience as a support leader, Chrissy shared 7 lessons learned throughout her career on how other support leaders can improve their relationship with the product team in their organization.

EJ Thomas

Document and Measure your Employee Experience to Drive Exceptional Customer Experiences

EJ emphasized the link between employee experience and customer satisfaction. A great talk that described how documenting and measuring employee engagement, well-being, and performance can directly influence the quality of customer service. By focusing on improving the employee experience, organizations can create a more motivated and empowered workforce, ultimately leading to better customer interactions. EJ provided strategies for tracking employee experience metrics to ensure that teams are supported, engaged, and equipped to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Reagan Helms

Mastering Delegation: Elevate and Empower Your Team

Focusing on the importance of effective delegation in leadership, the talk from Reagan explained how proper delegation not only distributes workload but also empowers team members, enabling their growth and development. Reagan also provided strategies for identifying tasks to delegate, choosing the right people for the job, and setting clear expectations. By mastering delegation, leaders can free up time for higher-level strategic work while fostering accountability and skill-building within their teams.

Meg Christman

Redefining the Value of Support in Your Organization

In another engaging and informative talk, Meg provided insight on the evolving role of customer support within organizations and emphasized the need to shift the perception of support from a cost center to a value driver. Meg described how support teams can directly contribute to business success by improving customer retention, driving satisfaction, and providing valuable insights into customer behavior. She also challenged us to rethink traditional support metrics and align support strategies with broader organizational goals to showcase the true value of support in driving growth and customer loyalty.

Mariena Quintanilla

Making The Case: A Framework for Persuasive Business Cases

Mariena gave a great talk and provided a structured approach to creating compelling business cases. She outlined the essential elements needed to craft a persuasive argument for organizational initiatives, focusing on clarity, data-driven evidence, and alignment with strategic goals. A framework designed to help customer support professionals present their ideas in a way that resonates with decision-makers, ensuring that proposals are not only well-reasoned but also actionable and aligned with the company’s objectives to strengthen the case for investment, resource allocation, or strategic changes.

Iryna Shevelova

Aligning Growth and Quality in Customer Support

In a talk that explored the balance between scaling customer support operations and maintaining high service quality, Iryna discussed the challenges organizations face as they grow, particularly in ensuring that support teams can handle increasing demands without compromising customer satisfaction. The talk walked through strategies for aligning growth with quality, such as investing in training, leveraging technology, and creating efficient workflows and highlighted how maintaining this balance can help organizations to provide excellent customer experiences even as their customer base expands.

Samantha O'Neill

How to Illuminate Invisible Work to Communicate Organizational Value

Samatha discussed different strategies for making unseen or unrecognized work within an organization more visible and valued. She emphasized the importance of showcasing contributions that may go unnoticed, and how they can help communicate the true value employees bring to their teams and the broader organization. This approach ensures that both the work and the individuals performing it are properly recognized, enhancing overall organizational transparency and fostering appreciation for diverse contributions.