By Kristen Hayer
Today was the first chance I’d had to have a “breather” for a few months. I put the emphasis on the word “breather” because I both physically have had trouble with breathing since I contracted Covid-19 Omicron this January and because I haven’t been able to take much of a break since then.
I actually got through all (and I mean ALL) the work I could do today. Sure, there are a few things that by their nature will trail into the future, but I did all I could. I saved a customer who was having a challenge, I solved a technical issue, I got a contract out the door, and I communicated effectively with my team on all of it. I think. I hope.
Here’s the deal. As leaders, we don’t often get a “breather.” This is the first day that has felt like this in over a year for me. Sadly, even when I’m on vacation, I’m on guard for something going wrong. From a pure chemistry standpoint, this means that I’m not where I should be. My stress levels are triggered and I’m in fight or flight mode all the time. If you read studies on this (just google it - there are lots of them) all of this is dangerous to our mental and physical health. I know for sure it has been detrimental to mine. I shouldn’t be waking up in the middle of the night and worrying about my family or work. I shouldn’t be groggy in the morning because I woke up in the middle of the night.
So, how did I address this issue? I changed a few things. I’m sharing this because I hope that you find it helpful to you if you’re in a similar situation.
1. I hired an online assistant. I realize that this solution is not available to everyone. However, if you look into it, this might not be as inaccessible as you assume. However, this isn’t easy to manage. I can tell you from a few weeks in the trenches with my new online assistant, it definitely cuts out the clutter in your email that eats up time. This is still very new to me, but I’d estimate that I’m already saving 1.5 hours a day.
2. I signed up for coaching. While I’m calling this coaching, it’s actually counseling. There are a number of online counseling services out there. I can only speak for my own. I chose Cerebral. They combine medication (if needed) and personal counseling that is tailored to you. I love talking to my coach each week, and she has helped me to understand that some of what I am dealing with is very normal for executives, which is incredibly reassuring.
3. I decided not to be a perfectionist. This one is hard. I hold myself to a high standard. However, I’ve learned that the standard I hold myself to is too high for even me. We’re all human. We make mistakes. We learn from them. We don’t have to be excellent from the start, every time we start something new. This has helped me to be a better manager, coach and consultant, and has helped me set more realistic goals for clients.
Bottom line: You aren’t perfect. You’re never going to be perfect, and you need to accept that and figure out how to deal with the executive that you are and maximize your impact on your team and the CS community. Don’t forget that nobody is perfect. We’re all dealing with various outcomes of a pandemic, social upheaval, a volatile economy, and family stuff. I wish you all the best with your individual struggles, and hope that you can dodge and weave your way through to the future of customer success!
The Success League is a customer success consulting firm that offers customer success evaluations that are a great way to see what is working well and what needs improvement. For more information on our consulting services and training certification classes, please see TheSuccessLeague.io
Kristen Hayer - Kristen believes that customer success is the key to driving renewal and expansion revenue, and delivering exceptional customer experiences that produce referrals. Over the past 20 years Kristen has been a success, sales, and marketing executive, primarily working with growth-stage tech companies, and leading several award-winning customer success teams. She has written over 100 articles on customer success, and is the host of 2 podcasts about the field: Innovations in Leadership and Reading for Success. Kristen serves on the board of the Customer Success Leadership Network and the board of the Customer Success program at the University of San Francisco. She received her MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle, and now lives in San Francisco.