As VP of Customer Experience for a high availability software company, I understand the challenges of delivering support while under pressure. I used to play in a recreational basketball league and our championship playoff provided some important lessons for Customer Support teams.
1. Stay under control when under pressure
The game was nip and tuck, as many would describe it. While never favored to win the game, our team’s odds increased the more we stayed under control. When the opposing team applied pressure, we were able to handle it and turn their miscues into easy points. Handling pressure, no matter what team you are on, is essential. As the temperature rises on issues, cases, or situations (at work or at home) be sure to stay under control as you process and respond. For 28 minutes we took the pressure in stride.
2. Passion is good, but anger is dangerous
During the game our whole team played with determination and a desire to win the championship. This was good. Your support team should be passionate about the vision, goals and outcome. But, when that passion turns to anger and frustration, it’s not good. In our game, my dad would describe the moment my passion turned to anger. Two bad calls by the referee, a big mistake by our teammates, and the passion for myself and others tipped to anger. As a result, I committed two silly mistakes and compounded them with a third. My teammates did likewise.
3. Stay in the game
My silly mistakes were costly. As the game ended, I could only watch from the sidelines after fouling out of the game in the final two minutes of play and our team down a few points. My replacement, as my dad would later say, could not fill my shoes or do what I did. You have a role to play on the team and in the vision. But, you have to stay in the game, head and heart, in order to help the team accomplish its goals. Getting angry, quitting, or other self-inflicted issues that could prevent you from helping the team should be avoided.
4. Focus on the goal during adversity.
For 28 minutes our team played with poise, stayed under control, and handled the game with passion and ease. For 28 minutes we were focused on the goal. The only problem, the game was 32 minutes long, not 28. The final four minutes were a part of an epic unraveling. After trailing for most of the game, our team took a small lead. But a series of mean spirited plays, poor officiating, and additional adversity caused us to lose focus. We lost focus of the bigger picture, playing as a team, winning the championship, and finishing our season by beating the undefeated opponent. In the final four minutes, we began to focus on the officials, the crowds, the “dirty” plays of the other team, the scoreboard and other distractions. Don’t lose sight of your goals. These goals help keep you focused and centered as things fall apart.
5. Everyone can have a bad day
The star of our team was Michael S. He was an all-star player, our leading scorer, and a force to be reckoned with in all phases of the game. While I was no super star, I was a very solid player who averaged eight points, eight rebounds, a couple of steals and a bunch of hustle plays each game. On this day, unfortunately, both Michael and I had a bad day. Michael scored a lot, but he made uncharacteristic mistakes. . . we all have bad days. That is a fact of life. The key isn’t avoiding them by faking or trying to be absolutely perfect. The key is adjusting in the moment and learning for the future. Michael adjusted midway through the game, and finished with respectable points, rebounds and blocked shots. That game, I never recovered. I scored 1 point, and can’t remember any rebounds or other impacts. Don’t give up when you have adversity or when you experience a bad day.
6. Good leaders get the best out of their team, great leaders get their teams to get the best out of themselves
Most good coaches manage to find a hot hand and a great player to ride to victory. These coaches or leaders usually run all the practices, call all the plays, make every correction, and get a lot out of the team. But, great coaches and leaders take the next step, they empower the team to get the best out of themselves. Our coach called the right plays, but he also taught us how to call the right plays without him, in the game and in life. Be sure that as you work in the team or lead your team (for the leaders) that you do more than define the scripts and tasks, but also enable the team to grow, learn, and develop on their own.
7. Celebrate more
After the game I nearly declared that I never wanted to play basketball again. My parents and (at the time girlfriend) watched me have the worst game of my career. As the team gathered around our coach for one last team huddle, he reminded us of all the positives of the game that stretched farther than the scoreboard. He challenged us to celebrate the times that we played as a team,and supported and encouraged each other. He celebrated how we learned the value of discipline over the season and the cost of unchecked anger down the stretch. Be sure to celebrate more. Not just the big things like account wins and retention, but the smaller things like team cohesion, accomplishing small tasks, supporting each other, working with passion, etc.
8. Don’t play the blame game
Following a series of blown calls and referee bias, (yes that’s my view and I’ll happily discuss with the officials any day and time), our coach called a timeout. In the huddle, I can still remember how we spent more time blaming the officials, the other team, and even one another rather than refocusing on the goals and the game. Passing blame limits you from taking positive action. In our case, we passed so much blame in the final four minutes that we allowed our momentum to dissipate along with our lead. Blaming yourself or others isn’t a sign of maturity or leadership, and it is never, ever productive. Exchange blame for a positive approach at problem solving and issue resolution.
9. Keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate things.
Most of the teams that played in our league were never able to keep pace with our opponent the way we did. For many of the teams they tried elaborate plays or schemes that often failed as players became fatigued. By keeping things simple our team conserved mental and physical energy for most of the game. In fact, the times we struggled the most were when we over-complicated things on offense or defense. There are times when complicated answers, solutions, and processes are needed. But, for the most part, keeping it simple is enough. Avoid heavy processes and procedures, and the introduction of any unnecessary steps or complexity when dealing with internal or external customers.
10. It’s okay to cry
On my dresser is a picture of a younger version of me, holding a scowl and a trophy. The photo was captured as I was crying over the game’s outcome. At the time some well meaning people suggested there was nothing to cry about. Others were a bit more blunt, “Stop crying!” As I look back at that photo, I’m reminded it’s okay to cry. Everything will not go the way you planned. Some days will be hard, almost unbearable. Wherever you are (leader, team member, executive, other) it is okay to feel your emotions and express them in healthy ways. Be sure to make it safe for your team to express their emotions, including: happiness, joy, fear, worry, sadness, grief, relief, or doubt.
11. Be ready for the next opportunity
While the game ended with our team on the wrong side of the scoreboard, several of the players were able to impress the all-star coaches with their play. Michael and two others from the team were invited to play on an all-star team. Both because they were great players, but also because they were open and available when the coaches came over to talk. These three teammates were ready for the next opportunity. While losing was a bitter pill to swallow, they didn’t just wallow in it like I did at that time. Instead, they looked for the good parts, kept a good attitude, and were emotionally, physically, and mentally ready for the next opportunity. Situations will fall in our favor and against us. The way you handle both is important. Be sure that regardless of the way the chips fall, for you or against you, be ready to move forward in a positive direction and with the skills, talents, gifts and abilities from the previous opportunity.
12. Choose what defines you
We all have bad days and come up short. We’ve all made mistakes and compounded them by choosing to respond to the situation or adversity incorrectly. But making a mistake doesn’t make you a mistake. Repeat that to yourself. To make a mistake doesn’t make you a mistake. As Joseph Lalonde says, “Don’t let your bad choices or mistakes define you.” Likewise, a loss and a win do not have to define you either. You get to choose how you define yourself and what you seek and choose to believe determines your value. As a team member, leader, or executive you get to choose what defines you. Let me encourage you to make that definition something that is a bedrock that cannot be shaken by your bad fortune or require you to improve upon it by your success.
Bonus Lesson: Support is important
My mom and dad watched me suffer through one of the worst games of my recreational league career. They also watched me play some of my best games a few years later as a member of another playoff team. When I was winning and playing well, and when I was losing and playing terribly one thing remained the same– their love and support. Support is important. In fact, support and encouragement are nearly as critical as oxygen. Teams need the support of one another, and of their managers and executives. Be sure that you provide support, challenge, and encouragement to your team and organization. Express appreciation often, and give credit and thanks to whomever it is due. Adding appreciation and encouragement to your day to day is extremely valuable and can increase the success and cohesiveness of the team.
