Why Burnout Hits CX Leaders

Jeannie Walters 0:00

Today we're talking about a subject that we probably should talk about more. Burnout. Let's listen in.

Listener Question 0:07

What's your advice for CX leaders like me who want to inspire their teams but also avoid burnout? It feels like I'm constantly trying to solve complex problems, keep customers happy, and meet internal expectations all at once. Thanks, Jeannie.

Jeannie Walters 0:25

I bet a lot of you can relate to this question as a customer experience leader. I think one of the biggest traps that customer experience leaders face is falling into that feeling that we have to solve everything all at once. We have to manage those customer complaints, make sure we're gathering the feedback, turn that feedback into insights and action. We have to report in to different teams. We have to influence the actions and behaviors of other people. And quite frankly, it's just a lot.

Alignment And A Clear CX Strategy

Jeannie Walters 1:00

When I work with leaders, we talk a lot about alignment. We need to get alignment around what are we actually trying to do? What is the top priority? And the best way I know to do that is to really align the mindset around a customer experience mission statement and have an actual defined strategy. You know, one of the reactions that I got to my book, Experience is Everything, is a reader came back to me and said, I've read so many customer experience books, and yours is the first one that talked about strategy. And that really struck me because it shows that this is a bigger problem. Burnout really thrives in ambiguity. When we don't know the next step to take because we don't know exactly where we're going, that's what leads to burnout. And at the same time, let's say you have that aligned mindset. Let's say you have your mission statement, you feel good about it, everybody knows that you know you have defined who you are to your customers, a very important step. But if you end there, if it's all talk, then what happens is we burn out because then we just jump to tactics. We need a strategic vision so that we can make decisions about priorities. Otherwise, everything feels like a priority. And you don't have the tools, the guardrails, the language to say to people who come to you and say, you should work on this. You don't have the language to say, okay, help me understand where that fits in our priorities. If our goal is X, how do we make sure that this fits into that? Because that is my priority. As you move through the world as a customer experience leader, I want you to show up first as a business leader.

Ambiguity Makes Burnout Worse

Jeannie Walters 2:58

I have worked with so many leaders who are starting from a place of reactivity. We start from a place of, okay, let's find out. Let's find out what our leaders want. Let's find out what customers want. And we find all that out, and it's a big long list. And then we just start ticking the list. But that's not leadership. What I want you to do is be proactive by defining the strategy that you're delivering on. If you can do that, if you can define the strategy and get that alignment, that will help you avoid that burned out feeling because you can't get to everything. Now, this is really about a shared purpose, making sure that you have the support you need, maybe from your team. I know some of you don't have a team, so maybe it's cross-functional leadership, maybe it's from your C-suite, whoever it is, you want to make sure that you have a shared vision of where you're going. That is what will drive decisions for you. I see leaders exhaust themselves trying to improve everything simultaneously. But strategy means choosing what outcomes matter most now. So maybe this quarter your focus is reducing customer effort. And you're focused on that because you know that by reducing effort for the customer, that will lead to more conversions. And right now, your whole organization is talking about growth and revenue and all of those positive things. You can connect those dots and say, if we can focus on reducing effort, we'll lead to more conversions, which will lead to more growth and revenue. Maybe next quarter, it's a different conversation. Maybe it's about cost cutting, keeping expenses low. You could focus on the cost of service.

From Reactive Lists To Proactive Leadership

Jeannie Walters 5:06

How do we reduce the cost of service? Number one, we look for what's happening that is causing those service calls. So if we can identify some of those big things that customers have to call in about or get repair trucks or just simply need the help, if we can prevent those things from happening, that is cost cutting and saving expenses for the organization. We have to connect the dots because otherwise, it is whack-a-mole. It really is, because you've got things popping up all over that you can never keep up with. And that's what leads to that emotional exhaustion and burnout. That is big picture. But if you're in it right now, if you're like, I don't, I don't even know where to start with this, here's what I'd like you to do. Think about in a year, what would you feel incredible about results-wise? What could you say? Oh my gosh, look at these wins. Look at the return on the investment of me as a leader. Start there. Just think about it. Then start working your way backwards. If you don't have a CX mission statement right now, and you're like, we're not going to do it as a team, too much going on, write one for yourself. You know, there's a template in the book. We have resources at experienceinvestigators.com where we show you exactly how to build a CX mission statement. Ideally, you want to do that with your leadership. You want to do that for the organization. But if you have to start somewhere,

Pick Outcomes And Connect The Dots

Jeannie Walters 6:46

it's a great way to get a foundation that feels solid. And when you're burning out because there's too much going on, you're reacting to everything, it's very easy to feel like you don't have control. And what I want to do is empower you to feel like you have control over this situation. You are being proactive and intentional. Because otherwise we do burn out. And another reminder the empathy that we ask our employees and others to show our customers, we have to show that same empathy to ourselves. We have to have compassion and understanding for ourselves and our situation. So when you think about how you coach empathy and how you try to protect the well-being of those who are serving customers, use those same techniques. Take that big deep breath. Take a walk around the block. Do things that help you get more centered before you take on that one more thing. I know that's easier said than done. I really do. I appreciate that. But if we don't do it, if we don't lead by example, then we're telling every other person who is serving customers or internal customers or each other that it's okay to get to that point of exhaustion and burnout. So I really hope that you can show yourself that compassion. I hope that you can

Work Backward From A One Year Win

Jeannie Walters 8:27

actually write that CX mission statement to help you feel grounded and help you feel like you're on solid footing. And I really hope that you will lead as that business leader, but also as that human who shows compassion and empathy, not only to other people, but to yourself. I know it's hard out there right now, and I hope that every CX leader who is listening to this shares it with somebody and says, we have to remember, we're in this together, and the more we can support one another right now, that will also help avoid burnout, avoid issues, avoid that exhausted feeling. So I wish you all well. I want you to protect your well-being. Thank you for all you do, and I can't wait for the next question. If you haven't already, I encourage you to check out the book, Experience is Everything. We have templates in there for the CX mission statement and some other tools. And then send in these questions. Let me know what it's like for you. You can do that by going to askjeannie.vip. And if this podcast resonated, I hope that you'll share it. I hope that you'll drop in some ratings and reviews, and I hope that maybe you'll bookmark it to remind yourself that this is something that's important. You are important to take care of. Because if we can't do that for ourselves, we can't do that for other people. Thanks for the question. Thanks for being here, and I'll see you next week. If you're ready to turn insights into action, join CXI Membership, our community for customer experience investigators just like you. Get the tools, support, and inspiration to move from ideas to true impact. And don't miss my book, Experience is Everything: Making Every Moment Count in the Age of Customer Expectations. Available wherever you order books. Until next time, keep asking questions, keep improving, and keep leading with experience.