You’ve built your Customer Success team from the ground up, and you’re rightfully proud of it.
You’ve always had your hands on the steering wheel, ensuring smooth rides for your clients. But now your team is growing.
The very thought of scaling conjures up fears of losing that intimate control you’ve had—over your team and over customer experiences.
You’re not alone; this is a fear that keeps many Heads of Customer Success awake at night. But guess what? Scaling doesn’t have to mean ceding control.
In fact, scaling your CS team can be the pathway to even greater control and effectiveness. You just need the right blueprint.
This post, a distilled essence of episode 40 of our Impact Weekly podcast, lays down the framework for you to scale without compromise. How? By taking a 360-degree approach that covers Leadership, Management, and Coaching.
Customer Success Podcast: Impact Weekly Episode 40
If you want to go deep on this topic, listen to this episode of our Customer Success podcast, Impact Weekly, that comes out every Wednesday. You can listen below or on your favorite podcast app:
Leadership, Management, and Coaching are the basis for our Head of Customer Success training at Impact Academy. If you’re interested in moving into a Head of CS role, or you want to be the best Head of CS you can be, take a look at Impact Academy.
The Leadership Angle: Cultivating a Clear and Sustainable Culture
In the cacophony of a scaling business, the loudest and most consistent voice has to be that of your company culture.
If your culture is based on unsustainable hustle and grit, then guess what, your team will burn out, and the cracks will begin to show as you scale.
Leadership here is about laying down clear, sustainable guidelines and operating modes that your team can effortlessly follow.
Instead of constantly firefighting, turn your attention to preventative measures that are grounded in a robust culture.
This isn’t just about grandiose mission statements. It’s about the daily rituals, routines, and behavioral norms that guide your CS team’s interactions with each other and with customers.
Management: Metrics, Capacity, and Lifecycle Planning
The greatest strategy in the world means nothing without proper execution. Read that again.
But how do you ensure that everyone in your team is executing at their peak? This is where solid management comes into play.
Start by developing an operational plan that focuses on metrics around customer lifecycle stages, capacity planning, and progress milestones.
This isn’t about micromanagement; it’s about creating a system that effortlessly manages itself. The metrics will tell you where you stand and what you need to do next.
Without such clear milestones, you’re just navigating through fog and hoping you don’t crash into an iceberg.
Coaching: From Being the Player to Becoming the Coach
At one point, you were likely wearing multiple hats, doing everything from onboarding clients to resolving complex issues.
But as you scale, you can’t be the one filling those gaps—you’ll become the bottleneck. Here, your role morphs into that of a coach.
Coaching is not merely about “fixing” your team’s weaknesses. It’s about helping them understand the playbook so deeply that they can improvise successfully in any situation. Identify the gaps in both confidence and competence among your team members, and invest in training, mentorship, or even restructuring to fill those gaps.
Don’t Miss the Next Turn on This Roadmap
The fears around scaling your CS team are valid, but they’re not insurmountable.
You don’t need to choose between scale and control. By focusing on leadership, management, and coaching, you can guide your team to new heights while maintaining the quality of customer interaction that got you here in the first place.
Don’t let your scaling fears keep you stuck in the same loop. Remember, what got you here won’t get you there.
Make an Impact… Weekly
Don’t miss out on the insights that could revolutionize your partner relationships. Ensure you’re at the forefront of customer success management by subscribing to our Impact Weekly podcast.
Every Wednesday, we delve into a new aspect of customer and partner success, equipping you with the knowledge you need to thrive in the multi-channel landscape. Subscribe now, and let’s keep learning together.
About Lincoln Murphy