60 customer service leaders in waiting gathered this week to be inspired by 'The Confidence Cocktail' delivered by Ros Taylor at CCA’s latest One Day MBA in Customer Experience. When asked what they would do if they suddenly found a large dose of hitherto invisible confidence; the answers were as surprising as they were varied - from challenging bosses to changing the organisations status. The follow up question from Ros was, “What's stopping you getting on with it?"  In other words what are you waiting for?  

The answer to this question is partly associated with customer service management roles being transactional by necessity, squeezing the time for urgently needed transformational activity. Being steeped in operational measurements saps the creativity that is required for change. Easier said than done – but there is a need to create compelling narratives to persuade. 

Organisations are under pressure and boards want quick results. The challenge is that it’s often difficult to articulate complex customer experience results, so a new language is vital.  Building a business case that matches the needs of the organisation with the benefits of investment in customer experience initiatives, rather than trying to negotiate from a position of perceived weakness, is imperative. It’s time to get good at storytelling. 

Confidence is a must for leaders as they stumble without it and organisations suffer as a result. Discovering what confidence is and how you can get more of it is essential. 

As Ros so enthusiastically described, it’s a bit like a cocktail with many ingredients. By understanding your personal brand – your strengths, weaknesses – essentially knowing and appreciating your own set of personal ingredients, will give you the confidence to support and drive change in your business.  Confidence isn’t all about being extrovert and loud – many of the most confident people and leaders are quietly assertive and assured. Knowing who you are is the first step.  Understanding how you can influence and being influential is another.  At the end of the day, in the words of Dr Hook, ‘Whooooo if not you?’.