Advice for a new CSM on productivity

Hi GGR Community,
I am a new CSM (about two months in!). My biggest challenge so far has been the lack of direction given by leadership on the ways to be most productively be spending my time. I think this is particularly challenging because there was no CS in place before I started. So I am implementing systems while also learning how to be effective in this position. I have tried to ask for a better sense of what my boss is looking for, but it was emphasized that I am supposed to figure this out. What advice would you have for someone in my position? How can I most effectively be spending my time?
Thanks in advance!

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Comments

Ana Leasman

@lucy_wct that is a very hard position to be in without guidance. If you want to talk about this, send me a message on linkedin - I'll be happy to meet over zoom - understand your position and maybe help some. I've been there - I understand the pain. Let me know if I can help in any way.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anapleasman/

Brian O'Keeffe

I was in this position years ago. We had a brand new team and were provided little direction and in all honesty I could do everything I needed to do in two hours per day or less. It was a real challenge.

Find things to do. I focused on Community and Scale and when the time came that we needed to scale, I was all set and able to lead the team. It ended up turning into a great career move!

Michelle Wideman

Hi @lucy_wct, I'm a big fan of the urgency-importance matrix. As you look at the org you are creating, being able to outline all the things that you think need to get done, then bucketing them in this matrix may be a helpful exercise to review with your boss and get confirmation on prioritization.

Michelle Wideman

Ed Powers

Sorry to read about the lack of direction, @lucy_wct. Sadly, it's not unusual.

I'll share some advice I got about 30 years ago from a manager at Hewlett-Packard: "Better to do a few things well than many things with mediocrity." The trick, of course, is to determine what specifically must be done well, in other words, what tasks impact outcomes and which don't. Since you are just starting out, I recommend simply talking to customers, learning what's important to them and what drives their decision-making (renew/cancel, expand/contract). All good things ultimately flow from customers, so study them to find your answers.

Ed

ashley_martin

HI @lucy_wct, if there was no CS in place before you it sounds like you are maybe helping build out CS? I would start by creating a journey map so you can better see where you need to prioritize your time. This might also help you with standardizing processes or creating new or better processes. If you have a set of customers I would try to segment them in different categories to see where you can improve efficiency and where you may be able to add more value. Hope this helps.