Leadership Makes the Difference
1 Sep, 2008
By: Linda Driscoll-DobelAn exclusive Contact Professional interview with Gerry Barber, Call Centers Senior Leader, Deloitte Services LP.
Gerry’s passion for call center leadership is well documented. During his career he has provided leadership to a number of award-winning call center and support organizations across multiple industries. He was a founding member of the Call Center Industry Advisory Council (CIAC) and helped create the first industry-recognized professional leadership certification for call center management. Contact Professional caught up with Gerry to ask him to share his views on leadership.
Contact Professional (CP): Recently you’ve accepted a new role leading a large internal call center operation. Can you tell us a bit about your responsibilities?
Gerry Barber (GB): Yes, I joined Deloitte Services LP in August of 2007 as Senior Call Center Leader. Our call center is dedicated to delivering distinctive support services to the people of the Deloitte U.S. Firms. The call center is the single point of phone contact regarding employee benefits, technology and business application support. Our team of 250 service professionals handle 600,000 contacts annually through our virtual call center network made up of three physical call center locations; Tennessee, India and California.
CP: You’ve dedicated more than 25 years of your career to call center leadership, why is leadership so important?
GB: The quality of leadership more than any other factor has the most impact on the success of the call center. At the end of the day, it’s not the cubicle design; neither is it the information displayed on a reader board, nor the technologies we deploy that make the difference. Rather it’s how leadership guides and serves the human resources placed in the leader’s care. It’s how leadership, in collaboration with all team members, creates a clear and compelling vision to follow. Leadership is the differentiator that separates the best centers from the rest.
CP: Describe what a great call center leader looks like?
GB: If I had to describe a great leader in two words, I would choose confident and effective. A confident leader knows that through self-development and the development of others, a high level of confidence naturally results. Effectiveness is the byproduct of confident leaders. Simply, the more confidence the leader possess, the more willing he or she is in taking risks, overcoming obstacles, sharing knowledge and making solid decisions to achieve extraordinary business results.
CP: Do you have a particular leadership style?
GB: Like many call center managers and leaders who have grown through the ranks, in my early career my style was pure survival mode. As I’ve matured, I have adopted a servant leadership style. Servant leadership is centered on serving others, viewing the organization chart upside down to serve those who serve the customer. Servant leadership helps the leader focus on what’s important,such as avoiding silos or removing process and/or policy roadblocks that would otherwise impede progress toward a common vision. While I would like to take credit for the idea of servant leadership, the principle is based on Ken Blanchard’s book “Leading at a Higher Level”. I would recommend this book to any leader who wants to achieve significant business results and make a difference in the lives of those they lead.
CP: In preparing for your new leadership role, what did you do differently this time around?
GB: I developed a clear understanding of the leader I wanted to be. I evaluated and worked to better understand what form of leadership style would be right for me and for my new organization. I explored and identified what my purpose is as a leader, what I stand for and what others should come to expect of me. Blanchard calls it “your leadership point of view.” I recommend writing this leadership decree in letter format, as I did, and share it with all stakeholders. It serves to hold the leader accountable, too. Personally, I refer to it often and practice living it every day! I found this activity to be beneficial and a rewarding experience.
CP: What additional advice can you offer to improve leadership success?
GB: Build the call center culture first through a shared vision. Live to a higher standard with values grounded on integrity and a commitment to each other. Take the time to know your people, build relationships internally and externally long before making changes. Be visible and communicate frequently to bring clarity to the shared vision and lay out a plan as to how best achieve it. Know that it’s the little accomplishments along the way that make a difference and be sure to celebrate each milestone.
