Christina Roloson
This interview was recorded on September 27, 2019.
The following are some of the most notable excerpts from the interview:
Q: “Go ahead and introduce yourself.”
Christina: “Thank you for inviting me to talk to you about my experience. I am Christina Roloson. I facilitate a global, diverse community of 17,000 members.”
Q: “What does your role actually look like?”
Christina: “No two days are the same. Some days are a lot busier than other days. My role can vary from responding to requests from people to join our community, to fielding requests by producers, bloggers, media, administrators, resource developers, and researchers to use the group as research, or I may be called on to mediate a debate and keep the group on mission, or I might be responding to messages from people who want to ask for advice, or resources, in a more personal way. Another part of what I do is try and develop new resources for our community, and find the best way to encourage members to utilize them.”
Q: “What would your group/organization look like without success roles like yours?”
Christina: “Keeping a large group on mission requires a willingness to make quick decisions, and open-mindedness. A large, diverse group is going to very quickly go off mission without effective leadership. By the same token, the focus has to be positive or my members aren’t going to want to spend their time in my community.”
Q: “To you, what does it mean to be successful in your role?”
Christina: “My picture of success for this role is not only keeping our community on mission, but challenging myself to keep the group fresh and interesting as well.”
Q: “Are there any skills or personality traits that are well suited for a role in customer success?”
Christina: “The number one quality that I bring is not taking anything personally. I wouldn’t be able to do this role if I wasn’t able to take off my personal identity hat, and put on my professional hat, while I am acting as facilitator of the community. I don’t think this trait has come naturally to me, it is something I learned from experience, and also the person who mentored me. The next quality that I think is important, is being able to separate what’s needed for the group as whole, from what’s my personal preference. I intentionally view my members as individuals, versus an extension of myself, because I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that they have personal needs. I also do not want to see them all as one. The group is so diverse that I cannot view them all as one because they have so many unique experiences and preferences to share. It’s also important to be able to make a firm decision, with only a few minutes to contemplate options. You have to be able to set it all aside when the work is over. You can’t allow the emotional noise to cross over into your personal life, because it can be exhausting when you are dealing with people and their needs. So, you want to learn how to, kind of, close up shop.”
Q: “Are there any unique perks to being in a customer success role?”
Christina: “Surprisingly, in such a large group, there are times where I have had the opportunity to personally connect with a member, and that’s what really keeps me in this role. I would say that having a personal connection with a member, is really the best part about what I do. I feel that I actually learn a lot from the diverse backgrounds that my members bring to me. In fact, I would say that I have probably grown as a person a great deal from being in this role. I am interacting with people that are presenting me with unique perspectives, philosophies, and expectations that I would not have chosen to put in my path. So, I recently have decided, that while I do help facilitate the group, I actually benefit just as much as anybody in the group.”
Q: “I have heard that customer success is like operations, but in a customer facing position. What are your thoughts on that?”
Christina: “I can see a correlation. I think that, for me, the people are my business.”
Q: “For anyone who is looking to go into customer success, what would your advice be?”
Christina: “When you identify that someone is good at the role, or you have the opportunity to be mentored, embrace that experience and opportunity. I don’t think that I would still be facilitating this community, if I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn from someone who was very natural in the role. It doesn’t come natural to me, and that’s okay if you feel like you aren’t a natural. I mean, before doing this role, I would have said that I don’t even like people. So, while I personally would not choose to be in a room with 17,000 people trying to solve their problems or facilitate that community in person, I’m actually able to step outside of my usual persona, in order to become the facilitator that they need.”