![\"woman](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/10\/BetterPerspectivesLeadstoBetterInsightsBlogEditsandSC_Blog_Opt2-1024x576.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Have you ever thought about what makes a leader different from a manager? Is it skills and experience? Expertise? Natural talent?<\/p>\n
Think about it this way. Loggers in a forest are working away at their task of felling trees and trying to find the best way forward to clear out their allotted space effectively and on schedule. Attempting to get some perspective on the issue, one logger climbs a nearby tree and, after surveying the area, yells, \u201cWe\u2019re in the wrong forest!\u201d<\/p>\n
Another logger on the ground level turns and yells back, \u201cShut up, we\u2019re making progress!\u201d<\/p>\n
The logger on the ground is a manager, only able to see what is directly in front of them, while the logger in the trees tries to lead their team with intelligence, wisdom, and clarity of vision. The difference is that the latter used a better perspective to help their team do their jobs better and avoid problems.<\/p>\n
Likewise, leaders in business use insights and intelligence to help their teams with customer engagement and sales.<\/p>\n
In call centers, many leaders at all levels end up acting as managers because they don\u2019t have access to a better perspective, whether that is through new strategies or tools and technologies. Insight, in the case of call centers, is what gives you that better perspective. And it helps you avoid seeing things only from the ground level.<\/p>\n
Consider\u00a0how your company responds to changes in customer purchasing behaviors.\u00a0Often, marketing will look at broader trends or survey data\u00a0to\u00a0better understand changing consumer wants and needs.\u00a0Ultimately, market testing and revision will lead to a new, released product. That kind of response cycle can take a long time in a digital sales environment, and that\u2019s because this approach is only from the limited scope of view for marketers that want to build an agile sales operation.<\/p>\n
However, unlike our leader in the tree, you\u2019re getting a lot of data all the time. Data comes in like a fast-running stream, and the sales trends, customer behaviors, and actionable insights are hidden in that data stream. Most of us will miss key trends because we default to looking at urgent issues rather than the broader\u2014and often more important\u2014trends. Responsiveness to broader trends can be reflected in changes to products, services, and customer treatment approaches. The ability to identify actionable insights from the data stream helps keep leaders focused on building a better business.<\/p>\n
Of course, recognizing changing consumer trends is important, but how does that\u00a0impact\u00a0your agents?\u00a0While ongoing training programs can help them respond more effectively to shifting trends, real responsiveness calls for flexibility in your processes that agents can leverage to capitalize on new data insights as they happen. Even better, you can launch proactive campaigns to empower your agents and satisfy customers with useful, customized service.<\/p>\n
For example, what if you expect a high\u00a0number of loan defaults?\u00a0Using insights based on data around loan default numbers and other metrics, you can more accurately\u00a0identify\u00a0those who are likely to default and initiate a proactive outreach program.\u00a0Customers are relieved because\u00a0you\u2019re willing to work with them on a resolution, and your\u00a0agents are happier because they\u2019re not perceived as villains but rather as part\u00a0of an effort to work with families who are already under\u00a0tremendous stress.<\/p>\n
This example is one of potentially dozens of scenarios that show how useful data can inform insights, create a better perspective for you and your team, and open up unseen opportunities (or even help avoid challenging situations). \u00a0Consider\u00a0insights like the following:<\/p>\n
![\"Example](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/10\/Picture1.png\")
<\/p>\n
Not only do you see real-time activity,\u00a0but you\u00a0also\u00a0see\u00a0things such as\u00a0potential brand affinity\u00a0and interests. This kind of intelligence is your way to see the forest despite the trees, to get a bigger picture of your operations to truly guide your team\u2014to step up from being a manager to being a leader. Instead of managing with limited information, a new leadership approach is possible. With data-driven tools like Microsoft Azure<\/a> and Dynamics 365<\/a>, you can get agile, always-on customer engagement powered with AI to give you a true 360-degree view of your business operations.<\/p>\n In this series of\u00a0articles,\u00a0we have discussed how insight can impact your business operations. Getting access to that insight and making it actionable allows you to drive real value in your company.<\/p>\n Read other articles in this series. [link]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever thought about what makes a leader different from a manager? Is it skills and experience? Expertise? Natural talent? Think about it this way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":51470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1545],"post_tag":[1599],"content-type":[],"coauthors":[1221],"class_list":["post-51428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-experience","tag-financial-services"],"yoast_head":"\n