How can you help your team develop critical thinking skills during difficult customer interactions?

This starts with ensuring the team knows the company mission, values, and standards. All decisions filter through those makes sure they are in alignment with the company.

One thing I have found helpful is to encourage employees to express their opinions and train them to handle different situations.

Before developing critical thinking skills within a team environment, foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome to share their thoughts.

Do not assume that the opposition the customer is giving is directed at you personally. Remember that oftentimes the customer is dealing with (and upset about) issues that have nothing to do with the current interaction. Remember to conduct yourself in a professional manner. Professionalism is difficult to convict (even in a court of law).

In addition to what has been said, other than probing further, coaching them to have listening skills is an important factor when handling different types of customers. From the information provided,they can learn to make a judgement in line with the company’s policy and respond accordingly.

One technique I used when caring for patients and families in the ICU is active listening and repeat-back. Listen patiently, take a moment to reflect on the concerns voiced by the customer, and repeat back what you think you heard to check that first and foremost, there is a match between what you heard and the concern the customer articulated. In high-emotion situations or throughout experiences that are less than frictionless, customers are often frustrated and just want someone to hear them. Start by checking your understanding of the situation with the customer by succinctly repeating what you heard and by asking open-ended questions to gain a deeper understanding of their concern. Spending more time here will prevent misunderstanding!

Encouraging communication between the team, particularly seeking colleagues and leaderships insight and feedback or opinions on supporting clients promotes a positive workspace. When an employee knows they can seek the support of their colleagues and management and are able to receive genuine and caring guidance, there is an opportunity for growth and learning. While people may learn differently, the best place to learn is in a supportive environment. Everyone could have something to contribute and something to learn.

This could be so hard to do! There might be a split between "I'm always criticizing myself" to "I do nothing wrong". In my experience, especially after an incident, self-reflection and evaluation can be about timing. Reflexivity involves reflection: how do I show up in a situation? How do I contribute to it? What aspects of me (my identity, maybe sore spots or triggers) show up in certain situations? How could I be influencing a particular interaction?

How do you ring the bell? Pavlov famously demonstrated a behavior could be coached. For your team, ringing the bell should be some sort of recognition or correction for a particular task. Reinforce the good behaviors through consistent positive reinforcement. Discourage negative behaviors when recognized through constructive criticism. I’m of opinion that no one goes into a task looking or seeking to fail or to do a bad job. With the proper instruction and with the right guidance even poor performers can find small victories that drives improvement. So what is your team’s victory today? If you can’t think of one you aren’t leading from the front. Invest in turning your individual performers into cohesive teams

Think of the best advisors, mentors, or teachers you've had. The best I've had weren't harsh in their tone, cruel in their words, or demeaning in their approach. They understood every situation is a learning opportunity and even if there needed to be change in practice, it was a conversation of kindness. There have been and will continue to be some big mistakes and errors. In my experience, cruelty or rudeness and disrespect don't teach the way patience, guidance, and consideration do. It also doesn't last, and certainly won't retain talent that may need some direction.

Using the "sandwich" approach is crucial to developing oneself. Starting with a positive, what you liked about the call. Then add a way or two to improve. Finally, end it with a challenge to the team member to deliver excellence on that next call.

This sounds like a wonderful way to begin a meeting. I know, we might all be tired of them, especially with zoom/ screen fatigue. Creating opportunities for small groups to come together and creatively solve a problem--encourage "out of the box" thinking (and mean it when you ask for it, implement some different ideas to show leadership walks the talk). I had an instructor once decsribe brainstorming as the time when possibilities are endless: a simple example, if you're trying to decide on a trip to take, as soon as you cut off a suggestion you cut off creativity and the opportunity to build on something (potentially) great!