Stoic Practices for Service Desk Excellence

This article stems from a personal reflection and a unique intersection of two significant journeys in my life: my personal exploration of Stoic philosophy and my professional experience in IT Service Management (ITSM).

Studying Stoicism has been a deeply personal endeavor, a way to better understand how to navigate life’s challenges with resilience and clarity. To name some Stoics that I study - Epictetus, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Seneca are philosophers of different walks-of-life and different occupations but they all followed these universal principles and practices. Even today, Stoicism still thrives with platforms such as Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday which has an amazing collection of Stoic Wisdom - which I recommend you to check out. At the same time, my career in ITSM has revolved around solving complex problems, managing expectations, and fostering smooth operations.

Recently, I found myself reflecting on how these two paths can overlap. Could the timeless Greek wisdom of Stoic philosophy offer valuable lessons for the fast-paced, customer-focused world of ITSM? The more I thought about it, the clearer the connections became.

In this article, I’ll share my perspective on how Stoic principles - like focusing on what we can control, maintaining composure, and viewing challenges as opportunities - can enhance the effectiveness and resilience of Service Desk operations.

While reflecting I was able to gather the following connections between Stoic Principles/Practices and SD practices,

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” - Emperor Marcus Aurelius

This principle emphasizes the importance of focusing only on what you can control and let go of what you can’t. Especially we can only control how we react to things out of our control and not the things themselves. Similarly, Service Desk agents can’t control a system outage but can control how they respond to customers, prioritize tickets, and collaborate to resolve issues. They can't control how the Customer is being irate or fussy but they can control how they react and respond with empathy and understanding. This principle shifts the SD Agent's focus and energy towards how they respond, displaying of empathy, root cause analysis and collaboration as required to solve the issue at hand.

"Do not seek for things to happen the way you want them to; rather, wish that what happens happen the way it happens: then you will be happy" - Epictetus

Love of Fate emphasizes that we must embrace challenges as opportunities for growth rather than blockages - loving every negative that is thrown our way. Similarly, Service Desk Managers must seek every challenge as an opportunity to improve the team, process and environment. Using recurring issues not as a factor for demotivation, but as an opportunity to find the root cause ('Problems' in ITIL terms) and improve upon, using Incidents to further learn the complexities of the system and build workarounds, using high-pressure critical situations to improve team communication and bonding are some examples that come to mind.

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” – Emperor Marcus Aurelius

Virtue means acting with moral and ethical excellence which is considered the highest good in Stoic Philosophy. Excellence in action means doing the right thing for the right reason, regardless of external recognition or results. In the context of a Service Desk, this principle translates to consistently aiming for professionalism, diligence, and quality in every interaction. Even in challenging circumstances - whether handling difficult customers, meeting strict SLAs, or navigating unexpected outages - focusing on virtue ensures that decisions and actions align with core values like honesty, accountability, and empathy.

"A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not." - Seneca

It is important that we reflect and meditate on what is going well and appreciate the positives in our lives. Often we get stuck in looking at the negatives and what could be; causing anxiety and negative emotions in us. Especially as a SD Manager, it is important to reflect upon the positives and show appreciation to the Team - whether it be the effort's of the team during critical incidents or a simple thank you for covering their shift well. It is important to foster a positive culture by celebrating small wins and big.

“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.“ - Epictetus

“To investigate and analyze, with understanding and logic, the principles we ought to live by. Not to display anger or other emotions. To be free of passion and yet full of love.“ - Emperor Marcus Aurelius

This principle explains that emotions, while natural, can cloud judgment and lead to poor decisions if left unchecked. Emotional regulation is not about suppressing feelings but about understanding and managing them effectively. It’s about responding to challenges with reason and calmness rather than reacting impulsively. In a Service Desk environment, it is common that there are moments of stress, anger and anxiety - these can be triggered by fussy and irate Customers, tight deadlines on SLAs, incident resolution times being delayed, etc. - whatever it may be, emotional regulation is a crucial skill for Service Desk Excellence. Few techniques we can use for emotional regulation are pausing during an intense/stressful moment to breathe and reflect on the responses/actions you are about to do, focusing only on what you can control and reframing the situation as an opportunity to grow.

"What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. The fact that it was unforeseen has never failed to intensify a person’s grief. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events." - Seneca

This principle presents the practice of meditating and anticipating negatives ("evils" in Stoic terms) in order to build resilience and mental fortitude towards probable challenges and pitfalls. It is important to know that this is NOT to trigger anxiety/fear but to understand and meditate on what could go wrong in order anticipate any negatives. In the context of an SD environment, it is important that the Manager (and Team too) must anticipate common issues like escalations, high ticket volumes, or technical failures which can cause challenges towards the Organization. Therefore in order to achieve excellence, we must plan for such challenges, conduct regular drills and document "what-if" scenarios to build readiness and minimize surprises.

“When the light has gone out and my body lies down to rest, I review the things I’ve done and the things I’ve read, for I’ve done nothing shameful or acted against my principles.” – Seneca

Journaling is a highly-recommended practice in Stoicism in order to regularly review actions to improve future behavior. It emphasizes the importance of writing down your thoughts, your anxieties, your reflections, advices to yourself and anything that you want to write. Many renowned Stoics embraced this practice, including the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose personal journal was later published as "Meditations" - a foundational text in Stoic philosophy. In the context of the SD, this practice translates to conducting daily or weekly reviews of ticket handling to identify what went well and what could improve, conducting Problem Management sessions, reflecting on KPIs and SLA-compliance, and encouraging individual journaling or team retrospectives to document lessons learned.

"We are like limbs on a body, working together for the common good." - Emperor Marcus Aurelius

One of the central ideas in Stoic philosophy is the interconnectedness of humanity. The Stoics believed that we are all part of a larger community and that working together for the common good is both a moral duty and a practical necessity - a virtue to strive for. In a Service Desk environment, this principle resonates strongly, as success depends on effective communication and collaboration among team members and cross-functionally to meet organizational goals and resolve customer issues efficiently. Therefore it is important that a successful SD team must build relationships, close communication gaps, go above-and-beyond to ensure collaboration and cooperation is maintained amongst cross-functional teams. Encouraging knowledge sharing, celebrating successes as a Team, and promoting empathy are highly advantageous for Service Desk excellence.

For SD Managers, it is important that you look at the WHY of a failure rather than the WHO - this means to stop the 'blame-culture' and look at the reasons for the failure to occur in the context of process and gaps - a failing process will always fail despite the Agent on-shift. It is important to educate rather than blame during such failures to ensure that the Team understands why we failed in order to avoid failures in the future.

Benefits that can be gained through the Stoic Practices

1. Improved Resilience in High-Pressure Situations

- An SD team who practice Dichotomy of Control, Negative Visualization and Emotional Regulation will build their ability to stay calm under pressure during critical times and also reduce their mental stress when faced with such situations resulting in better solutions and outcomes towards the Customer.

2. Enhanced Problem-Solving and Decision-Making

- Through Dichotomy of Control, and focusing on Virtue, an SD agent will gain the ability to think clearer under pressure and be effective in prioritization and execution of tickets by gaining a clearer idea of which tickets can be fixed sooner (are in their control) and focusing on which benefits the Customer better - promoting better Incident Management too!

3. Stronger Customer Relationships

- Through Emotional Regulation and Community & Collaboration (viewing customers as part of the community), a Service agent can improve customer satisfaction through empathy and understanding. It also encourages active-listening which can contribute majorly to de-escalate tense situations on calls.

4. Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement

- ITIL emphasizes the need of a culture of continuous improvement and it is a proven fact that continuous and gradual improvement of services are necessary to be a Best-in-Class Service Desk. The practices of focusing on Virtue and practicing reflection can assist in continual improvement as they promote striving for higher standards of service and learning from past mistakes and documenting lessons-learnt for improvements.

5. Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

- The practice of Amor Fati promotes looking at challenges as opportunities hence giving the team the ability to view setbacks as learning moments and promoting greater adaptability and innovative thinking. Each incident, outage and issue becomes a learning opportunity to better themselves - ultimately promoting a high-level of service to the Customers.

6. Stronger Team Dynamics and Collaboration

- The practice of community and collaboration assists in creating a stronger team-first mindset amongst the SD team. They promote better teamwork and mutual support during hardships and improved conflict resolution within the team maintaining the flow of teamwork and respect amongst the colleagues.

7. Improved Work-Life Balance

- Using the concept of Dichotomy of Control and by practicing gratitude, a Service Team Member can gain a clearer distinction between what requires attention and what doesn’t; and by practicing reflection and journaling, they can start appreciating their achievements and progress resulting in reduced carry-over of work stress into their personal life.

In the fast-paced, high-stakes world of Service Desk operations, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the demands of the role sometimes. Yet, by incorporating Stoic principles like focusing on what we can control, embracing challenges as opportunities, and fostering a sense of community, we can navigate even the toughest situations with clarity and resilience.

These practices are not just about improving individual performance - they lay the foundation for stronger teams, better customer experiences, and a culture of continuous growth. While my journey with Stoicism is deeply personal, its lessons have profoundly shaped my professional path. I hope these insights inspire you to explore how timeless wisdom can elevate your own Service Desk operations.

After all, as the Stoics remind us, the obstacles we face often hold the keys to our greatest successes!

"Look well into yourself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if you will always look." – Marcus Aurelius