🗞️ Leadership Hacks FR, AI From AT&T, A Meme I Made

Rolling up the CS podcasts of the week for you - in 5 minutes or more.

Author

Jen Weaver
August 29, 2025

Rolling up the CS podcasts of the week for you - in 5 minutes or more.

Containing:

  • TL;DR: three quick wins

  • The Podcasts: summaries + links from this week's podcasts

  • ICYMI on LI: posts worth a look (and a comment to get yourself out there!)

  • And Now: meme of the week

🦸 This newsletter is brought to you by Supportman.io, which connects Intercom to Slack with AI to give agents feedback and surface problems in real time.

TL;DR

If you only have a few minutes, check these out:

The Podcasts

Tech Talks Daily

You know I love actionable tips and this episode is full of them - which is why I included it, even though it's not support-specific. Salvatore J. Manzi trains us to be better communicators. I don't say this often, but I recommend listening to the whole episode.

  • "Metaphors move minds." Find metaphors from your own passions and people will start listening. (Minute 5:23)

  • "Break the seal early." Introverts should speak within the first 5 minutes of a meeting—start by “stating the obvious” to get your voice in the room. (Minute 9:57)

  • Train for presence. Before big presentations, do jumping jacks or run in place, then practice delivering your first line slowly. This conditions your body to stay calm under adrenaline. (Minute 16:25)

  • Handling uncertainty. Use the framework: “Here’s what we know. Here’s what we don’t.” Leaders don’t need all the answers, but they do need to model clarity under change. (Minute 20:23)

  • Managing up. Don’t just bring problems upward. Bring a metaphor to simplify, pair it with a proposed solution, and focus on the why (relevance), not the how (technical detail). (Minute 28:38)

The Manager to Manager Podcast with Kamaria Scott

Michele Badie, CSM, PMP, CPMAI on why, as managers of people, we also need project management skills. This whole episode is worth a listen also.

  • Managing vs. leading projects. Managing = tactical, time-bound execution. Leading = strategy, long-term trust, aligning with company vision. You’ll often need to do both. (Minute 12:10)

  • Use a RACI chart. Define who’s Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Don’t keep it private—share it to set clear expectations and prevent confusion. (Minute 18:55)

  • Ask your team about their pet peeves. (Min 31:02)

Growth Support with Neal Travis 🌱

Daniel Hoffkins has spent a decade standing up support teams in fintech and health tech. Now at Certainly CX, he shares what it really takes to build support from scratch—where to start, what to avoid, and why version 1 doesn’t need to look like version 10.

  • Don’t overbuild too early. Big platforms like Salesforce or Zendesk are powerful but heavy. Start lean with docs + tagging; scale later to avoid “spaghetti monster” tech debt. (Minute 10:15)

  • Three first foundations: (1) Documentation (even a shared Google Doc of FAQs), (2) QA/consistency in responses, (3) Basic metrics (volume, CSAT, top issues). (Minute 16:00)

  • Tag early, tag simply. Even crude labeling in Gmail beats nothing. That data becomes the engine for hiring decisions, product escalations, and automation. (Minute 20:20)

Modern Customer Podcast with Blake Morgan

Jenifer Robertson shares how AT&T is evolving its customer experience at scale—serving 100M+ customers across wireless and fiber.

  • AI assisting agents. Virtual “experts” now sit alongside humans in AT&T call centers, suggesting next best actions and reducing handle time. (Minute 6:55)

  • Knowledge management as a backbone. AI-powered search and recommendations improve consistency across call centers, retail, and digital channels. (Minute 10:26)

Unf*cking Your CX with Zack Hamilton

Luke Jamieson's hot take: customers are not getting more demanding!

  • "We talk about customers like we're not actually customers." (Minute 3:10)

  • Just drink your own champagne once in a while. Also I can totally relate to the audio quality with phone support. What is the DEAL? (Minute 16:07)

And yet more...

If you're looking for more podcasts, these episodes launched this week but the topics aren't super relevant for support leaders. They still might pique your interest:

ICYMI on LI

🦸 This newsletter is brought to you by Supportman.io, which connects Intercom to Slack with AI to give agents feedback and surface problems in real time.

And now..

See you next time,

Jen