Team Leaders do better when they pour from a full cup.
This article is part of our Team Leader Series — a collection of practical articles to help Team Leaders grow their skills, shift their mindset, and elevate the way they lead.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup”
This is a popular phrase – and it’s usually used in the context of self care. And that’s certainly important.
But I like to rephrase it to this version: “You do better when you pour from a full cup.”
To me this phrasing feels more positive and aspirational.
Now let’s take that idea – pouring from a full cup – and apply it to the role of the Contact Center Team Leader.
Frequent and meaningful conversations
It’s well understood that Team Leaders who have frequent and meaningful conversations with their Team Members do better.
They deliver more value, contribute to a better culture and feel more fulfilled.
And the word meaningful matters here.
Would anyone suggest that their Team Leaders have frequent, non-meaningful conversations? Of course not – that sounds silly.
So let me bring it all together:
To have meaningful conversations with their Team Members, Team Leaders need to pour from a full cup.
What’s a full cup for a Team Leader?
Ideally, before a Team Leader gets out there on the floor and engages with their people, their cup needs to be filled with two things:
- They need to know what they’re talking about – especially when it comes to operations, quality and human behavior.
Don’t assume that just because these folks work in a Contact Center that they’ve somehow picked up this know-how through osmosis.
Don’t assume that just because these folks work in a Contact Center that they’ve somehow picked up this know-how through osmosis. 
- They need to know how to talk about it – especially in their structured quality coaching, performance management and behavioral conversations.
Whether you’re a speaker delivering a keynote, a crisis negotiator working to defuse a tense situation or a doctor who has to deliver bad news, there are patterns and techniques you can use to make the communication more effective.
Consider the quality coaching conversation
Consider the quality coaching conversation. The conversation where your Team Leader sits down to talk to an Agent about their performance on a call or chat.
If you sit in on a few of those you’ll sometimes hear a remarkably sophisticated pattern at work – bravo. The conversation is intentional, the observations spot on and the style is inspiring.
In contrast, for other coaching conversations you sit in on, you can tell that the conversation isn’t structured – and that’s it practically made up on the spot. Observations aren’t particularly useful and the ‘Coach’ doesn’t express themselves clearly.
A conversation that’s not meaningful.
Here’s what the Contact Center world already knows
You don’t just promote your best Agent and expect them to flourish as a Team Leader.
The best Organizations prepare their people to succeed in the role.
We fill the cup of our Team Leaders by helping them know what they’re talking about and how to talk about it.
And that makes everyone’s life better.
Thank you for reading!
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.
You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe via our website.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
