Ep.19 - Bringing Humanity Back to Leadership - Jen Burton

From redefining “frontline” support to using AI for strategic insight—not replacement—Jen Burton brings a fresh, human-first perspective to CX leadership. As a CX Coach at Zendesk with nearly 20 years of experience, she shares how building a culture rooted in emotional intelligence and warmth drives both team performance and customer loyalty. In this episode, Jen dives into the operational power of AI, the untapped value of second response time, and the importance of aligning CX with business goals. She also opens up about her own journey through leadership challenges, hiring missteps, and the pursuit of becoming truly “unbothered.”

Guest Bio

Jen Burton is a CX Coach at Zendesk, where she leads the design and implementation of human-centric, data-driven performance systems that streamline operations and deliver outstanding results. With more than 15 years of experience in customer support and operations, Jen is widely recognized for her ability to build scalable, high-quality support systems across chat, SMS, and voice channels.

Her approach combines the power of AI with the nuance of human insight, empowering teams to operate with autonomy while driving both customer satisfaction and business success. Passionate about elevating the human experience, Jen also brings a deep commitment to fostering personal growth and authentic connections within teams.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jen Burton and her leadership philosophy

03:42 Humanizing leadership: challenges and best practices

10:04 Reframing blame and building emotional resilience

13:42 Creating a warm and high-performing CS culture

20:21 Structuring support teams for scale and growth

24:07 Collaborating across teams: CX as a strategic partner

30:34 Making the business case for CX investments

33:59 Operational AI: from sentiment analysis to trend detection

42:54 Evolving CX metrics and performance management

51:37 Coaching and QA in modern CX environments

55:02 The future of CX: upskilling, AI, and journey thinking

59:16 Ownership and collaboration around customer journeys

01:01:50 Personal journey stories: growth through wins and losses

01:09:08 Where to find Jen and final reflections

Jochem’s Profile - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochemvanderveer/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Jen Burton - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenburton/