> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Leading customer success teams Richard Convery, Virtuoso - URL: https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/leading-customer-success-teams-cs-school-richard-convery/ - Published: 2023-02-28T13:01:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-03T13:43:29.000Z - Description: In this episode, Richard shares his wealth of experience in developing winning strategies, building and motivating top-notch teams, and nurturing customer relationships that lead to business growth. - Author: Grace Gupta - Tags: Podcasts, Leadership > *“*Create a culture where people feel confident to share things that aren't working well and feel empowered to come up with their own ideas and suggestions.*”* \- **Richard Convery**, **Head of Customer Success** at **Virtuoso**. Get ready to dive deep into the world of customer success leadership with **Richard Convery**. In this episode, Richard shares his wealth of experience in developing winning strategies, building and motivating top-notch teams, and nurturing customer relationships that lead to business growth. But this isn't just your average leadership talk. We go beyond the surface-level fluff and get to the heart of what truly makes a successful customer success team. You'll learn about the crucial importance of having a customer-centric culture, and how empowering your team to make decisions is key to long-term success. Whether you're an experienced leader or just starting out, this episode is a must-listen. [Listen on the CSC site](https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/cs-school/?wchannelid=ps697yubui&wmediaid=890ohxf6jl) [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/66/6f66cab9-7939-4355-91c0-409dddffd4d9/content/images/size/w1000/2022/12/mxHWQwl4.jpeg) ](https://festival23.customersuccesscollective.com/) 🎪 If you want to hear more from Richard, then you’re in luck – he presented a keynote session at our [virtual Customer Success Festival](https://festival23.customersuccesscollective.com/) on ****March 8, 2023**. The topic? It was all about how you can optimize your onboarding process to reduce early-stage churn. And if that’s not enough, Richard also took part in a panel discussion with ****Fausto Briosa**, Team Lead & Principal Customer Success Manager at ****HubSpot**, where they debated all things AI and automation: the pros and the cons, the good, the bad and the ugly. Missed it? Don't sweat it. You can recap both sessions, On-Demand, with one of our membership plans. 👇 [Replay Richard's Festival talks](https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/signup/) ## Key discussion points - Fostering a culture of open communication - Why failure isn't a step backward - Practical ways to motivate your team - The importance of asking the right questions - How to plan out your goals - How to get buy-in from the sales team - Richard's personal brand of leadership ## A little bit about Richard Before finding his calling in customer success, Richard started his career in accountancy as a financial auditor, gaining invaluable knowledge and experience in the corporate world. However, he set his sights on entrepreneurship and sent his resumé to every celebrity entrepreneur he could think of – think BBC’s Dragon's Den, Sir Richard Branson and Lord Alan Sugar. After bagging a contract with Rachel Elnaugh (founder of Red Letter Days and entrepreneur on the BBC show, Dragon's Den) Richard was able to work *on* a business instead of just *in* a business. Having found a passion for business, for processes and systems, Richard fell into the software business in 2009\. Since then, he’s been a director for several companies and has enjoyed a career standardizing processes, designing and implementing software and working alongside customers to solve problems with them. [Top customer success events to attend in 2023When we started Customer Success Collective back in 2021, it was with the ambition to establish a centralized hub for CSMs and CS leaders to learn, network and exchange expertise. Within our first year, we put on three virtual customer success events and we certainly got the bug for it!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/66/6f66cab9-7939-4355-91c0-409dddffd4d9/content/images/2021/06/icon_yaJ_icon.ico)Customer Success CollectiveGrace Gupta![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6f/66/6f66cab9-7939-4355-91c0-409dddffd4d9/content/images/2023/02/photo-1451187580459-43490279c0fa.jpeg)](https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/top-customer-success-events-to-attend/) ## Resources - Connect with Richard on [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardconvery/) - Connect with Richard on [Slack](https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/customer-success-community/) - See our Customer Success Festival [events calendar](https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/top-customer-success-events-to-attend/) [Become a member](https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/signup/)