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Stop Managing. Start Leading: Lessons from Coach Rios
- Ty Givens
- Oct 29
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 30
At CX Collective, we’re all about real conversations with real leaders — the kind who don’t just manage teams but inspire them. Each month, our Affiliate Spotlight series highlights one of our incredible coaches who’s transforming how customer experience (CX) teams lead, grow, and deliver results.
This month’s feature — Stop Managing/Start Leading with Coach Rios — showcases a CX leader who has spent his career empowering teams at companies like Cisco and Fitbit. Andrew doesn’t just talk about leadership — he lives it. His philosophy is simple but powerful: manage processes, lead people.
He's partnered with us for his very own playbook: The CX Leadership Playbook. In this interview, Coach Rios breaks down how to build stronger support teams, elevate performance, and lead with trust and purpose. His approach helps CX professionals go beyond managing metrics to creating cultures of autonomy, accountability, and growth.
We sat down with Andrew for a candid conversation about what it means to lead instead of manage — and how asking better questions, building trust, and coaching with intention can transform a support team from good to great.
What does “leading instead of managing” mean to you in the context of a support team?
Managing is telling people what to do. Leading is showing them why it matters, and trusting them to figure out the how.
When I lead, I paint a picture of what “done” looks like, share a few examples to get the creative juices flowing, then step back and let the team design the system or process that gets us there.
Managing hands people a playbook.
Leading lets them write one, together.
Can you describe a moment when you shifted from controlling outcomes to coaching others?
That turning point came at Cisco when I led Support Engineering and had to outsource operations overseas for the first time, to the Philippines. Suddenly, I couldn’t “control” every lever. I had to trust a team I couldn’t see every day and a new leader responsible for escalations and training.
That’s when I became a Socratic leader, asking more questions and guiding with curiosity rather than command. I traded the joystick for a whistle and a clipboard. I stopped playing every position and started coaching the whole team.
When you think about long-term leadership impact, what habits create lasting results?
Culture beats KPIs, every time.
I want a team where people may not always feel perfectly comfortable speaking up, but they know they can. That’s the difference.
When autonomy and mastery are encouraged, confidence grows, and problems get solved faster. I anchor that culture to a shared purpose: we’re all here to take care of the customer, whether that’s activating a new order, getting a shipment right, or managing a tough escalation.
Purpose is the daily reset button.
How does trust play a role when you stop managing and start leading a CX team, Andrew Rios- and do you build it?
Some managers make you earn trust.
I start by giving it.
From day one, I assume 100% trust. It’s lighter on me and empowering for the team.
I ask questions that challenge clarity, not competence. We’ll sync on checkpoints to make sure we’re aligned, but I never hover.
Trust is my default setting. It’s how teams grow faster and leaders breathe easier.
Feedback can be hard to give and receive. What principles guide you?
I tell my teams all the time: feedback is a gift.
If someone’s taking the time to give you feedback, they’re investing in your growth, not grading your worth.
As a leader, I act on feedback in real time to model that behavior. Feedback with data and examples lands best; it keeps it objective, actionable, and less emotional.
And when it’s done right, feedback builds trust, not tension.
How do you ensure your feedback “lands”?
I don’t assume it did.
I ask: “Did that make sense?” or “What’s one thing you’ll do differently based on this conversation?”
If they can teach it back or give me an example of what they heard, that’s when I know it stuck.
Feedback isn’t delivered when I say it; it’s delivered when they apply it.
What are the key ingredients of a high-performing support team?
Diverse perspectives, skills, backgrounds, and experiences.
Clear principles, mine are:
If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.
What are the facts, what do they mean, and what are we going to do about it?
One-time, real time, every time. Those three keep the team aligned, accountable, and adaptable, no matter how fast things move.
How do you balance autonomy with structure?
It’s all about having a communication compass.
Written updates (weekly reports, dashboards, support summaries) keep everyone informed.
Live syncs, 1:1s, and team huddles keep the human connection strong.
Structure gives the team confidence; autonomy gives them ownership. When you balance both performance scales, morale follows.
Can you share a time you coached someone through a challenge that built confidence?
At Fitbit, one of my beta coordinators faced a brutal stakeholder meeting, high pressure, sharp questions, the kind of moment that shakes your confidence.
We had talked before about her stepping up into program management, and this was the proving ground.
After the meeting, we didn’t debrief on mistakes; we dissected the lessons. What went well? What surprised you? What will you try differently next time?
That reflection flipped the script, from fear to growth. A few months later, she was leading programs herself. That’s coaching.
If you could leave future leaders with one principle, what would it be?
Have anchors.
Create a single source of truth your team can always come home to, and a set of principles you coach from, not just quote from.
When everything gets loud (and it always does in Support), those anchors keep everyone steady, aligned, and focused on what matters most: the customer.
Leading With Trust, Coaching With Purpose
Andrew Rios reminds us that leadership isn’t about control — it’s about connection. The best CX leaders don’t dictate outcomes; they design environments where teams thrive. Trust, feedback, and shared purpose aren’t just buzzwords in Andrew’s playbook — they’re the backbone of lasting customer experience success.
🔗 Click here to follow Coach Rios on LinkedIn
If you’re a CX professional ready to step up your leadership game, The CX Leadership Playbook is your next move. Inside, Andrew shares proven frameworks, reflective prompts, and real-world strategies to help you lead confidently, coach effectively, and build a culture where both people and performance flourish.
At CX Collective, we believe leadership is the ultimate customer experience strategy — and leaders like Andrew are showing us exactly how it’s done.
Stay tuned for next month’s Affiliate Spotlight, where we’ll continue sharing the voices shaping the future of customer experience leadership.
About CX Collective
Founded by Ty Givens, CX Collective helps high-growth companies scale customer experience that drives loyalty, reduces chaos, and fuels long-term growth. We don’t just talk about CX - we build it.
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