Customer Success Career Advice from Salesforce Leaders

At Salesforce, your growth isn’t just encouraged — it’s a priority, with ample support and resources to help you navigate a dynamic career path in customer success. But growth isn’t always simple, and it’s certainly not always easy. Behind every career highlight reel is a story filled with pivotal moments, challenges, and unexpected turns. So what does it take to grow a customer success career at the #1 AI CRM? 

Let’s dive into the journeys of six leaders across Salesforce’s customer success organization – and the advice they have to do just that:

Career advice from Salesforce leaders

1. Embrace change and seek new experiences

Navigating a career often means stepping outside your comfort zone. These leaders demonstrate how embracing change and taking on new challenges can be catalysts for significant growth.

Kendra Carter: The power of lateral moves

Kendra, VP of Account Success Programs, Operations and Technology, describes her journey as an “explorer profile” shaped by a “radically different” move from a customer-facing services role to a strategy and operations team where she went from expert to beginner. This transition, though initially uncomfortable, yielded immense benefits.

“It allowed me to build an enormous network of people, to learn how to work with a wide range of leaders… And it was very much the beginning of a phase in my career that allowed me to grow tremendously.”

Her key advice: “I would strongly encourage people to consider lateral moves… you may find yourself on a different path, but what is also true is you will then be very well equipped to take on whatever the next thing is in terms of a career advancing role.“

Elizabeth Tsui: The mindset of “yet”

Elizabeth, RVP of Customer Success, navigated a significant organizational shift that merged the technical account manager (TAM) and success manager (SM) roles into a unified Customer Success Manager (CSM) position.

This change required a new mindset for many, and she was tasked with leading people through that uncomfortable transition. Drawing inspiration from her eight-year-old son, Elizabeth emphasizes the “power of yet”:

“My eight-year-old son at the time wasn’t doing well at something. He said, ‘oh, this is so hard. I’m not good at this,’ Before I could even reassure him, he  asked, “do you know the power of yet?” Wisdom from an eight-year-old. 

“If things are hard, it’s not that we can’t do it. We’re just not there yet. Having that forward focus and growth mindset has changed so much for me and my team.”

Rick Gyan: Diversifying through bold decisions

Rick, VP of Customer Success, made a bold, self-proclaimed “crazy” decision to leave a stable role in services after nine years to diversify his skillset. 

This strategic move, despite initial fear, ultimately led him to his current leadership position. He advocates for pushing past discomfort to expand your professional horizons.

2. Prioritize continuous learning and skill development

In a world where technology evolves so rapidly, continuous learning is not just an advantage, it’s a necessity. At Salesforce, we’re committed to helping every employee stay skilled, adaptable, and ready for the future.

That’s why we’re investing in critical resources like Career Connect and our free online learning platform Trailhead, empowering our teams to grow their capabilities and lead with confidence in the agentic era. Salesforce leaders embody this principle by actively investing in their skills.

Kathryn Isaksen: Certifications and communication are key

Kathryn’s journey exemplifies dedication to learning. She actively pursued Salesforce certifications to gain technical depth and boost her confidence for customer-facing roles. 

As Director, Success Architecture, she now holds 12 certifications, including the AI Specialist, demonstrating her commitment to staying current.

Her core advice: “Always invest the time in learning.”

Beyond technical skills, Kathryn highlights the importance of communication skills. “One of my first managers encouraged me to take a presentation skills course that significantly improved my ability to present and to communicate. That skill opened new doors for me.”

Jennifer Lane: Investing in yourself with Salesforce resources 

Jennifer, Director of the Agent for Success Engineer team, transformed her career by realizing the importance of investing in herself. She actively leveraged Salesforce’s robust internal resources, including:

BetterUp Coaching: “With the support of my Better Up coach, I was able to stay grounded and focused on what mattered for my growth plan. My coach also helped me develop executive presence and learn skills for work-life balance.”

Individual Development Plan (IDP): Jennifer used her IDP as a roadmap for growth. Her transition to the Agent for Success Engineer team perfectly aligned with her IDP goals, including managing a multi-cloud team.

Jennifer’s powerful advice:

“Investing in yourself is not selfish. It’s essential. Prioritizing your own growth will not only strengthen your skills, but it empowers you to show up as your best version of yourself for your team, your customers, and your career.“

We believe your success is our success. And we’re here to support you with the tools, training, and opportunities you need to thrive.

3. Leverage networks, mentorship, and self-reflection

Building strong relationships and engaging in self-reflection are powerful tools for career navigation and personal resilience.

Rick Gyan: The power of mentorship and networking

Rick emphasizes that his career trajectory was significantly shaped by a “super strong network” inside and outside of Salesforce and invaluable mentorship. He advises:

“Everybody has to be tethered to somebody, a senior executive in the company who is mentoring and guiding them. Why? Because they’ve been through these things.” His strong network ended up referring him into new opportunities at Salesforce multiple times.

Daniel Bhak: Persistence and journaling for growth 

Daniel, VP of AMER Sales Cloud Support Team, underscores the value of persistence in professional life. He chose to persist through challenges, reminding himself of why he wanted to overcome the obstacles in the first place:

“I truly do love this company, love the people I work with, love the work that we do.” He also champions journaling as a unique tool for self-reflection and growth.

“Writing helped me slow things down,” allowing him to process thoughts and to look back. “Documenting how you overcame challenges lets you use that as confidence to move forward. 

“What I love about it is if I look back and read some of the things I’ve written even a year ago or five years ago, I can see how far I’ve come. We change as people and as humans. But I think we forget how far we’ve come because the growth, those changes are very incremental.“

Learn how Salesforce is making mentorship accessible to every employee.

Your customer success career journey awaits

The stories of Kendra, Elizabeth, Rick, Jennifer, Kathryn, and Daniel illustrate a core truth at Salesforce: your career journey is uniquely yours, and the company is committed to providing the resources, support, and environment for you to thrive. From embracing lateral moves and continuous learning to leveraging mentorship and personal development tools like BetterUp and career plans, Salesforce empowers its employees to take charge of their growth.

If you’re a customer success professional looking for a place where your career can truly flourish, where challenges lead to growth, and where you’re supported every step of the way, your career is waiting at Salesforce. Check out our open roles and apply today!