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We sit down with Lara Barnes, Chief Customer Officer at Crownpeak and a champion of authentic leadership, to unpack the true meaning of goal setting, resilience, and growing your career with purpose.

With over 25 years of experience in high-growth, customer-centric tech companies, Lara has led global Customer Success teams at Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, and Sitecore. She shares her rise from senior director to SVP to CCO, offering insight into the unique challenges women face in corporate settings and the critical roles of perception, sponsorship, and values in career advancement.

Lara opens up about navigating corporate politics, embracing vulnerability, and becoming a people-first leader grounded in heart, clarity, and courage. She reveals the mindset shifts that helped her succeed while staying true to herself, and how goal setting became a powerful catalyst for transformation.

We also explore her personal mission-turned-passion project in functional neurology, inspired by her journey to help her son overcome learning and behavioral challenges. What began as a search for answers has evolved into a purpose-driven venture, now helping hundreds of families thrive.

You’ll discover:

• How showing up as your authentic self builds trust and impact
• What functional neurology is and how Lara helps bring a sparkle of hope to parents and children
• The value framework, and how will it change the way CSMs are operating
• How to develop your leadership style and lead with heart 
• Playbook to building your path to leadership (& the golden trio: Evidence, Perception and Sponsorship)

Don't miss this enlightening conversation!

💚 This episode is brought to you by Deployflow: https://deployflow.co/

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👉 Follow Lara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larakelly/

👉 Learn more about Deployflow & P-Suite by Deployflow and get a quick squad estimate at: https://deployflow.co/p-suite/

👉 Learn more about Crownpeak: https://www.crownpeak.com/

👉 Learn more about Lara's work with children with neurological disorders: https://www.braindevelopment.co.uk/

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About Women in Customer Success Podcast:

Women in Customer Success Podcast is the first women-only podcast for Customer Success professionals, where remarkable ladies of Customer Success connect, inspire and champion each other.

Follow:

Women in Customer Success

• Website - https://www.womenincs.co/podcast
• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/womenincs
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenincs.co/

Host Marija Skobe-Pilley

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mspilley/

Check out our Courses:

• The Revenue CSM - https://womenincs.co/the-revenue-csm