Tara King

I attribute my success to resilience, preparation, continuous learning, and the relationships I have built throughout my career. I learned very early, from my Mom, that my circumstances did not have to determine my future. I have always been willing to work hard, remain curious, seek out mentors, take calculated risks, and step into opportunities even when I did not feel completely ready.

I also believe success comes from understanding the value you bring and learning how to advocate for yourself. For many years, I thought doing great work would simply speak for itself. Over time, I learned that performance matters, but so do your relationships, your reputation, your confidence, and your ability to make your contributions visible. Those lessons ultimately became part of the foundation for my book Lead With Leverage.

The best career advice I’ve ever received was to never wait for someone else to recognize my value before I recognized it myself.

Early in my career, I believed that if I worked hard, delivered strong results, and stayed committed, the right opportunities would naturally come. Over time, I learned that doing great work is only part of the equation. You also have to understand your value, communicate your impact, build strong relationships, and be willing to advocate for yourself.

That lesson changed the way I approached my career. It taught me to be more intentional about my brand, my network, and the rooms I chose to step into. It is also one of the lessons that ultimately influenced Lead With Leverage.

Today, I would give that same advice to others: do excellent work, but do not be invisible while doing it. Know what you bring to the table, and never be afraid to use your voice.

I would tell young women entering the industry to be intentional about building both competence and confidence. Learn your business, ask questions, stay curious, and become someone people can depend on.

Build relationships early. Find mentors and sponsors. Understand your strengths and learn how to communicate the value you bring. Speak up in meetings, ask for opportunities, and do not shrink yourself because you are the youngest person, the only woman, or simply the newest person in the room.

I would also remind them that their career does not have to follow a perfect or traditional path. There will be setbacks, detours, and moments when you question yourself. Keep learning, keep evolving, and be willing to advocate for the career you want.

Most importantly, do not wait until you have a title to start leading. Your reputation, your voice, your relationships, and the way you show up are being built long before the promotion comes.

One of the biggest challenges, and opportunities, in customer experience right now is the rapid rise of AI.

AI gives organizations an incredible opportunity to understand customers more deeply, personalize experiences, anticipate needs, and solve problems faster. At the same time, the challenge is making sure we do not become so focused on technology and efficiency that we lose the human element.

I believe the organizations that will lead in customer experience are the ones that learn how to combine the power of AI with authentic customer insight and human empathy. Technology can help us listen at greater scale, but we still have to understand what customers are really telling us and be willing to act on it.

That is also where I see a tremendous opportunity for customer experience leaders. We have an opportunity to make sure the voice of the customer is not simply another data point, but something that influences product development, strategy, and ultimately the decisions leaders make.

For me, the future of customer experience is not AI versus human connection. It is figuring out how to use AI to make human experiences better.

The values that are most important to me are integrity, authenticity, empathy, accountability, and service.

In both my professional and personal life, I believe in doing what is right, even when no one is watching. I value showing up as my authentic self, treating people with respect, and creating environments where others feel seen, heard, and valued.

Accountability is also very important to me. I believe our words and our commitments should mean something, and that we should take ownership of the impact we have on others.

Finally, service and legacy are at the heart of how I try to live and lead. I believe success becomes more meaningful when we use what we have learned, the opportunities we have been given, and the influence we have earned to help someone else move forward.

Whether I am leading at work, mentoring someone, supporting my family, or serving my community, I want people to know that I showed up with integrity, treated them well, and left something better than I found it.