Stakeholder management for CX leaders: Stop treating everyone the same

You are not here to make everyone happy. You are here to lead.

Most CX leaders know their stakeholders. They have the list. They send the updates. They show up to the steering committees. And still – somehow – the CX agenda keeps getting stuck. Not because the work is bad. But because the energy is going to the wrong places.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: strategic CX leadership is not about giving everyone equal attention. It is about being intentional with where you invest your political energy, your visibility, and your relationship building.

That shift – from equal to intentional – is what separates a CX manager from a strategic CX leader.

Why equal attention kills your CX influence

It usually looks like this. Same updates for everyone. Same communication style across the board. Long decks sent to people who will never read them. Endless invitations to stakeholders who have minimal influence over your CX agenda.

While the people who could actually accelerate your CX movement – the ones with real power and real interest – barely receive any intentional relationship building at all.

This is not a time management problem. It is a strategic leadership problem.

And once you see it, you cannot unsee it.

The Mendelow Matrix: A smarter way to manage CX stakeholders

Enter the Mendelow Matrix. Not because CX leadership needs another framework nobody remembers after the workshop. But because this particular model forces you to think differently about engagement.

The matrix maps stakeholders on two axes: their level of interest and their level of power. The result is four quadrants, each requiring a completely different engagement approach.

Who deserves your time and deep relationship building? Who needs to be kept confident but not overwhelmed? Who benefits from involvement without needing to steer? And who simply needs visibility without consuming your calendar?

Once you start looking through this lens, something changes. You stop distributing your attention equally. You start leading strategically.

A four-step stakeholder management approach that actually works

Stakeholder management done well is not a one-off exercise. It is a four-step approach that builds on itself.

Step one is stakeholder identification – knowing who is in the playing field. Step two is stakeholder mapping – understanding where they sit in terms of power and interest. Step three is stakeholder salience – recognizing who is most critical to your CX movement right now. And step four, where many CX leaders are still operating too functionally, is stakeholder engagement.

Engagement is where it gets personal. Where you make deliberate choices. Where you decide that a coffee conversation with one director is worth more than three slide decks sent to a group.

The strongest CX leaders think differently

The CX leaders who create real organizational movement are not just strong in CX management. They understand influence. They understand authority. They understand how organizations actually work – politically, relationally, strategically.

They do not wait to be invited to the table. They build the relationships that make them impossible to leave out.

That is the shift this framework is designed to support. Not more activity. Smarter choices about where your energy creates the most movement.

One question worth sitting with

Before you move on: where are you currently overinvesting as a CX leader? And where – if you are honest – are you strategically underinvesting?

That answer often tells you everything about where you are right now in your leadership growth.

If you want to go deeper, the Strategic Stakeholder Management Playbook for CX Leaders walks you through all four steps, the Salience Model, the Mendelow Matrix, practical engagement strategies per quadrant, and reflection questions to strengthen your CX influence immediately. Download it here and start leading more strategically today.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door

Stakeholder management for CX leaders: Stop playing the ad hoc game.

Last week’s CX Leadership Masterminds alumni meetup left me with a lot. Great conversations, concrete actions, new energy and honestly, a little discomfort too.

Irene van Hoorn CCXP shared her leadership journey: from building Customer Experience inside Eneco to winning the International CX Award for CX Leader and Team of the Year. A story about visibility, strategic leadership, and learning how to create influence inside a large organization.

But what fascinated me most was the conversation that followed.

Because one thing became painfully clear: many CX leaders are still operating far too operationally. Not because they lack expertise. Not because they don’t understand customers. But because they still approach Customer Experience as a tactical discipline, not a strategic leadership one.

And that changes everything.

The elephant in the CX room

Once you move into more senior CX roles, your success no longer depends on customer insights, journey maps, or CX tooling. It increasingly depends on how well you understand organizational movement.

Who influences decisions. Who creates momentum. Who quietly slows things down. And where political attention actually goes.

In other words: stakeholder management. The thing nobody puts on their CX roadmap, but every strategic CX leader quietly masters.

Too many CX leaders are still part of what I call the CX Ad Hoc Crew: reacting instead of leading, moving from request to request, trying to update everyone, align with everyone, help everyone. While the CX leaders creating real movement are intentionally building a CX Strategic Alliance.

So let’s talk about how you get there.

The strategic foundation: four steps that build on each other

Strategic stakeholder management isn’t complicated, but it does require intention. There are four steps that form the foundation.

Step 1 is stakeholder identification. This is already where many CX leaders think too small. You focus on the obvious players: your manager, your CX team, customer service, marketing. But transformation rarely happens through hierarchy alone. Sometimes the operational manager everyone trusts has more influence than a senior director. Sometimes finance determines whether your roadmap survives. Start broad. Identify all relevant actors, not just the obvious ones.

Step 2 is stakeholder mapping. Not every stakeholder has the same influence, priorities, or relationship to your CX strategy. Strategic CX leaders understand these dynamics before they start pushing initiatives. Map the landscape first.

Step 3 is where things get genuinely strategic: stakeholder salience. The Salience Stakeholder Model looks at three lenses – power, legitimacy, and urgency – and that immediately changes the conversation.

Power: who can influence outcomes or make things happen?

Urgency: whose claims call for immediate attention?

Legitimacy: whose relationship to the initiative is actually valid and relevant?

The magic is in the overlap. Not every loud stakeholder deserves your priority attention. Not every urgent request should shape your roadmap. And not every senior stakeholder automatically has the legitimacy to drive customer decisions.

Want to work through all four steps with a practical framework? Download the free Strategic Stakeholder Management Playbook for CX Leaders – it walks you through every step, including the Salience Model and the Mendelow Matrix.

Where most CX leaders get it wrong

This model forces you to think more intentionally about where your political energy and strategic focus actually go.

Take definitive stakeholders – the people where power, legitimacy, and urgency come together. These are often the stakeholders who determine whether Customer Experience becomes a strategic business priority, or remains another initiative fighting for organizational oxygen.

But equally important are the dangerous stakeholders: people with power and urgency, but without true legitimacy in the initiative itself. These stakeholders can create enormous pressure, competing priorities, or political resistance when they feel excluded or threatened by change. And honestly? Most CX leaders completely underestimate their impact.

The real leadership question is: which stakeholders deserve your political energy, your strategic visibility, and your active relationship building?

From ad hoc to strategic

My biggest insight from the alumni meetup was this: the CX leaders creating the most impact today are no longer only strong in CX management. They are becoming strategically visible leaders who understand how to build influence, strategic relationships, and organizational authority.

That is the shift. From CX Ad Hoc Crew to CX Strategic Alliance.

And it starts with understanding the playing field before you start pushing your agenda around the organization.

So when you are totally honest with yourself, which one are you right now?

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door

My birthday, Queen Máxima and one CX leadership lesson

Every year on the 17th of May, I secretly smile a little. Not only because it is my birthday, but also because I share that birthday with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. You can clearly see she is at least a year older than I am, right? 😉

This year, my birthday made me think back to one very specific moment from years ago.

At the time, I was leading a team of 100 people in IT at ASR Netherlands and I was also part of the board of Women in Financial Services. We organised our yearly event and, slightly nervous and wildly optimistic, decided to invite Queen Máxima.

And then something happened we honestly did not expect.

She said yes.

Her visit was immaculately planned and I think it cost me at least a few years of my life in nerves alone. But as board members, we also had the opportunity to meet her personally and have a real conversation about money, female careers in finance and financial literacy. I still remember talking about pocket money for her daughters. Such fun. So human. So normal.

But what I absolutely did not realise at that moment was how much impact that one visible moment would have later.

Because there were photographers there. Journalists. Internal communication teams. Pictures started circulating across the financial industry and inside ASR Netherlands. A month later, I unexpectedly appeared in Elegance magazine, which felt hilariously glamorous at the time. The funniest part? My mother called me almost a year later to tell me she was sitting in the dentist waiting room and that old edition of Elegance was still lying there, with my picture in it.

And months after that, footage from the event was reused in a Dutch television programme during primetime TV.

Nothing fundamentally changed about me overnight. I did not suddenly become smarter, more experienced or more talented. But I became visible. And visibility multiplies.

Great work does not always speak for itself

This is one of the most underestimated leadership lessons in Customer Experience.

So many brilliant CX professionals, maybe even you, believe that if they simply work hard enough, people will automatically notice them. Sometimes they do. But often they don’t. Not because the work lacks quality, not because the insights are not strong enough and definitely not because the CX professional is not capable enough.

But because organisations are busy. People are distracted. Priorities shift. And opportunities often flow toward the people others remember.

That may feel uncomfortable to admit, especially in a field like Customer Experience, where so much of the work is about substance, listening, improvement and long-term change. But visibility matters. Not as ego. Not as self-promotion for the sake of self-promotion. But because meaningful work needs to be connected to memory, trust and momentum.

Strategic CX leadership is not just about doing great work. It is also about being present in the right rooms, building relationships, speaking up, sharing your perspective and connecting your work to the bigger business conversation.

The CX leaders who create real change inside organisations are often not simply the people with the most knowledge in the room. They are the people who consistently show up around the right conversations. They make their thinking visible. They help others understand why Customer Experience matters. They translate customer insights into business relevance. They connect dots that others are too busy to see.

And because of that, they are remembered when new opportunities arise.

A strategic programme. A transformation initiative. A leadership role. A seat at the table. A stage. A conversation with decision-makers.

Visibility creates memory. And memory creates opportunity.

Why many CX professionals wait too long

I still see many brilliant CX professionals waiting too long before they step forward.

Waiting until they know more. Waiting until they feel more confident. Waiting until they have another certification, another year of experience or another success story to prove they are ready.

Meanwhile they, maybe you 😉, are often already more than capable enough to contribute at a higher level.

The real shift is not always about becoming better first. Sometimes the real shift is allowing yourself to be seen with what you already bring: your experience, your perspective, your customer knowledge, your ability to connect operational reality with strategic choices, your understanding of what customers need and what organisations struggle to change.

That is valuable. And if you keep it too hidden, the organisation misses part of your leadership.

And let’s be clear: visibility in CX leadership is not about becoming louder than everyone else. It is not about performing confidence you do not feel. And it is definitely not about turning yourself into a personal brand machine if that does not fit you.

Visibility can be much more grounded than that. It can be asking the sharper question in a meeting. Sharing a customer insight with the leadership team. Presenting the pattern behind the complaints instead of only reporting the numbers. Volunteering to speak at an internal session. Writing a short reflection on LinkedIn. Joining a podcast conversation. Bringing a strong CX showcase to an event. Taking the stage, even when your inner critic would rather keep you safely in the audience.

Visibility starts with a simple leadership decision:

I have something valuable to contribute, and I am willing to let people see it.

One visible moment can shift how people see you

That one moment with Queen Máxima reminded me of this again.

One room. One opportunity. One conversation. One visible moment.

Sometimes that is all it takes to change how people start seeing you. Not because you have changed overnight, but because they finally connect your name, your face, your work and your value.

That is what visibility does. It gives your work a place in people’s memory.

And in Customer Experience, where change depends so much on influence, trust and timing, that memory matters.

So here is my question for you as a CX leader: where are you still doing great work too quietly? Where are you waiting to be noticed, while you could also choose to step forward? And what is one visible moment you could say yes to this year?

Maybe it is speaking at an event. Maybe it is sharing a showcase. Maybe it is posting the photo after an award ceremony instead of keeping it in your camera roll. Maybe it is joining a podcast conversation. Maybe it is simply speaking up in a room where CX needs to be connected more clearly to business priorities.

Whatever it is, do not underestimate it.

Because visibility creates memory. And memory creates opportunity.

So my little birthday wish to myself, for you, is this: say yes to something that makes you more visible.

And if I can help you get there, I would love to. Be a guest on my podcast CX Leadership Talks. Speak at one of my events. Bring a brilliant showcase. Take that selfie at the International CX Awards in November and post it on LinkedIn.

I am your supporter. Your wing woman in CX leadership. Always.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door

You irritate me (and that’s a good sign for your CX leadership growth)

Last week my assistant called me. She had just finished editing one of my newsletters and said: Nienke, you irritate me. What followed was one of the most useful conversations I have had in a while, and it made me think about what CX leadership growth actually looks like in practice. Not the polished version. The real one.

I was a little shocked. Laughed uncomfortably. And asked her why.

Her answer: because you are always such a front runner. Every time I work on your content, I get this feeling that I am behind. And the most irritating part? You are right. I AM behind. And you just hold up the mirror.

I sat with that for a moment.

Because she is not alone.

Why honest feedback stings and why that’s exactly the point

Do you recognize it? Someone shows you what is possible, and you realize you have not moved yet. That mix of admiration and frustration. That “I know, I know, but still.” That, my friend, is tough love at work.

Research on coaching and mentoring points to one clear pattern: the best development relationships combine trust, challenge and accountability. Not comfort alone.

You want to change when feedback is honest, specific and delivered within a relationship you trust. Not when it is endlessly softened. But when it is real, and when you know the person giving it actually wants you to win.

I have also made the mistake of giving tough love without that foundation of trust in place. I might have been right. But it did not land. So being right was completely irrelevant. I should have kept my mouth shut. A mistake I have not forgotten, and one that taught me: trust is fundamental.

Tough love in CX leadership: Why I won’t apologize for it

I have my stars and scars in CX leadership. Fourteen years of learning, building, failing, pivoting and growing. As a CX educator and mentor I do a lot of work behind the scenes: researching, building models, designing programmes, testing what actually helps CX leaders grow.

I do not share things to show off. I share them because I genuinely believe: if I have figured something out, you deserve to know it too. So you can grow too.

And yes, sometimes that means I will be in your face. A little.

Not because I am better than you. But because I care enough to be honest. The people who helped me grow the most were never the ones who told me I was doing great. They were the ones who told me the truth.

So if I irritate you sometimes? Good. It means something landed.

The real question every CX leader needs to ask themselves

Where are you holding back right now?

Not in general. Specifically. Is there a skill you keep saying you will develop? A conversation you keep postponing? A shift in how you show up as a CX leader that you know needs work, but feels uncomfortable?

Because that discomfort? That is exactly where growth lives.

If you want someone in your corner who will be honest with you, challenge you, help you and genuinely celebrate when you make the leap: I am here.

View the courses scheduled for this year in the menu bar (CX Education) and pick the one that makes you slightly uncomfortable. That is probably the right one.

Does my content ever irritate you? What lands a little too close to home? I would love to hear it, just send me a message. I promise I will not be offended. I might even be delighted.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door

AI in Customer Experience: Lead smarter, not harder

That low-level anxiety that everyone around you is figuring out AI in customer experience faster than you are. You are reading, experimenting, keeping up. But not quite moving. I know that feeling.

And then last month, everything shifted. I watched Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi at the AI Advantage Summit. I learned from Ben Afia and July Holmes at PSA UKI in Leeds. And, drumrolls please: I built my first real AI agent. Not just an experiment. A real one. With three more in the making.

That is when I understood the difference. I had been learning. But I had not been accelerating.

For you as a CX leader, that difference matters TOO.

Here are the three insights that changed how I work.

What AI does in Customer Experience (and what only you can do)

Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi and Harvard professor Arthur Brooks all arrived at the same truth from different angles. That is what made it stick.

AI is the left brain operator. You are the right brain creator.

The left brain runs on logic and execution. AI is brilliant at this. Automating workflows, analysing data, drafting content, doing research. The grind work. The bottleneck work. The work that eats your hours and leaves you depleted before you even get to what actually matters.

The right brain runs on heart and strategy. That is yours. Human connection. Emotional intelligence. The vision for what customer experience should feel like five years from now. The narrative that moves a boardroom. The decision that requires judgement, not just data.

The risk is NOT that AI takes your job. The risk is that you hand over the parts that make you unmissable.

Use AI to clear the path. Then walk it, as the leader only YOU can be.

The 3 A’s every CX leader needs to use AI effectively

Tony Robbins outlined three levels that I now use as a mental model. They move from technical to strategic, which is exactly where CX leaders need to operate.

Alignment is the starting point. AI only works well when it understands your context, your goals, your audience, your language, your brand. This is not a technical task. It is a leadership task. You define what matters, before AI can help you communicate it.

Automation is the middle layer. Once aligned, AI takes over the repetitive work that has been silently draining your capacity. Think: data synthesis, report drafting, customer insight summaries, first drafts of strategy documents. Stop doing the grind. Let AI carry it.

Acceleration is the outcome. Alignment plus automation means you move faster. You test ideas quicker. You iterate, launch, and learn in real time. This is not just efficiency. This is competitive advantage for every CX leader who wants to get more done without more hours.

The 3 A’s are not a checklist. They are a leadership shift.

The 20/60/20 rule: The smartest way to work with AI as a CX leader

This one came from July Holmes, and it is the stickiest framework I have encountered on the topic.

20% is yours at the start. Your strategy, your goal, your language, your brand. The thinking that only you can do. Skip this and AI gives you something generic. And generic is the enemy of good CX leadership.

60% is where AI works. The heavy lifting. Drafting, building, researching, structuring. The skill here is to trust the process. Set it up well in the first 20%, and the middle 60% moves with real speed.

20% is yours again at the end. Review, refine, add the human touch. Put your name on it and mean it. This is where your judgement and your voice come back in. This is where AI-generated work becomes YOUR work.

The 20/60/20 rule is not about using AI more. It is about using yourself better.

What this means for you

As a CX leader, your value is not in executing every task. It is in the clarity of your thinking, the quality of your narrative, and the decisions only you can make.

AI does not replace that. It protects it, if you let it.

So here is my question for you: where in your work are you still doing the 60%, when you should be focused on your 20%?

That is where your acceleration starts.

Ready to lead CX with more clarity and less grind? Get weekly insights from Nienke – straight to your inbox. Subscribe to the CX Newsletter

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door

CX Presentation: start with intent, not slides

Your presentation isn’t the problem. Your preparation is.

Most CX leaders I work with have solid content.

Backed by data. Well intended.

And still – after the presentation, not much changes.

I’ve seen this pattern again and again. And I’ve finally named what’s missing.

Your presentation looks good. So why does nothing change?

I’ve been deep in CX Story work lately.

I hosted four webinars.
And spent a full day with a group of CX leaders in Government, closing their four-month journey of shaping their CX story.

What stayed with me wasn’t the content.

It was what came back from them.

Because in their reflections, a pattern became very clear.

  1. Your CX story exists. It’s just not sharp enough yet.

Many shared that their story is actually solid.

They are doing the work.

But at the same time, they feel it could be sharper. Clearer. More personal.

And that’s exactly where it often sits.

Not in doing more.
But in making stronger choices in what you say — and how you say it.

So people actually remember your message.

  1. You’re not asking for anything. So nothing happens.

Another insight that hit:

You assume people will apply CX automatically.

But they don’t.

Not because they don’t care.
But because:

  • They don’t feel urgency
  • And your call to action isn’t concrete enough

“Let’s go on a journey together” sounds nice.

People will nod.

But nothing happens next.

  1. Data won’t move people. Emotion will.

This one is uncomfortable.

Many CX leaders lean heavily on data, facts and being right.

And yes – in CX, you often are right.

You have the data.
The insights.
The voice of the customer.

But here’s the problem:

If people don’t feel it, they don’t move.
And if they don’t move, nothing changes.

The missing link isn’t your content. It’s your preparation.

Reading all of this, one thing became painfully clear:

The missing link is not your content.
It’s your preparation.

We talk a lot about Strategizing CX.
It’s my theme of the year.

But what if we zoom in one level?

What if you start by strategizing your presentations?

Because every presentation you give is a moment to:

  • Create alignment
  • Influence decisions
  • Move your CX forward

And that only happens when you choose intent before content.

Stop. Before you open PowerPoint, answer these four questions.

Next time you prepare a presentation – pause.

Before you think about slides, ask yourself:

  • Who is actually in the room?
  • What do I want them to remember?
  • What do I want them to feel?
  • What do I want them to do afterwards?

Simple questions.

But they change everything.

And if you want to go a bit deeper into this idea of Intent before Content, I recorded a podcast to help you out. You can listen to it here (https://nienke.podbean.com/e/the-title-of-guest-cx-presentation-playbook/).

Because this is what I see again and again:
CX strategies don’t fail on paper.
They fail in the moments where nothing changes.

Want to make this practical?

To help you apply this immediately, I created something for you:

The CX Presentation Playbook
A short, practical PDF with the four questions and a checklist to create clarity before you even open PowerPoint.

You can download it here.

Use it for your next presentation, workshop or leadership session.

No theory.
Just sharper thinking – upfront.

Because this is what I see again and again:

CX strategies don’t fail on paper.
They fail in the moments where nothing changes.

And your presentations?

Those are exactly the moments where you either create movement…
or you don’t.

So use them well.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door
,

CX technology is not the problem. Leadership is.

If there’s one topic that consistently makes CX leaders sigh, hesitate or quietly roll their eyes, it’s technology. 

Another tool.
Another dashboard.
Another promise that this time it will all work. 

And yet, technology keeps showing up in board conversations, budget discussions and strategy decks. Especially now, with AI, predictive analytics and data suddenly back at the top of the agenda. 

That’s exactly why I invited James O’Connor to the CX Leadership Talks podcast. 

James has been shaping the CX profession from its early days. He was one of the first CX advisors at Forrester, later worked at Bain & Company, and has spent more than two decades helping organisations connect customer insight to real business decisions. 

We didn’t talk about tools.
We talked about why CX leaders struggle with technology in the first place. 

And that made this conversation both refreshing and slightly uncomfortable in the best possible way. 

Why this episode matters 

In our conversation, one thing became very clear:
Most CX technology does not fail because it’s bad.
It fails because it’s applied in isolation, without leadership, context or a clear business story. 

James has seen brilliant technology fail and “good enough” technology succeed. The difference is never the tool. It’s how leaders think, decide and connect the dots across the organisation. 

Here are three powerful lessons from the episode that every CX leader should hear. 

Lesson 1: Stop buying Ferraris for dirt roads 

One of the most striking metaphors James used is one many CX leaders will instantly recognise. 

Organisations buy incredibly sophisticated CX tools and then try to drive them over bumpy organisational roads. Limited skills, unclear ownership, weak operating models and little connection to business priorities. 

The result:
High expectations
Low adoption
And a quiet sense of disappointment 

The lesson:
Before investing in more technology, invest in clarity. What decision should this enable? What business question should it answer? And who will actually use it? 

Sometimes a solid Volkswagen gets you further than a Ferrari. 

Lesson 2: Your operating model matters more than your tools 

Technology does not live in a vacuum. It either lands in fertile soil or it lands in the desert. 

James explains why CX leaders should spend less time obsessing over tools and more time strengthening their operating model. How teams work together. How decisions are made. How insights flow into existing dashboards and systems the business already uses. 

If your operating model is strong, even imperfect technology can thrive.
If it’s weak, the best tools in the market won’t save you. 

This is where CX leadership moves from managing initiatives to shaping how the organisation actually operates. 

Lesson 3: Authority comes from business impact, not CX language 

One of my favourite moments in the conversation was when James talked about language. 

Boards don’t need more CX dashboards.
Executives don’t want another CX tool. 

They want answers.
Where are we losing customers?
Where are returns diminishing?
What should we stop, start or change? 

CX leaders who create authority are the ones who translate customer insight into business impact. Who connect CX data to commercial, operational and financial reality. And who know when to stop talking CX and start talking business. 

That is where technology becomes an accelerator instead of a distraction. 

A conversation every CX leader should hear

This episode is honest, practical and grounded in real experience. No hype. No vendor talk. Just leadership, clarity and a sharp look at how CX technology can actually work for you. 

Listen to the full episode of CX Leadership Talks with James O’Connor here and discover how to turn technology from a headache into a leadership advantage. 

If you’re a CX leader who wants more impact with what you already have, this one is for you.

Want more CX leadership insights? Connect with me on LinkedIn, and sign up for my weekly CX Newsletter.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door

Strategizing CX: The CX leadership theme for 2026

A new year brings fresh energy.
A clean page. New intentions. New choices.

And every year, I ask myself one simple but important question:

What do CX leaders really need next?

For 2026, my answer is clear.

Strategizing CX.

Not because CX has not been strategic before. But because the role of CX leaders has fundamentally changed. CX has grown up. Expectations have grown with it. And that means our leadership needs to mature too.

Over the past year, I have worked with CX leaders across sectors, countries and levels of maturity. And I keep seeing the same pattern. CX professionals are capable, passionate and driven. Yet many feel stretched. Busy. Pulled into execution, while longing for more strategic influence.

Just before Christmas, we wrapped up a CX Accelerator with senior CX leaders. When we reflected on their biggest learnings, almost all of them pointed in the same direction. Leadership. Being more outspoken. Taking a seat at the strategic table. Being intentional in stakeholder engagement. Having a clear CX strategy and actually being able to steer towards execution.

That is why 2026, for me, is the year to Strategize CX.

To make this tangible, I developed a simple model that looks at CX leadership through three connected levels. You can see this model below. The power of it lies in the fact that all three levels are needed. And they need to reinforce each other.

Strategizing CX - Model 2026

Let me take you through the three levels.

  1. The strategic level. Direction and position.

This is the top layer of the model.

  • It is about direction, choices and future state.
  • Do you have a clear CX strategy that aligns with organizational priorities?
  • Have you defined what success really means?
  • Are you intentional in how you engage stakeholders at senior level?

This level is about positioning CX as a strategic choice, not a side initiative. And yes, it is about earning your seat at the strategic table and knowing how to use it once you are there. Without this level, CX risks becoming activity instead of leadership.

  1. The tactical level. Focus and scale.

This is the middle layer of the model. And this is where many CX ambitions get stuck.

Here the question is not which methodologies you use, but how you scale them. Design thinking. Customer journey mapping. Voice of the Customer. Closing the loop.

  • Do you have clear ways of working?
  • Are they recognizable across teams?
  • Do people know what good CX work looks like in your organization?
  • Do you invest in education, ambassador programs and communication that support your strategy?

This level turns ambition into structure. Tactical CX makes impact repeatable and scalable.

  1. The operational level. Behaviour and visibility.

This is the foundation of the model. And it is all about you as a CX leader.

  • Do you make non negotiable time to zoom out and think strategically?
  • Does your daily behaviour reflect the authority you want to have?
  • Are you visible in how you speak, write, listen and learn?
  • And when was the last time you personally spoke with a customer?

Operational CX leadership lives in the small things. In meetings. In decisions. In conversations. Every single week.

Strategizing CX is not about doing more.
It is about doing the right things. On purpose. At all three levels.

In 2026, my work will be fully focused on helping CX leaders strengthen their impact through this lens. Through education, strategic sessions, leadership programs and CX stories that help you lead change. And sometimes through play, because strategy should also be tangible and engaging.

So here is my invitation to you.

Before you plan your next CX initiative, pause.
Look at the model.
And ask yourself one honest question.

At which level do I need to start?

That answer will shape your CX leadership year more than any to do list ever will.

Listen to the newest podcast, where I dive deeper into the challenges and opportunities of Strategizing CX.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door
,

Plan your brilliant 2026 as a CX leader 

Let’s be honest: January can feel like a sprint before you’ve even tied your shoes.
But what if you took one hour to slow down and look ahead, with intention? 

Not with a list of fluffy goals.
But with sharp choices that help you lead strategically. 

In the newest episode of CX Leadership Talks, I guide you through a working session to design your 2026 CX leadership year.
This year’s theme? Strategizing CX.

Because you and I both know: CX doesn’t just need energy.
It needs direction. 

What we cover
I walk you through the five must-win battles every CX leader should define: 

    1. Impact and results – where will you truly move the needle when it comes to results?
    2. Strategy, vision and purpose – from an organizational CX view, what’s your plan, and how will you execute it?
    3. Engagement and cultural change – who needs to be part of the movement, how do you get behavioral CX going?
    4. Personal growth and development – what will you learn, claim, or stretch into as a CX leader?
    5. Work-life balance and well-being – how do you make space for strategic thinking and joy?

At the end, you’ll choose your strategic focus for the year and write yourself a letter from December 2026, already proud of what you’ve done. 

Your move
This episode isn’t background noise.
It’s a planning session. So grab a pen, a journal, or your favourite thinking spot, and press play. 

Listen this episode here or search CX Leadership Talks wherever you get your podcasts. 

Let’s make 2026 not just another busy year, but a brilliant, strategic one. I am here to help. Are you in? 

Want more CX leadership insights? Connect with me on LinkedIn, and sign up for my weekly CX Newsletter.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

/door
,

Reflect on your 2025 as a CX leader

Let’s be honest: December can feel like a race to the finish, filled with deadlines, dashboards, and one too many “quick syncs.”
But what if you took one hour to look back, with focus and clarity?

Not with a year-end checklist.
But with deep questions that spark real insight.

In the latest episode of CX Leadership Talks, I take you on a reflective journey through your 2025 as a CX leader.

This year’s theme? Looking back to lead forward.

Because you and I both know:
You can’t lead the future of CX if you haven’t made sense of the year behind you.

What we cover
I guide you through five key areas every CX leader should reflect on:

  1. Impact and results – What truly moved the needle? What results did you deliver for customers, colleagues, and the business?
  2. Strategy, vision and purpose – Was your CX work aligned with the bigger picture? Did you lead with purpose?
  3. Engagement and cultural change – Who did you inspire? Where did you shift mindsets and behavior?
  4. Personal growth and leadership – Where did you stretch, learn, or lead differently? What are you most proud of?
  5. Work-life balance and well-being – How did you take care of your energy, your joy, and your thinking space?

And of course:
At the end of the episode, I’ll invite you to choose a movie title for your 2025, a creative and powerful way to summarize your leadership story this year.

Your move
This isn’t just another podcast to play while answering email.
It’s a guided session. So grab your journal, pour a tea (or wine, no judgement ;-)), and reflect with me.

Listen this episode here or search CX Leadership Talks wherever you get your podcasts.

And if you’d rather journal quietly?
Download the full question list here or try the AI prompt to generate your movie title for the year.

Let’s close 2025 with clarity. Because when you know where you come from, you most certainly can plan where you are going.
You’ve earned this moment.
Let’s make it count.

Want more CX leadership insights? Connect with me on LinkedIn, and sign up for my weekly CX Newsletter.

Until next time, keep spicing up your Customer Experience leadership.

 

*****

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

 

/door