In this episode, Nienke Bloem takes you behind the scenes of one of the biggest moments in her speaking career. Standing backstage at the Global Speaker Summit, about to deliver the closing keynote. A moment filled with excitement and doubt.

And it led to a powerful realization.

Because that exact same feeling shows up for CX leaders every single day.

Not on a stage.

But in leadership meetings, boardrooms, and stakeholder conversations.

That moment where you think: Should I say something?

In this episode, Nienke combines her personal experience with insights from psychology, including Identity Theory from Peter Burke and Self Efficacy Theory from Albert Bandura, to explain what is really happening in that moment.

This is not just about confidence. This is about identity.

And about how you step into your role as a CX leader before you fully feel ready.

This episode will help you move from doing CX to truly leading CX.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN

• Why the Should I moment is not doubt, but a signal of leadership
• How Identity Theory explains the internal picture you already have of yourself as a CX leader
• Why the gap between your identity and your behavior creates tension and how to use
• How Self Efficacy Theory shows that confidence is built through action, not before it
• Three practical ways to start acting like the CX leader you already know you can be

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 "From Hesitation to Leadership"

05:49 "Leadership and Doubt Moments"

09:22 "Crafting Your Leadership Identity"

10:37 "ANI Model for Strategic Leadership"

13:49 "Identifying Ideal Self Moments"

19:13 "Transforming Doubts Into Impact"

21:26 "Free CX Strategy Webinar"

24:37 "Global Leadership Greetings"

READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?

Nienke is hosting a series of free webinars in April on CX Story and CX Strategy. Book it HERE:

https://www.nienkebloem.nl/en/cx-educatie/webinar-create-your-best-cx-story-ever/

In these sessions, you will

1. Define your CX Story and what you stand for as a leader
2. Shape your CX Strategy and turn that into direction and action
3. Receive a practical AI prompt to create two draft CX strategies when you join live

ABOUT NIENKE

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

She is a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who inspires leaders and organizations to spice up their customer experience leadership and create real business impact.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, Nienke speaks the business language of CX transformation. Through her keynotes, education programs and mentoring she helps CX leaders become more strategic, influential and effective in driving customer-centric change.

She is the host of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, creator of the CX Story Blueprint, and a Recognized Training Partner of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

Her programs, including the CX Masterclass, CX Leadership Masterminds, and CX Story Sprint, help CX professionals strengthen their authority, align strategy and turn customer experience into measurable business results.

Feel free to reach out nienke@nienkebloem.nl and more on www.nienkebloem.com

In this new episode of CX Leadership Talks Host Nienke Bloem CCXP introduces the CX Leadership Energy Matrix. A simple quadrant tool that helps you decide where to focus your time and energy as a CX leader.

The model maps your activities based on two dimensions: business impact and personal energy. By looking at your work through this lens, you can make more strategic choices about where your leadership truly makes a difference.

You’ll discover the four zones of the matrix, the Sweet Spot, the Playground, the Strategic Duty Zone, and the Energy Drain, and why managing your energy is just as important as managing your time.

Click here to see the visual of the model

00:00 Welcome to CX Leadership Talks and recording from Sydney02:00 Discovering the value–energy model from Taki Moore04:00 The reality of CX leadership: endless improvement opportunities07:30 Why leadership energy matters more than working longer hours08:00 Research insights from Harvard Business Review on energy management11:00 Introducing the CX Leadership Energy Matrix13:00 The CX Leadership Sweet Spot: high value and high energy16:00 The CX Playground: high energy but limited impact17:00 The Strategic Duty Zone: important but draining work18:30 The CX Energy Drain: low value and low energy activities20:00 How to evaluate your own calendar using the matrix21:30 Three reflection questions for CX leaders23:00 Why your energy fuels CX transformation

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

She is a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who inspires leaders and organizations to spice up their customer experience leadership and create real business impact.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, Nienke speaks the business language of CX transformation. Through her keynotes, education programs and mentoring she helps CX leaders become more strategic, influential and effective in driving customer-centric change.

She is the host of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, creator of the CX Story Blueprint, and a Recognized Training Partner of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

Her programs, including the CX Masterclass, CX Leadership Masterminds, and CX Story Sprint, help CX professionals strengthen their authority, align strategy and turn customer experience into measurable business results.

Feel free to reach out nienke@nienkebloem.nl and more on www.nienkebloem.com

Imposter syndrome does not destroy your competence. It erodes your authority.

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem dives into the psychology behind imposter syndrome and connects it directly to the three authority dimensions every CX leader needs: Personal, Positional and Relational Authority.

Drawing on research and the widely known model of Dr. Valerie Young, Nienke explores the five competence types – The Perfectionist, The Expert, The Natural Genius, The Soloist and The Superperson – and shows how each of them quietly weakens your leadership influence.

This episode is about understanding your internal competence rules and deliberately strengthening your authority so you can lead with confidence and impact.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why imposter syndrome is an authority gap, not a competence gap. You will understand how the five competence types undermine your Personal, Positional and Relational Authority – even when your results are strong.
2. How your specific competence type shows up in your CX leadership behavior. You will recognize how perfectionism delays visibility, how the expert underclaims impact, how the soloist weakens relationships, and how these patterns limit your influence.
3. Three concrete authority actions you can take immediately. You will learn how to stop waiting to feel ready, claim one result publicly and upgrade one strategic relationship – and which action fits best depending on your imposter pattern.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Imposter syndrome and the authority gap 02:00 Research origins and systemic roots 06:00 Dr. Valerie Young’s five competence types 11:00 CX leadership as a breeding ground for imposter thinking 14:30 Personal Authority and Trusted Influence 24:30 Positional Authority and Formal Influence 33:50 Relational Authority and Credible Power 35:45 Three authority actions to move the needle 42:00 Choosing your authority move

Do you want to receive the CX Authority worksheet? Reach out to nienke@nienkebloem.nl and just ask for it 😊.

Do you want to learn how to be a better CX Storyteller and scaler of your message? We have a new one day CX training: CX Storytelling, the first time will be in Dutch. You can read all about it here. 

About Nienke:     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 for 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 of 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 Greetz to stay tuned.