Welcome to a brand new episode of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, hosted by Nienke Bloem! In this very special "Reflection edition for 2025”, Nienke Bloem invites you to slow down, look back, and take stock of your year as a CX leader. She guides you through a thoughtful self-audit, encouraging you to pause, journal, and dig deep into five essential areas: impact and results, strategy and vision, engagement and cultural change, personal growth, and work-life balance.

Drawing on her years of experience mentoring and educating hundreds of CX professionals, Nienke Bloem shares her own reflections and the successes (and lessons) of the leaders she’s worked with. This episode is packed with practical questions, inspiring stories, and actionable insights that will help you understand where you’ve thrived, where you can improve, and how to set the stage for an even more impactful 2026.

So grab your headphones, settle into your favorite spot, and get ready for an honest, energizing reflection session designed to elevate your CX leadership journey!

Timestamped overview: 00:00 Self-audit for future growth 05:14 Defining success with metrics 08:19 Ranking results: direct vs. Indirect 11:11 Impact measurement and benefit tracking 15:58 Crafting an effective CX strategy 20:15 Strategic planning and reflection 21:42 Strategic success in CX leadership 25:09 Leadership and collaboration reflections 30:21 Success and personal growth 34:30 CX leadership and growth insights 38:05 Reflecting on stress and balance 41:19 Balancing work, life, and inspiration 45:32 Self-generated energy management 48:06 Finding my leadership sweet spot 50:03 Carrying forward purposeful habits

Extra information:  Download your free PDF with all 44 reflection questions 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.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership.

In this episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP connects with Cairo Marsh, founder of Relativ, an experience agency based in Tokyo. Together, they explore why branding alone isn’t enough in today’s world and introduce the powerful concept of “brand being”: how a brand shows up in every experience, online and offline.

Cairo Marsh shares practical strategies for aligning different departments around shared customer goals, the importance of employee incentives and culture, and how CX leaders can leverage moments of belonging to drive loyalty and connection. You’ll also hear insights on balancing quantitative and qualitative research, the necessity of customer experience strategy, and lessons from global and Japanese brands.

Grab your favorite drink and get ready for inspiration and actionable tips to elevate your CX leadership!

Timestamped overview: 00:00 Brand being and belonging 05:33 Branding agencies and broken promises 06:57 Marketing for today and tomorrow 10:57 Thin slicing customer experience 13:47 Overcoming Fragmentation in Teams 18:37 Unified customer engagement platform design 21:58 Prioritizing customers to align goals 25:47 Balancing data and insight 30:00 Defining strategy to stand out 33:47 Authentic leadership and expectations 36:16 Japan's experience design challenge 39:08 Belonging over basic needs 40:50 Building belonging through connection 45:38 Unreasonable hospitality insights

Extra information:  Connect with Cairo on LinkedIn You can find the information about relativ* here You can find Cairo's book recommendation 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.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks!

In this episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP takes you to the International CX Awards in London, where she hosted an evening with more than 450 CX professionals from over 50 countries. Across all those conversations, one theme stood out: the real challenge in CX is leadership engagement.

Not tools. Not dashboards. But leadership behavior.

Nienke shares why so many leaders believe they are customer centric while their behavior tells a different story, explains the confronting Bain 80–20 gap, and shows how the Aha moment becomes the starting point for real transformation. She also shares a powerful example of a Dutch energy company where leaders personally solve customer complaints and what happens when leaders actually meet customers.

In this episode you’ll learn: • Why leadership behavior is the true engine of customer centricity • How the Dunning Kruger effect and the 80–20 gap show blind spots in leadership • What happens when leaders step in, meet customers, and make customer centricity a habit

Nienke closes with insights from her new keynote We only win when everyone is in, where customer centric leadership becomes a real team sport.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Leadership Drives Customer Experience Success

03:56 Customer Centricity: Challenging Perceptions

09:45 Customer-Centric Leadership Insights

12:19 Leaders Solving Complaints Personally

14:49 Leadership Growth Through Story Sharing

19:50 "True Customer-Centric Leadership"

24:07 "Leadership Behavior Shapes Impact"

25:26 "Greetings from CX Awards"

Explore working together: If you want to find out whether Nienke’s new keynote We only win when everyone is in is the right fit for your leadership event or 2026 plans, send an email to nienke@nienkebloem.nl to plan an exploration call. Or look her up at nienkebloem.com

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem CSP CCXP is known as the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. She is a global CX thought leader, keynote speaker and educator with over 20 years of corporate experience. She is author of two CX books, creator of the CX Game and a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA. Nienke is on a mission to make Customer Experience work through strategy, behavior and leadership. And helping you spice up your CX 😊