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 [email protected] 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 😊