As a CX leader, you understand better than anyone that every role within a business impacts customer experience. As a result, you’re compelled to drive change by finding change opportunities across all business functions. However, becoming a thought leader who positively influences the customer experience at every touchpoint goes beyond change management. Instead, you must lead overarching initiatives that ultimately transform the entire organization. The only way to do this is to master the art of CX transformation leadership.
Never Stop Learning
Transformation leadership requires an insatiable desire to learn to keep up with changing consumer behaviors. With a continuous-learning attitude, you can translate CX into actionable changes and apply them across business functions.
The ability to pivot when you identify meaningful changes and adopt new processes and attitudes ensures you are meeting customer needs at every stage of their journey. However, by sharing that love of learning through your leadership and team, you can apply learning to daily activities and move CX transformation forward. You teach by example when you are constantly improving your own knowledge.
Embrace and Share CX Value
CX must be accessible across the company with a noticeable cultural shift that changes operational functions. Because you work cross-functionally, you need buy-in from all stakeholders. This is especially true for stakeholders who don’t understand how their role impacts certain lengths of the customer journey or lifecycle.
By making CX accessible across the organization, everyone understands the value of the improvements you make. They see how what they do now impacts CX and how changes will deliver improved experiences, specifically through their actions.
As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” CX leaders who share the value of CX have better luck as transformational leaders because they demonstrate how everyone’s work improves outcomes.
However, you also must make connections between changes, actions, and outcomes to help further change. How do changes and improved actions bring value, and what has CX produced as a positive result?
Nurture Change Agent Relationships
While you understand the science of experience management, fellow managers from the C-suite on down don’t. Your success lies in sharing your understanding and building relationships with leaders you need onside to complete your CX transformation. Make it clear you need their support and communicate how their involvement works in their favor.
Your leadership team relies on managers who have forged relationships that can smooth transitions and help you navigate throughout the organization with fewer obstacles blocking your way. It’s political, not necessarily depending on expertise, but instead finding the right people to align yourself with. Who are the change agents who can use their relationships and connections within the organization to help communicate the value of CX? These are the managers you want onboard to drive your CX transformation forward successfully.
Create a Diverse Team
CX teams run the gamut of talents to create a well-rounded skill set that meets the needs of your CX transformation. Researchers, analysts, marketers, and change management experts fill the skills gaps that can lead to a failed transformation. Diversity is the spice of life, promoting creativity, thought-sharing, and collaboration. You can break down siloes and encourage innovation with leaders who positively influence your ability to exceed customer expectations.
Democratizing CX ensures everyone plays a role in CX transformation. Enterprise-wide collaboration creates an inclusive culture, with everyone impacting change in their specific roles.
Partnering with an established CX leadership company like Anexa can help you to develop a well-rounded skill set across all critical functions, including marketing, sales, promotion, technical support, and customer service. Contact Anexa today to see how we can support all your customer-centric activities.