Customer experience leadership is more critical than ever, with 75% of executives agreeing that delivering exceptional CX is essential for their company’s survival (Forbes). This highlights the vital role CX leaders play in shaping organizational success.
Effective CX leadership goes beyond strategy—it involves fostering a culture of shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that enhance both customer and employee experiences. Achieving excellence in CX leadership demands a balance of empathy and strategic insight.
In this interview, CX expert Ian Golding explains the importance of effective CX leadership. He shares practical advice on driving customer-centric transformations and balancing strategy with operational improvements. Ian also discusses how tools like AI can enhance both efficiency and customer relationships.
Overcoming challenges in customer experience strategy
Q: You’ve worked across diverse industries—retail, logistics, telecoms, and pharmaceuticals, to name a few. What unique challenges have you encountered in implementing customer experience (CX) strategies across these sectors?
I am very fortunate to have worked in multiple industries, both in the public and private sectors, and on every continent on Earth (except for Antarctica!!). The challenges are actually quite common across all industries – including lack of focus, ineffective leadership, lack of cross-functional collaboration, and inability to deliver change – among others.
While all of these challenges make adopting a CX strategy very difficult, perhaps the greatest challenge is the lack of accountability for CX. Until or unless every leader in the organization is prepared to come together with the shared goal of becoming a customer-centric organization, the effectiveness of any approach to CX is likely to be limited.
Principles of customer experience leadership
Q: Why is leadership buy-in essential for successful CX transformation? Can you share an example?
Without good, robust leadership, organizations will lack direction and focus. CX transformation – transforming from a product or sales-led organization to a customer-led one – is a long-term strategy. As the leadership should define that strategy, all leaders should ‘sing from the same song sheet.’
I recently attended a CX conference in Romania, where I was among 200 participants, including two CEOs. Both CEOs brought their entire leadership teams, and interestingly, both organizations are based in Moldova. These organizations are deeply committed to customer-centric transformation and prioritize continuous learning. This commitment starts at the top, with two exceptional leaders who serve as role models—not only for their organizations but for any business.
How self-assessment improves CX effectiveness
Q: How do self-assessments help leaders understand their CX strengths and areas to improve?
I am a big believer that if people are going to understand the need for change, they need to conclude that change is necessary. If someone tells you that you are depressed, you will likely challenge that assumption – and possibly be offended by it. Organizational transformation is no different – if consultants ‘tell’ an organization that they are not very mature in adopting an approach to CX, the response is likely to be very defensive.
That is why I have worked with businesses worldwide to ‘self-assess’ CX capability. I use a proprietary CX maturity model to do this. The result is an understanding of reality. When reality is understood, leaders are happy to ask for help.
Impacting customer experience with CX leadership
Q: How can CX leaders balance strategy with operational improvements to ensure long-term vision and efficiency?
CX is about two things – ‘taking cost out AND putting the experience in'.
These two things are not mutually exclusive. |If an organization wants to cut costs, it is relatively easy to do – typically by removing people. However, if a strategy is focused on cost-cutting, doing so without understanding CX will likely worsen customer experience. Likewise, you can throw all the money you want at CX, but if you do so without understanding the cost, you are likely to create an experience that is not financially viable.
This is why creating alignment between the customer journey AND business processes is essential. The things that employees do every day (processes) will enable customers to interact in the way they do (journeys) – by aligning the two; it is possible to create a leaner, more efficient business that is better able to meet the needs and expectations of customers consistently.
Defining a successful customer experience leader
Q: What qualities make a CX leader truly successful, and are there specific attributes that consistently drive better outcomes?
Successful CX leaders understand that CX is a long-term strategy – their commitment to it is indefinite – they are in it for the long term. However, they also know that you cannot deliver excellent customer experience until or unless you can deliver great employee experiences. The most customer-centric leaders in the world are those who genuinely understand the importance of people. The attributes of these leaders are:
- They stand for something meaningful
- They hire the right way
- They put their employees first
- They keep it fresh
- They invest time in coaching their people
- They measure the right things
- They are brilliant communicators
- They let their people know they are supported
Implementing AI into human interactions
Q: Given AI's potential for improving customer experience, how can leaders balance automation with the human touch essential to personalized service?
Technology like AI mustn't be seen as a way of eliminating human interaction, but better enabling it. Experiences are all about human-to-human interaction – if technology is seen as a way of preventing that from happening, it will make experiences worse.
As a result, AI should be seen as a way of eliminating unnecessary human interaction – removing things from the customer journey that make life difficult for both the customer and the employee. By doing so, employees waste less time on things they should not need to do and more time interacting with customers in a way that develops stronger and deeper relationships over time.
The XOS framework in customer experience
Q: You’ve praised the Experience Operating System (XOS) framework—what mindset shift does it represent, and why is it valuable for CX leaders?
I am obsessed with organizations' need to have a structured approach to making the management of CX 'intentional.’' Without a framework, sustaining the focus on CX is almost impossible – this leads to activity becoming ad hoc – making it more challenging to deliver tangible change. The XOS is a brilliantly simple framework that brings to life the different capabilities required to apply experience management effectively.
How to use the XOS framework
Q: What steps or mindsets are essential for CX leaders aiming to implement frameworks like XOS effectively?
I have touched on this in response to previous questions. Acknowledging the need to transform and recognizing collective accountability for transformation is essential. Once the leadership is on the same page, adopting a framework like XOS is possible.
Insights from Ian’s Book, Customer What?
Q: In Customer What?, you emphasize that CX isn’t a quick fix. What core elements are essential for building a lasting, impactful CX framework?
In addition to everything I have said, I would say that it is essential to see CX and experience management in general as a way of working. It is not an initiative – it is not a project – it is an approach to changing the way the organization thinks and acts.
As a result, whatever framework is adopted needs to embed itself into the organization's work. This relies on good, transparent governance, integration into performance management, and clear, continuous communication.
How employees can drive a customer-centric culture
Q: How can leaders create a culture where employees are truly empowered to prioritize and enhance the customer experience?
The only way to empower employees is to 'give them control'! We must give our people the time and ability to think and act in the customer's interests.
If your culture is one where employees are scared to make a decision – or must get permission to do things, it will be impossible to enhance the customer experience.
We need to create an environment where people understand their role in delivering CX and what they can do to leave customers feeling the way we want them to feel.
Staying ahead as a CX leader
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring CX leaders to stay relevant and ahead in this rapidly changing field?
Never stop learning!! Many know that I am not a fan of the word 'expert' – that suggests I know everything. No one will ever know everything in this field – a specialist's role is to develop that specialism continually. As a result, CX leaders must be like sponges – constantly listening to and learning from others to better address the scenarios they face in the future.
Recap on the insights from Ian Golding
Ian Golding’s global CX expertise reveals that success hinges on leadership accountability and a shared commitment to customer-centricity. He highlights common challenges like ineffective leadership and poor collaboration, stressing that CX transformation requires a long-term approach.
As Ian explains, self-assessment is vital for identifying strengths and areas of improvement. By aligning business processes with customer journeys, organizations can reduce costs while enhancing customer satisfaction.
He also supports using AI to eliminate inefficiencies, so employees can focus on building meaningful customer relationships. In this case, implementing a help desk platform sounds like a great idea. For businesses managing customer data in CSV files, email providers, or tools like Google Docs, Help Desk Migration can migrate those records to any preferred tool.
Ian champions frameworks like XOS for their simplicity and ability to bring structure, focus, and accountability to CX management. To sustain success, leaders must prioritize continuous learning, empower employees, and foster a culture where both customer and employee experiences thrive.
His key takeaway? Effective CX is built on clarity, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement. When leadership leads the way, organizations can achieve sustainable, impactful change.
