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This is THE podcast for you as a Customer Experience Leader. To learn where to spice up your CX leadership. Listen to CX colleague’s, thoughtleaders and of course your host Nienke Bloem. She has educated and spoken with CX Leaders all around the globe, is a Recognized Training provider with the CXPA and knows how to make CX work! Honest, fun and always with a practical twist to help you become an even better CX leader.
Episodes
4 days ago
4 days ago
Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership.
In this personal and inspiring solo episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP dives into one of the most defining visibility lessons of her career, sparked by an unforgettable encounter with Queen Máxima.
Discover how one highly visible moment unexpectedly changed the trajectory of Nienke’s CX leadership journey and why visibility plays such a crucial role in building authority, influence and impact inside organizations.
Together, we explore why so many brilliant CX leaders stay invisible for too long, how visibility strengthens leadership and why remembered leadership matters when driving customer centric change.
Get ready for Five practical tips, fresh leadership insights and honest reflections on visibility, authority and impact in the world of CX leadership.
Timestamped overview:
00:00 Reflecting on a career-defining moment
04:37 Starting Women in Financial Services
06:47 Meeting royalty at the event
11:43 Women in financial services conference
15:18 Highlighting invisible leaders in CX
16:25 Discussing CX leadership insights
19:45 Exploring Herminia Ibarra’s leadership insights
23:35 Navigating strategic conversations
26:43 Discussing the ANI model
32:21 Volunteering for speaking opportunities
35:37 Attending a Harvard live event
37:14 Becoming a CX authority
Extra information:
If you are a Dutch-speaking woman in the Netherlands and want to strengthen your strategic visibility, stakeholder influence and authority, have a look at Stratego for CX Women.
This fall, Nienke launches the renewed CX Leadership Bootcamp in the Netherlands, focused on Authority, Narrative and Impact for CX leaders who want to increase their influence and business impact.
And yes… next year it goes global 😊. To make your appointment, click here!
Connect with Nienke on LinkedIn or visit her website for more information and upcoming programs. www.nienkebloem.com
About Nienke:
Nienke Bloem is a global Customer Experience (CX) thought leader, keynote speaker and educator.
She helps CX leaders move from doing customer experience to leading it by building strong CX strategies, crafting compelling CX Stories and driving measurable business impact. Spicing up CX Leadership 😊
Nienke is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a Recognized Training Provider of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
With over 20 years of corporate experience, she combines business strategy, leadership and customer experience to help organizations turn CX into real results.
Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned or visit her website for more information!
Her mission is simple: Make Customer Experience Work.
And yes, she always wears her signature blue dress 😊
Monday May 04, 2026
Monday May 04, 2026
Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership.
In this inspiring episode, your host Nienke Bloem dives into an incredibly valuable conversation with global keynote speaker, educator, and "burger lady" Sally Foley-Lewis. Together, they explore the true power - and challenges - of leading from the middle.
Discover why the best is in the middle, how to influence without formal authority, and how to proceed until apprehended.
Get ready for practical tips, fresh insights, and a healthy dose of CX leadership inspiration!
Timestamped overview:
00:00 Introducing Sally Foley-Lewis
06:15 Food as a universal concept
09:46 Discussing AI impact on organizations
14:16 Empowering middle managers
18:01 Importance of creating CX strategy
19:45 Navigating stakeholder management and authority
23:09 Importance of clear communication
26:15 Leading from the middle
30:15 Thinking strategically as a leader
32:32 Building strong internal networks
37:26 Importance of receiving feedback
40:20 Building professional networks
44:52 Connecting and collaborating with others
45:35 Show closing and contact info
Extra information:
Connect with Sally on LinkedIn or visit her website.
Sally's book recommendations:
- The Best is in the Middle by Sally Foley-Lewis
- Managing oneself by Peter F. Drucker
Here you can find the survey Sally invites you to fill in.
About Nienke:
Nienke Bloem is a global Customer Experience (CX) thought leader, keynote speaker, and educator.
She helps CX leaders move from doing customer experience to leading it by building strong CX strategies, crafting compelling CX Stories, and driving measurable business impact. Spicing up CX Leadership
Nienke is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and a Recognized Training Provider of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
With over 20 years of corporate experience, she combines business strategy, leadership, and customer experience to help organizations turn CX into real results.
Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned or visit her website for more information!
Her mission is simple: Make Customer Experience Work. And yes, she always wears her signature blue dress 😊
Monday Apr 20, 2026
Monday Apr 20, 2026
Do you know how to use every presentation to actually move people? Not just inform them or update them, but make them remember, feel something, and take action.
Because every time you step into a room, you have that opportunity as a CX leader. To create clarity, build energy, and influence decisions and direction.
And yet, most presentations don’t land. They don’t change anything. Not because the content is wrong, but because the design is. We start with slides, data, and content instead of starting with intent.
In this episode of #CXLeadershipTalks, Nienke Bloem CCXP takes you into one of the most underestimated leadership skills in customer experience: how to prepare your presentations so they create real impact.
The good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts by answering four simple, powerful questions!
Grounded in research on memory, decision-making, and behavior, and built on her experience working with hundreds of CX professionals, this episode shows you a simple but powerful shift.
From intention to presenting information and creating movement.
So you don’t just share CX. You strategize CX and Lead it.
Timestamped overview:
00:00 Do you know how to move people with your presentation
02:00 Why most presentations don’t create impact
04:00 Presentations as a CX leadership moment
06:00 The shift from content to intent
08:00 The four questions that change everything
10:00 Question 1: Who is your audience
13:00 Question 2: What do you want them to remember
16:00 Question 3: What do you want them to feel
19:00 Question 4: What do you want them to do
22:00 Why “any questions?” kills your impact
24:00 Closing: From presenting CX to leading CX
Extra information:
Want to receive the CX Presentation Playbook with the four questions and a practical checklist?
You can download it here. You’ll receive the playbook and will also receive Nienke’s weekly CX Leadership updates.
And of course, never end your presentation with a Thank You Slide, watch her incredible valuable Youtube Video here.
About Nienke
Nienke Bloem is a global Customer Experience (CX) thought leader, keynote speaker, and educator.
She helps CX leaders move from doing customer experience to leading it by building strong CX strategies, crafting compelling CX Stories, and driving measurable business impact. Spicing up CX Leadership
Nienke is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and a Recognized Training Provider of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
With over 20 years of corporate experience, she combines business strategy, leadership, and customer experience to help organizations turn CX into real results.
Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned or visit www.nienkebloem.com for more information!
Her mission is simple: Make Customer Experience Work. And yes, she always wears her signature blue dress 😊
Monday Apr 06, 2026
Monday Apr 06, 2026
What does it really take to win four International CX Awards, amongst which three GOLD?
In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem sits down with Irene van Hoorn, CX Leader of the Year and Brand Experience Transformation Lead at Eneco.
Irene shares how she moved from marketing and product roles to building and professionalizing CX as a discipline, and ultimately winning three Gold and one Bronze at the International CX Awards.
This is not a trophy story. It’s a leadership story.
About building authority without formal power.
About scaling CX in a complex organization.
About trusting the process.
And about daring to say: “Screw it. Let’s do it.”
If you are wondering whether you are “ready” to step up, take visibility, or go for recognition? This episode is for you.
Because imposter thinking is common.
But leadership is personal, not positional.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to build authority before you have formal power
- What it really takes to professionalize CX at scale
- Why external recognition strengthens internal credibility
- How to approach awards strategically and win
- The mindset shift that separates hesitation from momentum
Trust the process.
Choose wisely.
And if you’re in it — be in it to win it.
Timestamped overview:
00:00 Welcome Irene – introducing the CX Leader of the Year
03:00 From marketing to professionalizing CX at Eneco
08:00 Managing CX vs. truly leading CX
12:00 Building authority without formal power
18:30 Trust the process in complex transformations
24:00 Why go for international awards in the first place?
29:00 The internal shift once the team decided to compete
33:00 Behind the scenes of the awards application process
41:00 Winning Bronze and three Gold awards
48:00 What changed internally after winning
52:00 Advice for CX leaders doubting themselves
Extra information:
Connect with Irene on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenevanhoorn/
Interested in the International CX Awards?
After we taped the episode, the date changed to November 5th.
Visit: https://internationalcxaward.com/home
Recommended by Irene:
Watch the award finalist presentations via the Awards International platform and review the detailed jury feedback report if you participate.
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.
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
Sunday Mar 22, 2026
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
- Define your CX Story and what you stand for as a leader
- Shape your CX Strategy and turn that into direction and action
- 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
Monday Mar 09, 2026
Monday Mar 09, 2026
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
Timestamped overview
00:00 Welcome to CX Leadership Talks and recording from Sydney
02:00 Discovering the value–energy model from Taki Moore
04:00 The reality of CX leadership: endless improvement opportunities
07:30 Why leadership energy matters more than working longer hours
08:00 Research insights from Harvard Business Review on energy management
11:00 Introducing the CX Leadership Energy Matrix
13:00 The CX Leadership Sweet Spot: high value and high energy
16:00 The CX Playground: high energy but limited impact
17:00 The Strategic Duty Zone: important but draining work
18:30 The CX Energy Drain: low value and low energy activities
20:00 How to evaluate your own calendar using the matrix
21:30 Three reflection questions for CX leaders
23:00 Why your energy fuels CX transformation
About Your Host
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
Monday Feb 23, 2026
Monday Feb 23, 2026
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:
- 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. - 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. - 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.
Monday Feb 09, 2026
Monday Feb 09, 2026
CX leaders are great at content.
But CX rarely scales because the message doesn’t.
In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem dives into why communication is not a soft skill, but a core CX leadership capability. She explores how CX leaders can move from one-off presentations and workshops to a repeatable, multi-channel communication rhythm that creates real organisational impact.
This episode is about turning your CX story into a movement - not a moment.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- why one great CX presentation is never enough
- the false assumption that “clarity leads to alignment”
- how CX leaders get stuck in one-to-one communication
- what scaling a message really means (and what it doesn’t)
- why repetition creates stability, not boredom
- how communication patterns predict transformation success
- how to design a CX communication drumbeat that sticks
Timestamped overview:
00:00 Scaling leadership communication impact
06:29 Continuous communication drives transformation
10:00 Creative CX communication strategies
11:19 Strategizing CX through content
17:13 CX Storytelling program launch
19:55 Consistency signals stability
24:51 CX Leadership through storytelling
25:32 Scaling your message effectively
Want to learn more about CX stories, this is the link to the episode "From CX Story Blueprint to impact: Crafting your CX leadership change narrative".
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.