A resource for customer experience (CX) and experience management (XM) professionals.
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Full Episode Listing

A complete list of episodes from The CX Leader Podcast.

The Empowered Frontline

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Episode #204

Released: February 15, 2022

CX professionals know that the frontline employees can be a great source of customer insights. And customers often supply feedback in ways they often never realize. Having your employees recognize and communicate that feedback can provide valuable insights, and in some cases, warn you of potentially major problems. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stephanie McFarland from McFarland PR and Public Affairs, to discuss the importance of empowering employees to deliver good experiences.

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The Evolution of CX

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Episode #51

Released: January 15, 2019

Pat Gibbons guest hosts this week's episode on where the term "CX" originated. An interview with Bruce Temkin, head of the XM Institute, on how the Customer Experience Professionals Associate was formed and how customer experience has evolved.

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The Global State of XM

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Episode #125

Released: July 14, 2020

Experience management, or “XM”, is more than just a “buzzword.” It’s a holistic approach to experience across the organization that includes customers, employees, products, and brand. The Qualtrics XM Institute recently published a report on how XM is being adopted worldwide. Host Steve Walker welcomes Moira Dorsey, principle XM Catalyst at the Qualtrics XM Institute to discuss the findings of the report.

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The Human Experience

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Episode #124

Released: July 7, 2020

Customer experience is quickly gaining world-wide adoption. Companies around the globe are realizing the importance of providing the best experience possible for their customers. Understanding and empathizing with customers is a critical component to CX, and that includes understanding cultural differences and expectations. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Ian Golding, an influential consultant in CX with worldwide experience in several different industries to discuss CX across the globe.

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The Human/Digital Balance

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Episode #238

Released: October 18, 2022

Customers are demanding new ways to connect with companies, ranging from websites to apps, chat support to bots - the technological tools available to CX professionals is growing. In the inaugural episode in our series, "CX Now: Eight Essential Themes Driving CX Evolution," host Steve Walker welcomes Elliot Moran, associate vice president in our advisory and managed services at Walker, for a discussion on how digital interactions are driving CX evolution.

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The Hyper-personalized Experience

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Episode #170

Released: June 15, 2021

Hyper-personalization is one of the newer buzz words out in the business world today – a practice that utilizes artificial intelligence to deliver highly personalized content and experiences in real-time at an individual level. It’s another way for brands to connect with their customers and a potential "tool in the box" for customer experience professionals. Host Steve Walker welcomes guest Melissa Drew, an associate partner at IBM, for a discussion on how A.I. can take personalization to the next level.

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The Importance of Personalization

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Episode #1

Released: January 9, 2018

Steve discusses the importance of personalization from the recently released Walker research, "Customers 2020: A Progress Report" with guest Brad Harmon, a certified customer experience professional and vice-president of consulting services for Walker.

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The Inclusive Experience

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Episode #261

Released: April 4, 2023

People in general want to do good things for others. But it’s easy to assume that everyone sees the world with similar eyes. We live in a diverse world with people that have different needs, so it’s important that CX professionals plan and accommodate so the experience is accessible and meaningful for all their customers. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stacy Sherman, a customer experience and marketing keynote speaker, content creator, and host of the podcast "Doing CX Right", for a discussion on creating inclusive experiences for customers and employees with different needs and abilities.

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The Ingredients to Make an Impact

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Episode #177

Released: August 3, 2021

Customer experience professionals have an opportunity to help create a genuine and lasting impact on their companies. But like any other aspect of an organization, there are some key elements – or “ingredients” – they need to make the right impact. And each company’s needs will be different, so it's important to know what ingredients are needed for their specific situations. Host Steve Walker welcomes Stacey Nevel, director of voice of the customer at Prudential Financial and a member of the board of directors for the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), for a discussion on what ingredients are needs to create an impactful CX program.

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The Innovative CX Leader

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Episode #221

Released: June 21, 2022

There are a number of ways to design experiences for your customers, but you're stuck. You find it hard to think beyond how things are currently done. And even if you had some sort of break-through idea, changing your current processes and getting others on board seems pretty daunting. And yet you constantly wonder, "what if?" Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Jonathan Shroyer, Chief Customer Experience Innovation Officer for Arise Virtual Solutions, for a discussion on driving innovation in your CX program.

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The Journeys Within the Journey

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Episode #265

Released: May 2, 2023

Journey mapping: that tried-and-true exercise of discovering your strengths as a company and the places in your customer’s journey where things could be improved. It’s a great tool to identify pain points and create empathy for your customers. But what about employees? Seems like it would be a great practice to build some empathy for your own team, right? Host Steve Walker welcomes Dr. Cecelia Herbert, principal XM catalyst at the Qualtrics XM Institute for a discussion on mapping the employee's journey.

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The Laws of Experience Management

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Episode #157

Released: March 16, 2021

There are certain truths within the practice of customer experience that CX pros often observe. But when something becomes a “law”, like the laws of nature, that has a much more fundamental connotation. Host Steve Walker welcomes Isabelle Zdatny, an XM Catalyst and certified customer experience professional at the Qualtrics XM Institute, to discuss “The Six Laws of Experience Management” which helps companies understand the realities of human behavior within the context of XM.

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The Long and Winding Road

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Episode #222

Released: June 28, 2022

Few if any of customer experience pros went to school to be a CX professional, and yet there are thousands in this flourishing profession. So what does it take to be a CX leader? What are the right skills and what is the best career path to take? How do you break into this and how do you determine whether your company will really support customer experience strategies? Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Shelly Chandler, a certified CX professional and as head of customer experience for Delaware North, for a discussion on what it takes to start and advance your career in CX.

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The Magical Experience

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Episode #164

Released: May 4, 2021

Many people have experienced a visit to a theme park, but the theme park experiences provided by The Walt Disney Company are arguably some of the best. However, it’s not easy creating the “magical” world that guests have come to enjoy. Ensuring the employees – or “cast members” – provide that magical experience is crucial, which means it’s essential the employee’s experience is high priority. Guest host Pat Gibbons welcomes Francesca Tempestini, a former cast member at Disneyland Paris and one of the contributing authors of the new book “Customer Experiences 3," to discuss how companies can take some cues from "the happiest place on earth."

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The Mature CX Program

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Episode #181

Released: August 31, 2021

The concept of CX maturity is a concept covered on this podcast in the past, but what does a "real life" mature CX program look like? Host Steve Walker welcomes Lara Caimi, chief customer and partner officer at ServiceNow, a company that delivers digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity, for a look at how they made customer experience a vital part of their company’s culture.

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The Monograph Project

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Episode #231

Released: August 30, 2022

A common subject on the show is the importance of cross-functional collaboration when executing good customer experience. Knowing how other departments and groups work within the company is vital, but not always easy. And yet, CX pros are often left with the task of getting everyone on-board and collaborating so the entire company can help provide the best possible customer experience. Guest Michelle Spaul is a customer experience consultant and leads the Customer Experience Professionals Association’s “Monograph Project”, which aims to help organizations "work better together by understanding the level of collaboration needed to deliver the desired customer experience."

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The Non-customer-facing Employee

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Episode #86

Released: October 1, 2019

It’s easy explaining how front-line employees directly influence the customer’s experience. But it’s more difficult for non-customer-facing to see how their contributions impact CX. Steve welcomes Maureen Cook, customer experience specialist at Ciena, to discuss the ways they show ALL their employees how they affect customer experience.

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The Out-of-box Experience

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Episode #85

Released: September 24, 2019

Customer experience isn't limited to simply how your employees interact with your clients - it plays a critical role in how products are developed and maintained. Steve welcome Arjan Vilkhu, senior manager of customer insights at Hill-Rom, a global medical technology company, to discuss how their CX program informs how their customers’ experience using their products can be improved.

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The Passionate CX Leader

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Episode #4

Released: January 30, 2018

This episode begins a 10-part series where host Steve Walker invites guests to highlight the ten traits of an effective CX leader. Lauri Jones, a certified customer experience professional and vice president of Walker Information, discusses the trait of being passionate.

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The Personal Touch

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Episode #45

Released: November 13, 2018

In the second episode of the User series, Steve welcomes Gina Jannazzo and Kim Howard from Wild Birds Unlimited to discuss the CX program within a franchise model and how personal relationships with customers are competitive advantages for today's retailers.

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