Unf*cking Your CX #26: Outdated CX Pros and their Skills Gap Is Killing Your Experience Strategy

Outdated CX Pros Are the Real Problem

CX isn’t failing because customers are too demanding—it’s failing because CX leaders are stuck in the past.

The outdated CX pro clings to vanity metrics like NPS, recycling out-of-the-box solutions they call “best practices” but never adapting to the specific needs of their customers. Worse, they fail to tie their work to measurable business outcomes, leaving executives no choice but to cut budgets and shift priorities.

Here’s the truth: the CX pro of the past is irrelevant. The CX pro of the future is a dot connector, business driver, and champion builder who doesn’t just talk about customer experience—they drive it at every level of the organization. If your team doesn’t look like that, it’s time to unf*ck your talent strategy.

Because while you’re stuck in PowerPoints, your customers are already walking out the door.

The Outdated CX Pro of the Past

Here’s why your CX team is failing to deliver:

1. NPS-Obsessed and Data-Blind They obsess over NPS scores while ignoring the metrics that matter: revenue, retention, and operational efficiency. NPS isn’t a strategy—it’s a starting point.

“If your CX strategy starts and ends with NPS, congratulations—you’ve already lost.”

2. Copy-Paste Playbooks They rely on generic, out-of-the-box solutions that feel safe but don’t address the specific challenges their brand faces.

“Your OOTB playbook is a shortcut to mediocrity. Customers don’t want cookie-cutter experiences—they want connected ones.”

3. Metrics That Don’t Matter They’re focused on survey response rates and ticket resolution times instead of CLTV, churn reduction, and operational cost savings.

“Vanity metrics might look good in a report, but they don’t pay the bills.”

4. No Leadership, No Influence They execute tasks but can’t influence the C-suite or build cross-functional buy-in. These are followers, not leaders.

“If you can’t sell your CX strategy to the CFO, your certification won’t save you.”

The CX Pro of the Future

The future of CX belongs to leaders who can connect dots, deliver business impact, and drive transformation.

1. Dot Connectors They tie every initiative to measurable business outcomes—revenue, retention, and cost savings. They don’t just track metrics—they prove their value.

“The CX pro of the future isn’t a data collector—they’re a business driver.”

2. Champions of Collaboration They break down silos, align teams, and create champions across the organization. CX isn’t a department—it’s a thread woven through the entire business.

“The best CX leaders don’t fight for buy-in—they create it.”

3. Influencers and Business Drivers They speak the language of the C-suite, sell their ideas with confidence, and connect CX initiatives to strategic business goals.

“They don’t ask for permission—they deliver results executives can’t ignore.”

4. Builders of Talent They don’t just deliver results; they develop the next generation of CX leaders, ensuring sustainable success.

“Their legacy isn’t just better CX—it’s better leaders.”

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Here’s what you’re risking if you don’t address the talent gap:

1. Slower CX Maturity Without skilled professionals, CX strategies stall. What should be a growth engine becomes just another line item in the budget.

2. Missed Opportunities Your lack of expertise in analytics, digital transformation, and operational CX is leaving money on the table. Competitors who invest in talent are winning the race.

3. High Turnover Costs Constantly losing and replacing talent drains your resources. Developing your team is cheaper—and far more effective—than trying to hire unicorns who don’t exist.

How to Unf*ck Your CX Talent Strategy

Here’s how to fix the talent gap:

1. Kill the OOTB Playbook Stop copying frameworks that aren’t designed for your customers. Tailor your CX strategy to the unique challenges and opportunities of your brand.

2. Build a Continuous Learning Culture Invest in upskilling your team with training focused on data analytics, leadership, and tying CX initiatives to financial outcomes.

3. Tie Every Role to Business Impact Redefine CX roles to include accountability for key metrics like revenue, retention, and cost savings. Every team member should know how their work impacts the P&L.

4. Hire for Influence and Action Look for leaders who can sell ideas, build champions, and deliver measurable results. If they can’t influence the C-suite, they won’t survive.

3 Player Tips for Building Future-Ready CX Teams

1. Stop Hiring Unicorns - You won’t find the perfect candidate. Invest in upskilling your current team to meet today’s demands. A matter of fact, the ideal candidate is probably already in your organization. Operations leaders become great CX Leaders because they know the frontline and they understand when levers get pulled immediate impact.
2. Focus on Business Impact - Make sure every CX role is tied directly to metrics like CLTV, revenue, and operational efficiency. Your CX Leader should have the same business accuracy as your COO, CFO, CMO, etc.
3. Develop Leadership Skills - Teach your team how to influence stakeholders, sell their ideas internally, and create champions across the organization. Let's face it, your CX team is never going to be large. You have to find, create, build and coach CX champions across your organization. Why should the rest of the org care about CX?

2 Frameworks for Closing the Skills Gap

1. The CX Impact Role Design

• Accountability for Outcomes: Redesign roles with clear ties to revenue, retention, and cost savings.
• Leadership Metrics: Include influencing, champion building, and cross-functional alignment as key responsibilities.

2. The CX Accelerator Program

• A structured program for training your team in:Analytics: Teach them how to calculate ROI and CLTV.Leadership: Prepare them to pitch CX strategies and influence stakeholders.Innovation: Encourage adaptive, real-time problem-solving.

Thought-Provoking Question

“Is your CX team driving business impact—or just taking up headcount?”

You should be able to fill in this statement:

Based on [ this customer data finding ], [ x department ], [ took this action ] that resulted in [ immediate impact ] leading to [ $ financial outcome].

For example,

Based on the 1,272 comments during cart abandonment regarding the coupon code, the digital team deployed code to fix the coupon code issue that resulted in an immediate 1.2% conversion leading to $98,716 over the 3-day sales period.

The Talent Gap Is a Strategy Gap

CX pros of the past are why your customers are frustrated and your strategies fail. They’re stuck chasing vanity metrics, relying on generic playbooks, and failing to connect CX to real business impact.

The CX pro of the future is the one who drives results, builds influence, and transforms their team into a growth engine. If your team doesn’t look like that yet, it’s time to unf*ck your talent strategy—because your customers, and your P&L, can’t wait any longer.