In character as Maria von Trapp, Julie Andrews immortalized her list of favorite things in song in The Sound of Music. After spending the last four weeks with CX practitioners at events including the CXPA US Insight Exchange, Qualtrics X4 events in Stockholm and Amsterdam, and with my CX-focused peers from a cross-section of Qualtrics’ offices, I want to share a few of my favorite things about these professionals who are working so diligently to improve the experiences that are delivered by their organizations.
Despite differences in geography, professional background, personal interests, and the industries and companies we work in, there are some characteristics CX professionals seem to almost universally share, which makes being in their company a very rewarding way to spend time. What I love about my fellow CX professionals is they are:
- Curious: Whether it’s because we’ve had to invest in ongoing learning because “we didn’t go to school for this,” I find CX professionals to be voracious students of their discipline who seek new information and perspectives from the experiences of others. They take it one step further and, like a master weaver, make connections between what they learn, what is going on in their organization, and how this particular lesson may help. Not only is this great for our individual development and advancement, but our curiosity as CX professionals helps propel our organizations forward because we actively apply what we learn through the work that we do.
- Generous: It is very rare that a CX professional doesn’t meet another’s curiosity and desire to learn with generosity – of their time, of their expertise, of their ideas. They are willing to share what works and what hasn’t worked. They offer advice, share resources, and make introductions. This only makes our collective profession stronger and is, in fact, one of the aims behind creating our professional association. Through the community we build together and participate in together, we elevate all of us to higher levels of capability and impact.
- Sincere: CX professionals mean what they say. If they ask how you are doing, they really want to know. They are authentic and honest – willing to tell you the thing you need to hear but may not want to hear. And in my experiences, we genuinely celebrate the successes of others and truly interested in helping our peers, without worrying about what the payback may be. Many of us have found ourselves at times in our careers wondering whether we are the only ones going through a situation – in those moments, the sincere interest and caring from our CX peers can mean a lot.
- Interesting: Perhaps because we come from such varied backgrounds and have such a mixed set of professional and personal interests, CX professionals are really, really interesting. Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve chatted about the science of happiness and how it applies to our work, connected over the joys and pains of being (or trying to be) a runner, and exchanged travel tips and tricks to get the most out of my visits to new cities. Books have been added to my to-read list, movies added to my to-watch list, and people added to my to-meet list – all thanks to the interesting CX people I’ve been around.
- Fun to be with: CX peeps are just good people. They are optimistic and uplifting, enthusiastic and energizing. On top of all the “work stuff,” there are smiles, laughs, and even hugs when we gather. I leave their company feeling better than when I started. It makes being part of this community a real asset on the balance sheet of my life.
So those are a few of my favorite things about the people I’m lucky enough to be on my professional journey with. To my fellow CX professionals, whether recently or in the more distant path, who brought your generosity, sincerity, and fun into my days, I say, “THANK YOU!” You may not have realized it at the time, but you’ve helped keep me on this road I’m traveling. While I don’t have song lyrics by which to immortalize my list, I found some quotes that I think are equally powerful reminders of the virtues I highlight above:
- Curious: “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Walt Disney
- Generous: “The more generous we are, the more joyous we become. The more cooperative we are, the more valuable we become. The more enthusiastic we are, the more productive we become. The more serving we are, the more prosperous we become.” William Arthur Ward
- Sincere: “You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” Zig Ziglar
- Interesting: “Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people.” Henry Miller
- Fun to be with: “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” Joe Namath
Whatever work path you are on, I hope you are sharing the road with fellow travelers as equally supportive, equally informative, equally challenging, and equally engaging. It sure makes the trip a lot more rewarding!