Editor’s note: The following is a guest article by Mark Levy, author of The Psychology of CX 101 and publisher of the Decoding Customer Experience newsletter.
Two weeks into the role, a new CX leader sits in a cross-functional meeting. Before she speaks, someone from product says, “Just so you know, our last CX leader slowed everything down with surveys.”
It’s casual. It’s also a signal.
Later that day, the CX leader raises a billing complaint that customers keep flagging. Operations replies, “We’ve checked that before. It’s not a real issue.” She’s seen the verbatims. It is a real issue. But the room isn’t reacting to the data. They’re reacting to a memory of the last person in her seat and every assumption that came with the role.
By the end of her first month, the narrative is forming. Not from her work, but from what people already believe CX leaders do.
This is the part no one says out loud: The organization starts writing a story about a new CX leader long before the leader understands the organization. And once those impressions harden, they shape how every decision, meeting and recommendation gets interpreted.
Psychologists call this confirmation bias — the tendency to look for evidence that validates existing beliefs. For CX leaders, it’s a force that can either derail their early influence or reinforce it, depending on how they use the first 100 days.
The quiet trap most CX leaders walk into — and how to reset it
Every company already carries stories about CX:
- “CX slows us down.”
- “Customers complain, but things aren’t that bad.”
- “We’ve tried this before; nothing sticks.”
- “This is a research function, not a decision-driving function.”
These beliefs don’t stay in the background. Teams project them onto the new leader immediately. If the leader moves fast, they’re “another disruptor who doesn’t understand constraints.” If they spend time listening, they’re “not urgent enough.” If they reference metrics, they’re “going back to the old playbook.”
The problem isn’t the leader. It’s the filter everyone else is using.
Instead of fighting the filter, successful CX leaders break it with evidence, listening and early wins that challenge assumptions.The first 100 days are critical to reset the system and redirect confirmation bias. Here are four ways successful leaders tackle it:
1. They expose the gap between the internal narrative and customer reality.
Most organizations overestimate their strengths and underestimate their blind spots. Leaders who surface these gaps early immediately shift the conversation from opinion to reality.
2. They map how insights travel — or stall — inside the business.
They learn who filters feedback, where decisions slow down, and which insights never reach leadership. This reveals structural issues faster than any dashboard.
3. They examine the metric architecture, not just the scores.
They look at what the company believes it’s measuring, what it’s actually measuring, and what customers experience. Misaligned scorecards are often the root of misaligned priorities.
4. They pick early wins that challenge assumptions, not validate them.
These wins aren’t flashy. They address recurring friction that frontline teams talk about constantly, but leadership underestimates. When customers feel the change, and frontline teams see action, the internal narrative shifts.
The 100-day pattern that holds up across strong CX transitions
Regardless of industry, successful CX leaders follow a consistent arc.
Weeks 1 to 2: Establish the baseline.
Gather the truth. Compare what leaders believe with what customers report. Study escalations, friction points and frontline workarounds.
Weeks 3 to 4: Draft the plan.
Outline a 90-day plan grounded in evidence. Validate assumptions with data and partners who will help deliver the work.
Weeks 5 to 6: Set direction and build momentum.
Finalize the roadmap, align with leadership and lock in early wins. Establish a cadence for decisions and updates.
Weeks 7 to 12: Deliver visible progress.
Ship early wins. Strengthen governance around insights and metrics. Solidify partnerships and secure resources for the next phase.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s clarity. These steps give the organization new evidence to replace outdated assumptions.
After the first 100 days, teams should no longer be guessing who the CX leader is. They should see:
- journey maps grounded in real behavior
- where the voice-of-customer system works and where it breaks
- early wins customers can feel
- a realistic 6 to 12 month roadmap
- a predictable operating rhythm
- clearer roles, partnerships and governance
Most importantly, the leader should have a second 100-day plan — built from truth, not inherited narratives.
Confirmation bias is predictable and powerful. If the organization defines the CX leader early, the leader spends their tenure fighting for influence. If the leader sets the story first, everything that follows becomes easier.
The first 100 days determine which path they get.
