7 Ways CX Leaders Can Invite Collaboration and Inspire Progress

By Nicole Hauptman, VP, Experience Management at Material

In many organizations, CX leaders are responsible for bringing the customer’s perspective into business decisions. But even when the message is clear, teams don’t always engage. They question the sample. They say the issue has already been fixed. They assume it doesn’t apply to their part of the process. What starts as an effort to drive improvement can lose momentum if insights aren’t delivered with precision, relevance and context.

Feedback should prompt progress, not resistance. But even useful insights can fall flat if teams feel caught off guard, misrepresented or disconnected from the data.

Take this example: Alex runs CX insights at a manufacturing company. Post-delivery feedback shows customers often don’t know who to contact next, leading to missed visits and delayed setup. Operations says the issue is already fixed. Sales questions the data. Service says they don’t have bandwidth.

Instead of defending the report, Alex reframes it. They explain that unclear handoffs are contributing to a 14% increase in rework. They tailor the message for each team and facilitate a working session to identify priorities. As a result, the teams understand the report and what it means for them — and the conversation shifts from resistance to alignment.

CX teams are often seen as critics, blockers or the ones who surface problems without offering solutions. But there are clear strategies CX teams and leaders can leverage to transform that perception — and make customer feedback something teams embrace rather than avoid.

How CX Leaders Can Make the Shift from Resistance to Alignment

Ultimately, teams look to their leaders for direction. For cross-team collaboration to be effective, it needs to come from the top down.

Here are seven ways CX leaders can facilitate the organization-wide alignment that delivers results from CX insights.

1. 1. Translate feedback into business terms.

      Replace general phrases like “clients feel confused” with specific, measurable impacts. Teams respond to data that reflects their goals and responsibilities. When feedback is framed in terms of operational risk, cost or customer outcomes, it’s harder to ignore and easier to prioritize. For example: “47% of new clients submit support tickets within 10 days, mostly about unclear setup instructions.”

   2. Organize insights like performance updates.

      Structure findings the same way internal reviews are run. Start with what’s going well, then highlight what’s getting in the way and finish with next steps. Familiar structure increases clarity and makes it easier to plan action. For example: “Requiring a shared kickoff checklist across teams could reduce errors by 18%.”

   3. Tailor the message to each audience.

      Use examples that align with each function. Product may care about what’s slowing adoption. Sales may want to know what’s affecting renewals. Operations may need to reduce repeated work. Relevance increases engagement. People act when they see how feedback connects to their role. For example: “22% of delays last quarter were caused by incomplete site information.”

   4. Show how feedback has already led to change.

      Track what decisions were influenced by past feedback and what happened next. Demonstrated impact builds trust in the process and shows that listening works. For example: “Enterprise clients flagged training confusion. We added a kickoff call. Time to value improved by 18% and support needs dropped by 25%.”

   5. Bring people into the interpretation, not just the report.

      Send a summary before the meeting. Use the time together to ask, “Which of these are you seeing?” or “What’s most feasible to address this quarter?”  When people help interpret the findings, they are more likely to support the solution.

   6. Identify and highlight internal champions.

      Look for people who’ve acted on feedback and seen results. Ask them to share their story. A regional manager who reduced repeat site visits by 30% can help others see what is possible. Champions bring the story to life. Peer credibility drives buy-in.

   7. Prepare for questions about timing, audience or accuracy.

      Expect concerns like “we fixed that,” “this is old,” or “these aren’t the right people.” Respond with facts. Explain when the data was collected and who contributed. If something changed, position the feedback as a baseline. If a view is missing, note it and plan to close the gap. Providing context removes friction. It helps shift the focus back to insight and opportunity.

Tailoring Feedback by Function: One Insight, Many Entry Points

Each team views customer feedback through a different lens. Product focuses on usability, sales on growth, service on workload and executives on risk. A single message rarely resonates across all of them. To make feedback stick, it needs to connect directly to what each group is trying to solve or improve.

• • • Product teams

      Focus on adoption, feature usage and friction points that create support load. Frame feedback as a prioritization input. For example: “Clients are not using the configuration tool because they don’t know it exists, and those who do are submitting three times more tickets.” Tie this to backlog efficiency or reduced rework.

    • Sales and account teams

      Connect feedback to renewal risk or expansion blockers. Show how unresolved issues show up in QBRs or account escalations. For example: “Three top accounts flagged poor handoffs as a reason they’re hesitant to expand.” Keep the tone solution-oriented and forward-looking.

    • Customer service and operations

      Use feedback to explain effort, repeat contacts or avoidable volume. For example: “20% of escalations in the last 30 days came from the same implementation issue.” These teams are often closest to the friction, so use feedback to show patterns and support upstream fixes.

    • Executive teams

      Focus on themes and outcomes tied to business goals like churn, reputation or efficiency. Keep it focused. For example: “Service-related issues are holding back expansion in the mid-market segment.” Executives want to see risk, direction and what’s being done.

Avoid These Three Missteps When Communicating with Your Teams

Even with the right structure, a few missteps can erode credibility. Watch out for these three mistakes that can undermine the alignment you’re trying to build.

1. 1. • Avoid softening the message to reduce discomfort; doing so can remove urgency.

      • Don’t reshape the story to align with internal expectations if it departs from the actual signal.

      • Use client anecdotes sparingly and always back them with patterns or supporting data. Feedback only has power when it is specific, consistent and complete. If the foundation cracks, so does the influence.

Keep it Fresh to Secure Buy-In

To keep teams engaged over time, avoid repeating the same format or focus every cycle. Shift the lens: spotlight onboarding one quarter, retention drivers the next. Introduce new signals or customer segments.

Ask stakeholders what they’re curious about and follow up on what was implemented. Let other teams present, highlight progress and celebrate small wins. Show that CX is not just reporting but a system of insight, action and results. People stay engaged when the content evolves and when they see themselves in the story.

Make Client Feedback Part of How the Business Works

Customer input should be part of regular performance conversations, not a parallel track. When feedback is specific, structured and tied to shared goals, it becomes useful. When it is supported by examples and owned by teams who act on it, it becomes trusted. That is how you move from listening to action.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do it all on your own. Material’s team of experienced CX experts can help you uncover meaningful CX insights and activate them to maximize impact.

Want to learn more about how we can help? Start the conversation.