What Working Above the Business Means

In this episode of Above the Business, Bradley Hamner interviews Bruce Temkin, often referred to as the "Godfather of Customer Experience" and host of the Humanity At Scale: Redefining Leadership podcast. They dive deep into navigating complexity and uncertainty at scale, the power of reflection cycles, and how leaders can provide clarity to their teams—even when they don't feel clear themselves.

"Working above the business is understanding that whatever we do, whatever business you have, we're impacting people, we're impacting employees, we're impacting customers, and we're impacting the communities in which we serve."

Bruce Temkin is a pioneer in human experience management and trusted executive advisor. He helped define the fields of Customer Experience, Employee Experience, and Experience Management, reshaping how organizations serve their most important stakeholders. Bruce founded the Qualtrics XM Institute, co-founded the Customer Experience Professionals Association, led Temkin Group, and was Forrester Research's most-read analyst for 13 consecutive quarters.

Four Core Leadership Behaviors Bruce Teaches

1. Guide with purpose.
2. Embrace your values.
3. Cultivate lasting trust.
4. Act with empathy.

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