MARCH 2025HR TECH OUTLOOK9ticket volumes--something felt missing. When I asked one of our star technicians about their success, they didn't mention a single metric. Instead, they said, "I think about how I'd want to be treated if I were frustrated and stuck, and then I work backward from there." This perspective embodies what I call Experience Leadership (XL). While XM gives us crucial data about where we are, XL pushes us to envision where we could and, likely, should be. Think about the distinction between management and leadership: management keeps systems running smoothly, while leadership charts new territories. XM and XL mirror this relationship.Rethinking How We WorkI've seen the difference in practice. Take the standard open-door policy most companies pride themselves on. Sure, this sounds good on paper, but how many transformative ideas emerge from those open doors? XL reimagines this policy as an "open-mind" culture, where new ideas aren't just welcomed--they are actively explored with intent and purpose.The questions we ask also evolve under the concepts of XL. Instead of "Can we do this?" we ask, "HOW can we do this?" This subtle shift moves us from limitation to possibility, from measurement to innovation.Turning Vision into ActionDon't misunderstand--we still need XM. Those metrics and insights remain vital. But they should inform our vision, not constrain it. For example, when redesigning employee onboarding, we moved beyond productivity metrics, asking, `What if a new hire's first day felt less like orientation and more like joining a mission? This led us beyond standard checklists to create personalized journeys that connected individual strengths with the company vision.Leading the FutureThe future belongs to organizations that go beyond measuring experiences to leading them. XM acts as the compass, while XL provides the vision to move forward. Metrics are essential, but they are only the starting point, not the destination.I believe we're at a turning point. The most successful organizations won't just be those with the best measurement systems--they'll be the ones who use those insights to imagine and create extraordinary experiences. Experience Management (XM) provides the data we need today, but Experience Leadership (XL) challenges us to envision the future-shifting from measuring what is to creating extraordinary possibilities for what could be
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