Too often, UX professionals face the same frustrating barrier:
“My boss doesn’t get it.”
While both designers and decision-makers ultimately want the same outcome, more engaged customers, higher performance, sustained growth, many leaders still overlook the role UX plays in achieving it. The gap isn’t one of intent, but of understanding.
By reframing the conversation, aligning with business priorities, and demonstrating impact, you can put customer experience firmly on the leadership agenda, and secure the backing it deserves.
Speak in commercial outcomes
To drive meaningful change, you must speak the language of business. That means moving beyond surface-level reporting and connecting UX performance to core commercial goals.
Anchor your insights around metrics that matter:
- User behaviour – pathways, drop-offs, goals
- Outcomes – conversion, task success, retention
- Experience quality – load times, ease of use, error rates
- Commercial impact – acquisition cost, conversion cost, customer lifetime value
This data-led fluency builds trust and positions UX as a strategic lever for growth, not just a design function.
Highlight the cost of inaction
As leaders progress, they often move further from direct customer interaction. That distance creates blind spots.
Close the gap with clear, emotive evidence:
- Short videos showing real usability frustrations
- Benchmarking reports that reveal competitive gaps
- Live testing sessions that make challenges impossible to ignore
Seeing the problem sparks empathy. And empathy drives momentum.
Show what great experience can achieve
Customer experience is still one of the most underused sources of competitive advantage. The world’s most influential brands, from tech leaders to disruptor startups, win because they obsess over it.
Help your board visualise what’s possible:
- Curate best-in-class examples from both inside and outside your industry
- Connect customer experience to measurable business impact
- Align with wider strategic goals - growth, loyalty, innovation
Frame experience as a differentiator, not a cost.
Become a strategic influencer
UX professionals are more than designers, they’re change agents. Influence is earned by understanding others’ goals and showing how UX helps achieve them.
Start by building internal personas. What do your stakeholders care about? How do they measure success?
Then, build bridges:
- Start small with high-impact pilots
- Find allies and champions across the business
- Involve leaders early - collaboration builds ownership
- Be open about learnings and iterate transparently
Progress is built on clarity, confidence and conversation.
Play the long game
Boards are under constant pressure to prioritise. Change takes time. But persistence, patience, and precision in messaging can create lasting impact.
By aligning UX with commercial priorities, by showing rather than telling, and by building trust through action, you move from “design support” to “strategic driver.”
And that’s when the transformation begins.
